To make guidelines easily in Microsoft Word (and similar text programs):
1. Open a new page and set the margins all around so they are narrow, like .5″.
2. Hold down the Shift key and the Underline key and “draw” a line all the way across.
3. Highlight the line by clicking in the left margin next to it and choose a type size of 8pt.
4. Copy and paste the line over and over, one underneath the other.
Simple! Continue reading
Barbara Close showed us an intriguing art treatment consisting of abstract text forms cut out as squares and put together in a line, with text above and (if I remember) below. She suggested we do this ourselves in class. When I got home, I decided to pursue the idea and ended up with the project below. I chose the text from Psalm 119:130 because the squares suggested windows to me. I did the entire project on white paper first to get the spacing of the lettering in a circle. I got it fitting just right on only the second try.
Classroom project, Ps. 119:130
Isaiah 53 in Uncial, by Steve Husting
I’m taking another class with Barbara Close as instructor. This 10-week class will cover Uncial and Gothic forms. The text above used a 5th century form of Uncial (pronounced un-shul). The text is taken from Isaiah 53:3-5a, which prophetically speaks of the death of Jesus Christ hundreds of years in advance; hence, the cross shape in the text.
Homework rules include to use lines of text evenly spaced with no space between them, using a mixture of regular broad-edged nib and monoline for the lettering. I used a Speedball C-3 nib, brown Winsor & Newton Calligraphy Ink, and red Sakura “Gelly Roll” Metallic gel pen on 11 x 14″ Strathmore Sketch paper.
This is my third attempt. Alert readers will find a word in which I formed the first stroke of the wrong letter, then wrote right over it with the correct letter.
Ames’ Guide to Self-Instruction in Practical and Artistic Penmanship, Daniel T. Ames, Author and Pulisher, 1884.
I’m following the above lessons to get better handwriting. I’ve been working on my lowercase letters for the last few days. I normally scribble when I write; as a calligrapher, I could do better than that. This is with a ball point pen on ordinary bond paper. Guidelines were on another paper, illuminated from underneath to use them. This is not calligraphy, but could easily be included in such a piece, especially a certificate, or a love poem. Continue reading
My son and I created this simple video to show how to use the calligrapher’s tool for making guidelines. When you have a small project, like an envelope, and don’t want to rule guidelines yourself, use this see-through tool for “reflecting” guidelines onto the surface – with no erasing afterwards!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxOmDpo5UfM
Phantom-line Lettering Guide
I uploaded a video of my book, Spiritual Calligraphy. Take a tour of the book online!
Spiritual Calligraphy, by Steve Husting
See a video tour of Steve’s Husting’s calligraphy book
Steve Husting’s artWORDS Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/stevehusting
After seeing my book Spiritual Calligraphy, several people wondered where to get prints of the artwork. I opened up a shop on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/stevehusting and prepared several artworks for selling online. It is now open, so please come in and browse! Continue reading
I finally finished my last calligraphy project for the devotional, Spiritual Calligraphy. Here’s the front cover. Just waiting for my copy to arrive so I can examine its quality.
“Spiritual Calligraphy” book by Steve Husting
Here is my latest calligraphy piece added to my series on Mark.
Mark 5:19. Calligraphy by Steve Husting
Lettering was created with a Pilot Parallel pen on Strathmore 11 x 15″ watercolor paper. The background was created with a Letraset LetraJet Air Marker with various colors, after I masked off the center section in the form of a cross.
Both artworks were photographed with a Canon EOS Rebel T3i, transferred to Photoshop CS3, compositted, and retouched (“great things” was changed to red; pale upper-left white highlight added to text, and white glow around “great things”).
