Connected script letters from A to Z, with the joins that link them into words.
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A cursive calligraphy alphabet is a joined script, such as modern calligraphy, copperplate or Spencerian, where each letter connects to the next and downstrokes are thick while upstrokes are thin. It looks like cursive handwriting, but each letter is written slowly, often in several strokes.
Cursive is a way of writing quickly: the pen stays on the paper and letters flow into each other. Calligraphy is a way of writing beautifully: you slow down, lift the pen between strokes, and control the width of every line.
A cursive calligraphy alphabet combines the two. It keeps the joined, slanted shapes of cursive and adds the contrast of a flexible nib or brush pen. Copperplate and Spencerian were the handwriting models of the 18th and 19th centuries, so their letters look familiar to anyone who learned cursive at school.
For a longer comparison, see cursive vs calligraphy.
Three cursive calligraphy scripts
Modern calligraphy
The loosest of the three. Letters can bounce above and below the baseline, the slant is gentle and flourishes are optional. It is the easiest place to start, with a brush pen or a pointed nib. More on modern calligraphy.
Copperplate
The formal English roundhand, written at a steep 55° slant with strict ovals and swelling shaded downstrokes. It needs a pointed nib, usually in an oblique holder. More on copperplate.
Spencerian
The American business and ornamental script developed by Platt Rogers Spencer in the 1840s. It is lighter than copperplate, with small lowercase letters, tall loops and shading on only some strokes. More on Spencerian script.
How cursive letters join
The joins are what make a cursive alphabet cursive. Most lowercase letters end in an upstroke, and that upstroke becomes the entry stroke of the next letter.
Baseline joins: letters like a, d, i, m and n end at the baseline, and the hairline rises from there into the next letter.
High joins: b, o, v and w end at the x-height, so the next letter starts from the top. These are the joins beginners most often get wrong, because the next letter changes shape slightly.
Loop joins: descending loops in f, g, j, y and z cross back up to the baseline before joining.
In pointed-pen scripts you usually lift the pen at the join, then start the next letter on the hairline. That lift is what keeps each downstroke crisp.
Practice the joins in pairs first (an, ba, oe, ve), then three-letter groups, before writing full words.
Cursive capitals
Cursive capitals are where the scripts differ most. Copperplate capitals use large ovals and a heavy shaded stem. Spencerian capitals are built on a single swelling capital stem stroke with fine flourishes. Modern capitals are freer, and you can design your own.
The capitals people search for most are often the hardest to write well. See the letter pages for cursive F, cursive S, cursive J, cursive T and cursive I, each with stroke order for the capital and lowercase forms.
For cards, gifts and journals: modern calligraphy, with a brush pen or a pointed nib.
For wedding envelopes and formal invitations: copperplate, which reads as classic and formal.
For a fine, historic look: Spencerian, best learned after some pointed-pen experience.
All three use the same pressure pattern, so whatever you learn first makes the others easier. The calligraphy styles guide compares them with every other style, including non-cursive ones like gothic.
Free cursive alphabet sheets
Pick the script you want to learn. Each sheet has traceable letters on guidelines set to that script's slant and proportions.
No. Cursive is joined handwriting written at normal speed with an ordinary pen. Calligraphy is decorative lettering written slowly with a tool that makes thick and thin lines. Some calligraphy styles are cursive (copperplate, Spencerian, modern), and some are not (gothic blackletter is upright and unjoined).
What is the easiest cursive calligraphy to learn?
Modern calligraphy, written with a brush pen. It has the fewest rules about slant and proportion. Learn it first, then move to copperplate if you want a more formal script.
