The Foundation Hand lettering style of calligraphy is simple and is quite easy to learn. It is recommended for use when readability and clarity is most important, for example, family trees or small wedding invitations. It is a very simple and a smart looking font.

First of all, use a firm works surface and cover it with a couple of sheets of paper to soften the surface. Secure it with some bulldog clips or masking tape. Rule some guidelines with a hard nibbed pen so the lines are quite faint. Use a metal ruler and a setsquare to make sure the guidelines are true. First of all, practice the capital letters and keep your calligraphy pen nib at about 30 – 35 degree angle. Once you are confident with writing the uppercase letters, you can move on to the lower case letters. Don’t worry if the letters look awkward and childlike at first. With practice the letters will look more even and neat.

View Video About The Foundation Hand Style

Letter Proportions

The upper case letter height should be about 6-pen nib widths high and the x height of the letters should be about 4 nib widths (the x height is the height of the lower case letters without the ascenders and descenders). The length and height of the ascender and descenders should be about 7 nib widths.

Foundation Hand Ideas

You can practice writing this style with the 2-pencil technique and introduce some color or different mediums, such as chalk, pastels or watercolor paints. You can even write this style using 2 pencils or black pen and cartoonize it with felt tips and thick black lines. You can even introduce a 3 dimensional effect with this font.

The foundation hand fonts are the most simplest and easiest form of calligraphy letterings to learn. This style is a good starting point before moving onto more elaborate and complex font styles.

Experimenting with Color

When you are learning to write Foundation Hand, introduce some color to your work. For example, you can experiment with different colored inks and washes. You can buy many different colored card and paper for writing on. If you prefer to make up your own color, you can buy some watercolor paper and apply a watercolor wash before writing calligraphy on the prepared paper. You can use different colored ink for great effects. Winsor and Newton have a good array of colored inks to choose from and you can buy them from any good art and craft store.

Pictures Of Foundation Hand Calligraphy