Calligraphy Supplies
What each calligraphy tool does, which ones you need first, and which can wait.
The basic calligraphy supplies are a pen (a brush pen, a dip pen with a nib, or a broad-edge pen), ink if your pen needs it, and smooth paper with guidelines. To start, you need only a small brush pen, smooth paper and a printed practice sheet.
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What you need first
- A small, firm brush pen. The easiest tool for learning thick and thin strokes. No ink bottle, no nib to clean.
- Smooth paper. Rough paper frays brush tips and catches nibs.
- Guidelines. Free printable practice sheets, or your own from the guideline maker.
That is enough for your first weeks of modern calligraphy or brush lettering. Everything else depends on the style you want to learn.
Calligraphy tools by type
Brush pens
Brush pens have a flexible tip that makes thick lines when you press and thin lines when you lighten up. They come with small or large tips, firm or soft, and with water-based or alcohol-based ink. They are the most common starting tool. Read the brush pens guide.
Nibs and holders (dip pens)
A dip pen is a holder with a removable metal nib that you dip in ink. Flexible pointed nibs are used for copperplate, Spencerian and modern calligraphy. A straight holder holds the nib in line with the handle, and an oblique holder sets it off to the side to make steep slants easier. See calligraphy nibs and dip pens.
Broad-edge pens and markers
Broad-edge tools have a flat tip and make italic, gothic and other broad-edge hands. Options include broad-edge dip nibs, chisel-tip markers and cartridge pens such as the Pilot Parallel. Some fountain pens come with italic or stub nibs.
Ink
Brush pens and cartridge pens hold their own ink. Dip pens need bottled ink, which should be fluid enough to flow but not so thin that it feathers on paper. See calligraphy ink.
Paper
Smooth paper matters more than most beginners expect. It keeps brush tips from fraying and lets nibs glide without catching or bleeding. See calligraphy paper.
Kits
A beginner kit can be a simple way to get a matched set of tools. The quality varies widely. See beginner calligraphy kits for what to look for.
Match the tool to the style
| Style | Family | Tool | Slant | Ratio | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modern calligraphy | Pointed pen | brush pen or pointed nib | 80° | 1.5:1:1.5 | 2/5 |
| Copperplate | Pointed pen | oblique holder + flexible pointed nib | 55° | 3:2:3 | 4/5 |
| Spencerian | Pointed pen | oblique holder + fine flexible nib | 52° | 3:1:2 | 5/5 |
| Brush lettering | Brush | brush pen (small or large tip) | upright | 1:1:1 | 2/5 |
| Gothic (blackletter) | Broad-edge | broad-edge nib or chisel marker | upright | 0.4:1:0.4 | 3/5 |
| Italic | Broad-edge | broad-edge nib or chisel marker | 83° | 0.7:1:0.7 | 3/5 |
| Faux calligraphy | Monoline | any pen | upright | 1:1:1 | 1/5 |
If you are not sure which style you want, read calligraphy for beginners first.
What can wait
- Large sets of nibs. Start with one or two nibs and learn how they behave.
- Specialty inks and metallic colors. Plain black ink is easiest to learn with.
- Expensive paper. Smooth printer paper is fine for practice. Save good paper for finished pieces.
- Lightboxes and accessories. Useful later, but not needed to learn the strokes.
How we choose what to recommend
Our rule is that a product guide is only published after we have bought the products in it and written with them, so every recommendation comes with our own writing samples.
Read more in how we test and our affiliate disclosure.