Crayola Calligraphy Is A Great Way To Learn About Brush Lettering
As it turns out there are no brush markers to be found in our neck of the woods, so while we await a visit from my nephew in a few weeks (and the brush lettering pens that I had sent to him in New York) we are making do with supplies that we do have on hand. I don’t know where we’ve been, but it turns out the crayola calligraphy is a thing, and a really great thing I must say! Because of the shape of the crayola marker, and the fact that it is water soluble, one can not only draw brush lettering style calligraphy, one can also use the pens to do a number of really fun artsy effects.
While mom is taking the more pragmatic approach of practicing my calligraphy strokes using the crayola markers, my daughter just jumped right in and created these two cute phrases, among others of course. I am one proud mama and so happy that we find joy in the same things! Oh, and while you can find info about crayola calligraphy all around the web, we were introduced to it in our new favorite go-to spot for inspiration, which would be Skillshare, and THIS VIDEO . If you love to get inspired by folks who are doing something you’d like to do, this is the place for you……download all the videos you have space for and watch them on that car or plane trip, or at the off the grid location! It is so inspiring I really don’t want you to miss out! You can sign up now and get a few months for free, and cancel anytime, so really the only way you’ll loose is by not taking my advice.
And I can’t wait to take my own advice about bringing along some of the videos on our next vacation, as there are quite a few that teach you how to do travel journaling, something I’ve always wanted to try, but just haven’t figured out how to do. I think skillshare is going to make it a reality on our next trip, can’t wait!
You’ll Need:
- crayola broad tip markers, or any broad tip marker
- water color paper
- a zip lock plastic bag the size of your paper
- a sheet of brush lettering to copy letterforms, our sheet is from here, courtesy of bydawnnicole.com
- optional: THIS VIDEO . from skillshare
How To:
That great looking watercolor background is actually made using crayola markers, since they are water soluble! Scribble on a zip lock plastic bag, rectangles of color no larger than your sheet of water color paper. Drip some drops of water onto the paper, spaced out by an inch or so, but dispersed around the paper. Lay the zip lock bag onto the wettened paper, and press down, transferring the ink to the paper. Smush it a bit if necessary, and assuming you didn’t overdo it with the water, the results should look gorgeous. This may take a bit of practice, so enjoy!
Now it is time to write your phrase. Practice on another sheet of paper, and do look at some brush lettering fonts to get the idea of how it should look. You can even sketch in pencil onto your watercolor background if that helps, the main thing is to take it slowly, and be patient. Great looking lettering takes time and practice, and we’re going to be sharing our journey with you here, so stay tuned, and stay calm!
