Looking for a fun and easy lettering style that doesn't take much time? Look no further than faux calligraphy! This style of lettering, sometimes called "fauxligraphy", is great for beginners and only takes 5 minutes!
This technique is not only fun, but also teaches you the fundamentals of brush lettering. In this tutorial, you'll learn the difference between downstrokes and upstrokes, and how they affect your lettering.
What You Need
A pen or marker. I used the bullet end of a Tombow Dual Brush Pen, but any pen or pencil with a fine tip will do.
Paper. Regular printer paper is fine, but I am using a Bee Paper Marker Art Journal, which is very smooth and helps the pen glide easier.
Let's Start!
Begin by writing a word in cursive. You can be as fancy as you want with this, using a monoline calligraphy style if you want. I like to spread out my letters a bit and make them bouncy.
Next, thicken the downstrokes. To do this, draw a line to the right (or left depending on how you shape your letters) of each stroke that you wrote going down. If this seems confusing, use your finger to trace the word and add a line each time your hand goes down.
The basic rule in calligraphy is that your downstrokes (when you write down) are thick, and your upstrokes (when you write up) are thin.
I was really confused about the whole downstroke thing for the first little while, so it is totally okay if you don't fully understand what I'm talking about. Try writing the same word as me until you get the hang of when to go thick and thin.
Once you have the basic outline of your word, you can go ahead and add whatever you want! My favourite thing to do is just colour in the downstrokes.
That's it! Have fun decorating your letters as much as you want, adding shadows and other colours. This lettering style is so easy to make your own!
I hope you enjoyed learning how to do faux calligraphy. Keep practicing this technique, and soon you'll be ready to learn the basics of brush lettering!
