Have you ever been scrolling through Instagram or tapping past Instagram stories and come upon a “candid” photo of someone’s beautiful latte next to their handwritten notes? Do you ever stop and think, “wow, if only my handwriting looked like that!”
That happened to me dozens of times. I have even been the one to post the candid photos with artsy handwriting and a beautiful coffee. Today’s post is all about the fauxlligraphy movement- what I love about it, how I learned the basics of it and what products you need to get started.
The term “fauxlligraphy” describes the handwriting you see all over Instagram these days. It’s simply the more artistic version of cursive that mimics some of the methods of traditional calligraphy. I personally love fauxlligraphy because it’s significantly more achievable and less time consuming than the real deal. I think calligraphy is one of the most beautiful art forms, and I would love to practice one day, but fauxlligraphy works better for my lifestyle at the moment. I also think the look of the large, swoopy letters that I can make right now fit in better with the trends of today than the formal and traditional look of standard calligraphy.
I learned the basics of fauxlligraphy when I became interested in card making during the many weeks we were out for snow during my high school days. I spent many hours on Pinterest browsing card ideas and envelope addressing methods, and a common theme kept occurring. All the examples I would see had the most beautiful round, swoopy handwriting, and I had to achieve it. I started by copying the handwriting I found on my favorite envelope designs and practicing those letters with what I thought the other letters would look like in the same font.
Honestly, the premise of hand lettering lies in one simple rule. Write in cursive and make large strokes on the downward lines and smaller strokes on the upward lines of letters. That’s the main idea, and once you can manage that easily, you’re set!
I copied card designs and followed hand lettering charts that appeared on Pinterest searches. During this practice, I was always using Sharpies! I think Sharpies are the best pens you could possibly practice with because they are smooth and the black is easily blendable (aka hard to see if you went back over one line a dozen times!). I had a set of almost every Sharpie ever made, and it was one of my most used items during the winter. What really helped me grow? Creating a Pinterest board with my swoon worthy goals for hand lettering! Follow me on Pinterest if you aren’t already.
After I had dabbled in hand lettering for a bit, I received a couple of workbook type books to help me grow my skills. I recommend both equally!
Amazing book + pretty to display
I practiced with these on long car rides and free moments at home, and I finally found “my font.” Now I am able to write anything I want using the lettering style that I like and don’t have to follow an exact copy of the letter or phrase I want. This allows me to doodle on my notes in class, scrap pieces of paper at meetings and on cards for friends. I am most thankful for this hobby of mine while I am working on sending out my save the dates over the next few days.
I have upgraded my pen use for certain projects, but I still find sharpies or regular ink pens to be what I use most for random scribbles and note headers. These pens are what I use for addressing envelopes or making special cards! They work really well, but I recommend getting them after you have the general idea of hand lettering.
I hope this post was helpful and answered all your questions regarding my handwriting! It’s not perfect or pinterest worthy by any means, but it brings me joy! Let me know if you have any questions through my Instagram!
* Note: this post includes affiliate links. Purchasing items from these links potentially results in a small percentage of money going toward my efforts to continue making content for this blog. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and each item I share with an affiliate link has been bought and tested myself.
