Loosie Script

Description This Font is Loosie Script 

Dragonwick Font

Description This Font is Dragonwick

Magik Font

Description This Font is Magik Reguler

Free Calligraphy Fonts

Art of beautiful, stylized, or elegant handwriting or lettering with pen or brush and ink. It involves the correct formation of characters, the ordering of the various parts, and the harmony of proportions. Here is a beautiful collection of 40 Free Calligraphy Fonts to download and use.

Roundhand Calligraphy

A good roundhand consists of very regular, well-proportioned, well-spaced letterforms. Clarity and simplicity are the key qualities. Of all the calligraphy alphabets, this is probably the easiest to read, and so is very suitable for longer texts such as passages of prose, books of poetry, diary entries etc.

Your nib should be held at an angle of around 30 degrees; the x-height is 4.5 nib-widths. Ascenders are 7 nib-widths high, ie 2.5 above the x-height, and descenders go 3 nib-widths below the line.

Allow plenty of white space inside and between your letters; don't cramp them. The rounded shapes of 'a', 'b', 'c' etc are quite circular, and strokes are confident and absolutely vertical. Serifs are bold and elegant and letters ending in a downstroke finish with a rounded upflick. Roundhand majuscules are generously proportioned and a full 7 nib-widths high.

Variations of Calligraphy

The East Asian style, also considered old calligraphy, dates back to 200 B.C. There are no ready parchments available today to prove its worth, but it has been found carved in tablets showing traces of ink long since dried into impressions. Similarly the Japanese and Chinese old calligraphy writings are works of art done with brushes instead of pens. These brushes have different hair types for work in different styles.

India too boasts of old calligraphy works dating back to 265 B.C. when copper was used as the main media for inscriptions of calligraphy. In addition, calligraphers used materials such as palm leaves and birch barks for the purpose. The leaves were cut into long rectangular strips of uniform size tied together by a string sent through a hole in the leaves. Indian calligraphy gained its renown with its writing on palm leaves that are delicate and easy to write on.

Other important countries who can boast of a rich history in old calligraphy are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Tibet and Nepal. Iran has made use of Arabic calligraphy to write the world famous Qur'an and other holy books of different religions. Old calligraphy cannot be considered a thing of the past since it has turned the written word into a thing of beauty, bringing the world together by giving special awareness of various religions and styles.

Uncial alphabet

Uncial has a formal, serene appearance enlivened by the rhythmic alternation of narrow and rounded letters and the ripple of the short ascenders and descenders.

Your pen angle should be 0-15 degrees (ie pointing straight up the page). Rotate the page anticlockwise before writing, so your wrist is not cocked too steeply for comfort, or use a specially-designed nib. If you're using a quill, it helps to cut it so the left corner forms an acute angle.

Uncial letterforms are around 4 nib-widths high with another nib-width above and below for short ascenders and descenders. Allow a good half-line at least of space between lines of script.

Uncial is characterised by its strongly rounded, graceful and powerful aspect. It does not slant. Letters should be carefully spaced. Serifs are straight-topped and their underside curls smoothly into the letter.

Some twisting and lifting of the nib is useful to form parts of 'A' and 'N' and the thin diagonal strokes of 'V', 'W', 'X' and 'Y'. A nib-twist can also be used to create 'drooping' serifs on the branches of 'C', 'E', 'F', 'G' and 'S'. Often, minuscule forms are mixed into uncial from 'half-uncial', which is historically a different script of similar appearance which has strong Celtic associations. The variant letters are generally 'a', 'b', 'd', 'g' and 't'.

Notes on How to Write Calligraphy Alphabets

A good Roman Rustic Capitals consists of very regular, well-proportioned, well-spaced letterforms. Clarity and simplicity are the key qualities. Of all the calligraphy alphabets, this is probably the easiest to read, and so is very suitable for longer texts such as passages of prose, books of poetry, diary entries etc.

