Troubleshooting: The most common problems when starting with modern calligraphy | Troubleshooting: the most well-known problems when starting modern calligraphy.
Do you recognize this? You have listened carefully to our tips and have all the materials at home, but as soon as you start writing... you wonder what you are doing wrong. It seemed so easy, just put pen to paper and write, but you get frustrated before you even have a chance to practice your calligraphy letters. Grrr, this is not what you hoped for.
Don't be discouraged!
Believe me, I recognize the frustration. It can be so disheartening that sometimes you'd rather put your pen away and just not touch it again. But wait a moment before you do this. If I ever learned it, then you can learn it too, right? Really, I promise, you just need to gain a little more knowledge. And I happen to be able to help you with that today!
Struggle #1: Is no ink coming out of your pen?
Solution 1
Have you cleaned your nib before you started calligraphy? Every new nib has a protective layer that must be removed so that your nib can absorb the ink properly. How do you see that this might be your problem? Is your ink in droplets on your nib and can you still see a lot of the nib itself when you dip it in the ink? Or is the ink around the nib like a thick ink blanket? If they are droplets, you will have to scrub the areas of the nib that are visible with a paper towel. This can simply be done with the ink on the nib, you do not need to purchase any special cleaning products. Simply repeat this until the ink is evenly distributed over your entire nib and try writing again!
Solution 2
If you have used a nib before and have not cleaned it properly, it may also be that ink residue is left on your pen that hinders the flow of ink. Clean your nib thoroughly with an (old) toothbrush!
Struggle #2: Is your pen scratching the paper?
Solution 1
There's a good chance you're not holding your pen properly. If the nib of your pen is not pointed towards the top of your paper, the nib will start to scratch on a thick line, causing very wobbly lines.
Solution 2
Do you have the scratches right at the lines up? Then you press too hard on your nib. The pressure on the upward lines should be minimal, so that the nib can really 'slide' over the paper. When you press too hard, you dive INTO your paper, as it were, and that causes the scratchy result. Just try to reduce the pressure, almost until you barely have any pressure when you raise a line. Yes, you will wobble and shiver, but believe me, this is the best way to train your thin lines. After sufficient training you will become more stable, you will shiver less AND you will have those beautiful thin lines. That's what you ultimately want, right?
Struggle #3 Can't you see the difference between thick and thin lines?
This struggle has some overlap with struggle #2. Just for the record: The upward lines should be thin and the downward lines thick.
Do you only get very thick lines? If you press too hard on your nib on the lines that go up, you force (too) much ink to flow out of the pen and you will not get a difference in line thickness. So take off that pressure and try again without that heavy pressure. This can take a while to master and you may wobble (as mentioned in struggle #2), but it really takes practice.
Are you correct that you get very thin lines and no thick lines downwards? Then it's up to you to apply a little more pressure to the downward lines. You should NOT reduce the pressure, but increase it! Don't you dare do this? Trust me: your nib can take more than you think! Just try it out.
Are you still unable to figure it out after this blog?
I'm hosting a live troubleshooting session via a secret YouTube link for our email list. Would you like to be able to ask your question about modern calligraphy? Then make sure you are registered for our email list! For the session, all you need to do is have an internet connection AND be subscribed to our email list to attend!
Freebie: FREE live troubleshooting session with Joyce! Register by email and you will receive the unique link in your inbox.
Do you recognize this? You've listened carefully to our tips and have all the materials at home, but as soon as you start writing… you wonder what you're doing wrong. It seemed so easy, just put the pen on paper and write, but you get frustrated before you can practice your calligraphy letters. Grrr, this is not what you hoped for.
Don't be discouraged!
Believe me, I recognize the frustration. It can be so daunting that every once in a while you prefer to put your pen away and just stop touching it. But wait a moment before doing this. If I ever learned it, can't you learn it too? Really, I promise you, you just need to get a little more knowledge. And let me help you with that today!
Struggle #1: Not getting ink from your pen?
Solution 1
Did you clean your nib before you started calligraphy? Each new nib has a protective layer that must be removed so that your nib can absorb the ink nicely. How do you know that this might be your problem? Is your ink lying in droplets on your nib and do you still see a lot of the nib itself when you dip it in the ink? Or does the ink lie around the nib like a thick blanket of ink? If it is droplets, you will have to scrub the spots of the nib that are visible with a kitchen paper. This is simply possible with the ink on the nib, you do not need to get any special cleaning products. Simply repeat this until the ink is evenly distributed all over your nib and try writing again!
Solution 2
It could also be, if you have used a nib before and have not cleaned it properly, that there is ink residue on your pen that is interfering with the ink flow. Clean your nib thoroughly with an (old) toothbrush!
Struggle #2: Does your pen scratch the paper?
Solution 1
Chances are you are not holding your pen properly. If the nib of your pen is not pointing to the top of your paper, the nib will start to scratch at a thick line, which results in very wobbly lines.
Solution 2
Did it scratch the lines up? Then you're pressing too hard on your nib. At the lines up, the pressure should be minimal so that the nib can really "slide" over the paper. When you press too hard, you dive, as it were, IN your paper and that causes the scratchy result. Just try reducing the pressure almost until you barely put pressure when you raise a line. Yes, then you will wobble and shiver, but believe me, this is the best way to train your thin lines. After sufficient training you will become more stable, you will shake less AND you will have those nice thin lines. That's what you want in the end, right?
Struggle #3 Can't see the difference between thick and thin lines?
This struggle has some overlap with struggle #2. Just for the record: The lines up should be thin and the lines down thick.
Do you only get very thick lines? When you press too hard on your nib at the lines that go up, you force (too) much ink to flow out of the pen and you get no difference in line width. So take that pressure off and try again without that heavy pressure. This can take a while to master and you can start to wiggle (as mentioned in struggle #2), but it's really necessary to practice.
Are you getting very thin lines up and no thick lines down? Then it's up to you to put a little more pressure on the down lines. You should NOT reduce the pressure, but increase it! Don't you dare? Trust me: your nib can take more than you think! Just give it a try.
Does it still not work after this blog?
I am organizing a live troubleshoot session via a secret YouTube link for our email list. Would you like to be able to ask your question about modern calligraphy? Then make sure you are registered for our e-mail list! For the session you only need to have an internet connection AND be registered in our email list to attend!
Freebie: FREE live troubleshoot session with Joyce! Register by email and you will receive the unique link in your inbox.
