Calligraphy Basic Strokes
Eight strokes, a little pressure, and you have the parts of almost every lowercase letter.
Updated
The basic calligraphy strokes are the upstroke, downstroke, overturn, underturn, compound curve, oval, ascending loop and descending loop. Almost every lowercase letter in pointed-pen and brush scripts is built from them, so practicing these eight strokes is the fastest way to better letters.
Why strokes come before letters
In calligraphy, a letter is not written in one continuous motion the way handwriting is. It is built from separate strokes, often with the pen lifted between them. A lowercase "n" is an overturn followed by a compound curve. An "a" is an oval followed by an underturn. If each stroke is clean, the letter is clean.
Strokes also isolate the main skill: pressure. A calligraphy stroke is thick where the pen moves down and thin where it moves up. Practicing that change on simple shapes is easier than trying to manage it inside a whole word.
Pressure and pen angle
With a brush pen or flexible pointed nib, the rule is heavy on the way down, light on the way up. Press so the tip flexes on downstrokes. Lift until only the point touches on upstrokes.
Hold a brush pen at a low angle, roughly 45 degrees to the paper, so you can press the side of the tip. With a pointed nib, keep the nib in line with the direction of the downstroke so both tines spread evenly.
Go slowly. Speed makes pressure changes sudden and hard to control.
The eight strokes, one by one
1. Upstroke
A thin line moving up and to the right, along the slant. Use very light pressure so only the tip touches. Upstrokes connect letters and form the entry strokes of letters such as i, u and r.
Common mistakes: pressing too hard, so the line is thick, or moving too slowly, so it wobbles. Upstrokes can be a little quicker than downstrokes, with a steady, light touch.
2. Downstroke
A thick, straight line pulled down along the slant. Apply full pressure at the top and keep it even all the way to the baseline. This is the stem of letters such as i, t, l and p.
Common mistakes: pressure that fades halfway down, a stroke that curves instead of staying straight, and downstrokes that are not parallel to each other.
3. Overturn
A thin upstroke that rounds over the top and turns into a thick downstroke. Start light, curve over at the waistline, then add pressure as you head down. It forms the arches in n, m, v and the start of x.
Common mistakes: a pointed top instead of a round one, or adding pressure before the turn, which makes the top heavy.
4. Underturn
The overturn upside down: a thick downstroke that rounds at the baseline and becomes a thin upstroke. Release pressure gradually as you go around the bottom. It forms the bottom of u, w and t, and the exit of many letters.
Common mistakes: releasing pressure too late, so the curve is thick, or too early, so the downstroke tapers before it reaches the baseline.
5. Compound curve
An overturn and an underturn joined in one stroke: thin, thick, thin. The thick part sits in the middle, parallel to the slant. It appears in n, m, h and y.
Common mistakes: an uneven shape where the top curve is larger than the bottom, or a thick part that drifts off the slant. Practice the overturn and underturn separately first.
6. Oval
A counterclockwise loop, thick on the left side and thin on the right. Start slightly right of the top, move left and down with pressure, round the bottom, and come up light to close the shape. It is the body of a, c, d, e, g, o and q.
Common mistakes: ovals that are too round or tilted off the slant, and a gap or a blob where the stroke closes. Aim for an even, egg-like shape that leans with your slant lines.
7. Ascending loop
A thin stroke that rises from the waistline to the ascender line, loops at the top, then comes down thick along the slant. It forms the tall parts of b, h, k, l and f.
Common mistakes: a loop that is too wide or too narrow, and a downstroke that does not cross the upstroke at the waistline. Keep the loop slim and the downstroke straight.
8. Descending loop
A thick downstroke that drops below the baseline to the descender line, loops at the bottom, and returns as a thin upstroke. It forms the tails of g, j and y.
Common mistakes: releasing pressure too late, so the loop is thick, and a loop that leans in a different direction from the rest of the letter.
The same strokes in copperplate
The eight strokes are the same across pointed-pen scripts, but the proportions change. In copperplate the x-height is small, the ascender and descender spaces are tall, and every downstroke leans at about 55 degrees from the baseline. The thick shades are narrower and the hairlines finer than with a brush pen.
If you are learning copperplate, practice the strokes on copperplate guidelines from the start, so your hand gets used to the steep slant. The copperplate guide covers the style in full.
How to practice
- Print a drill sheet. The free sheet below has every stroke in grey to trace, with blank guidelines to repeat it.
- Trace, then copy. Trace each stroke a few times, then repeat it on the blank lines without a guide.
- One stroke per row. Fill a row with the same stroke before moving on. Keep the spacing even.
- Lift between strokes. Reset your hand and pressure each time.
- Check after each row. Look at slant, thickness and spacing. Fix one thing on the next row.
Beginner drills: the 8 basic strokes
The beginner drills page also has a copperplate drill sheet with a 7 mm x-height and slant lines.
Once you are writing letters, a few rows of strokes at the start of each session still make a useful warm-up.
From strokes to letters
When the strokes feel steady, start combining them. Letters that share strokes are easiest to learn together:
- i, u, t, w: upstrokes, downstrokes and underturns.
- n, m, h: overturns and compound curves.
- a, c, d, g, o, q: the oval, plus a downstroke or underturn.
- b, k, l, f: the ascending loop.
- g, j, y: the descending loop.
Print a lowercase sheet from the alphabet practice sheets, and see the stroke order for each letter on the letters A to Z pages.
Strokes in broad-edge calligraphy
Broad-edge styles such as italic and gothic work differently. The nib is held at a fixed angle, and the stroke is thick or thin according to its direction, not pressure. They have their own basic strokes, such as straight stems, diagonals, arches and the "o" shape at the nib angle. The eight strokes on this page apply to pointed-pen and brush scripts.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my thick strokes uneven?
Usually because the pressure changes during the stroke. Press fully at the top and hold that pressure until the bottom. Going slower helps.
Why are my upstrokes shaky?
Light pressure with slow movement often makes a wobbly line. Keep the touch light but move a little more steadily, using your arm rather than only your fingers.
Do I need to practice strokes forever?
No, but many calligraphers keep using them as a warm-up. Once you are comfortable, a few rows at the start of a session are enough.