Your nib should be held at an angle of around 30 degrees; the x-height is 4.5 nib-widths. Ascenders are 7 nib-widths high, ie 2.5 above the x-height, and descenders go 3 nib-widths below the line.

Allow plenty of white space inside and between your letters; don't cramp them. The rounded shapes of 'a', 'b', 'c' etc are quite circular, and strokes are confident and absolutely vertical. Serifs are bold and elegant and letters ending in a downstroke finish with a rounded upflick. Roundhand majuscules are generously proportioned and a full 7 nib-widths high.

Nowadays, Gothic lettering

Nowadays, Gothic lettering is valued for its formal, striking, and ornamental qualities. (For this reason, it is best used for decorative purposes, where people don't need to be able to read the text easily.) A Gothic script has a very definite medieval ‘feel’ to it. And it’s not difficult to produce an impressive effect in Gothic, so it’s always been a favourite with calligraphers.

How To Get Started Writing Calligraphy - Italic

Now that I have told you about how I began writing calligraphy, I will help you get started. Before you go out and purchase any books, pens, or paper, get a pencil, and search on google: Calligraphy Alphabet. You will get to choose from many different alphabets. I suggest choosing foundational hand calligraphy, as it is extremely easy to pick up on.

Look at your computer screen, and try to replicate the letters that you find. Most likely, you'll have a hard time. First, you must remember that you are writing in a pencil, not a broad tip pen, therefore you will have different results. If your letters look just like the skeleton of the ones on the screen, you may be ready to buy a calligraphy book. (They will give you samples to copy from)

If not, practice your handwriting. Any time that you are writing something, try to write neatly. As you do this, you'll see yourself developing neater handwriting, and you'll be ready to buy that real calligraphy pen.

Learn Calligraphy Quick! - Roundhand

Writing calligraphy isn't a talent that I have had my whole life. I recently started calligraphy, because of a very random occurrence. I saw a woman in the post-office one day. As I was standing behind her in line, I saw that she had a large stack of envelopes. They were all hand lettered in round hand calligraphy, a cursive form of calligraphy, generally used on wedding invitations. Out of curiosity, I asked her if she hand lettered the envelopes. Here reply was, "No, I hired someone to write them for me."

Now obviously, as an entrepreneur, this sparked many ideas in my head. The first idea was for me to learn calligraphy to make money. It looked challenging, but I was ready for the hard work. And ink splashed hands.

I bought a small set of fountain pens from Barnes and Nobles, and then bough myself a calligraphy book. I started trying to write and noticed something. I wrote horribly. I almost gave up, but instead did something else.

I went to Michael's, and purchased some calligraphy markers. These were much easier to practice with at school, and other places. I began copying letters exactly, over, and over, and over again. This wasn't fun, nor very rewarding, until now.

I have gotten to the point where I know how to write three different forms of calligraphy. I write round hand(script), foundational(easiest to learn), and write Gothic calligraphy( hard to learn, but worth the effort.)

Gothic lettering calligraphy

However, Gothic lettering in one form or another has been used all over medieval Europe at different times. Basically, it derives from around the time when Gothic architecture was the predominant building style in western Europe, and the lettering does indeed share some characteristics with the architecture, such as a heavy emphasis on the vertical, lots of decorative elements, and an ornate regularity of style.

Gothic Calligraphy

The word ‘Gothic’ derives from the name of the historical Gothic period when such alphabets were most used – basically, the Middle Ages from around 1200-1500.

‘Gothic’ also suggests Germanic origins, and it is indeed a very Germanic script. Gothic fonts were used in printed books in Germany right up to the twentieth century! (You can still see the traditional Gothic lettering on chemists’ and pharmacies’ signs in Germany; they say

Calligraphy Alphabets and Historical Handwriting

A 'calligraphy alphabet' is an alphabet intended to be handwritten for aesthetic effect. It is modelled on the most successful historical alphabets but its purpose and context have changed significantly. A calligraphy alphabet today may not even work as an alphabet per se; some modern calligraphers have created alphabet display pieces the individual letters of which are impractical to use for writing out a text.