Why is it best to use special calligraphy practice paper
You may have noticed that your calligraphy practice paper is super important! Why? Well let’s see. First, the features of the paper are important. Second, the grids.
Consistency
We’ll start with the texture of the paper you work on. Since it’s a very significant aspect, keep in mind it is best that the paper is thick and smooth. For a seamless pointed pen calligraphy session, a minimum of 100gms is required – the denser the fiber, the less bleeding of the ink. When it comes to texture, a smooth paper is ideal for your practice, as it poses no challenges. Anyway
, of course you can practice even on textured paper, but that may be hard if you are a beginner. More than that, if the paper is of a textile kind, the tip of the nib may catch fibers.
Texture
The next best thing you can do for a rewarding calligraphy practice session is to use on your high quality paper special grids. Why is that? For a start it helps you always keep the right and the same angle for your script – for very leaned styles like Copperplate it is very useful. The special grids also help you form consistent letter following same sizing, which helps in forming a cohesive style.
Ratio
Grids may use different ratios and this is something you will have to test. For instance, Copperplate need long and narrow ascenders and descenders, therefore a ratio like 3:2:3 is ideal too keep a gracious script. On the other hand, if working some modern calligraphy, which is very playful and creative you can work with a 1:1:1 ratio, 2:1:2 ratio or even 3:2:3 one. The choice is yours – test to see which one you like best considering what each type evokes.
Calligraphy Practice Pads
So, when looking for paper for your calligraphy practice, keep these things in mind to have dense smooth surface paper with grids on them! You can buy paper and print on them the works greed. Or you can just purchase blank grids practice pads. You can find in our shop the Blank Grids Practice Pad – the paper is 120gsm and has a super smooth surface. Paper has been tested before with various inks without bleeding. Consequently, you can dedicate your calligraphy practice time to focusing on your shapes and letters and achieving better techniques to enhance your script, without worrying about paper. Our blank grids practice pads have grids printed on both sides and are perforated for easy tearing.
Have fun with your letters and remember: practice makes better calligraphy, so stock up with few blank grids practice pads! :)
