Calligraphy is a rigorous skill. If you want to write it well, you must follow certain rules. Don't be fooled by the so-called "quack calligraphy".
Most of my friends who are new to calligraphy are confused and do things casually, which leads to slow progress. So how to learn it and what is the order? Let’s talk today.
1. Start by learning calligraphy
When learning calligraphy, you first have to choose which calligraphy style. It is usually recommended to start with the one you like, but there is a prerequisite that it must be straight script (Zhuanli). Kai). Why? Because these types of fonts are neat and standardized, with correct font shapes, clear stipples, and strict standards in structure and brushwork, they cannot be too casual. In fact, the purpose of starting from the main script is to lay a solid foundation, practice the stability and strength of strokes, and accurately grasp the structure. These are basic skills that must be mastered. After learning the formal calligraphy, you can then learn cursive writing. It will be more efficient and easier to learn. If you put the cart before the horse, the learning will miss the point and be futile.
2. Start by drawing red and then face it
What should you do after you have selected your favorite calligraphy style? I believe that many of my friends will pick up the pen and start writing immediately, but they will find that the lines they write are crooked, which really undermines their confidence. Copying is a traditional calligraphy method. Copying means describing, and copying means looking at the copybook and writing. This is a process from shallow to deep. At first, tracing the model characters on the red calligraphy book will help you master the control of the pen and become familiar with the characteristics and structure of the strokes. The characteristics of the body, repeated over and over again, slowly become familiar with it and form a kind of muscle memory. After you have a certain foundation, it will be easier to post again. If you write well, you will have enough confidence. Writing and tracing are a mutual process and can be alternated. practise.
3. Letters from big to small
After choosing the copybook, you should pay attention to the size of the writing. Many people like the exquisite small regular script, which is really beautiful, but It is not suitable for beginners, but it is most suitable to choose characters with a height of about 6 centimeters like large regular script. Why? First of all, only in this way can the details of the strokes be fully displayed, which is more helpful for learning calligraphy. The structure space is arranged properly for easy observation; secondly, the sizes of the characters in the works preserved by regular script masters such as Yan Zhenqing in the Tang Dynasty are similar to this, which can be better To feel the calligrapher's writing state; finally, calligraphy pays attention to the use of wrist movement skills, while small characters rely on the force of the fingers and are easy to become rigid. Once you have mastered the basic skills of large characters, learning small characters will naturally be a piece of cake.
4. Writing speed increases from slow to fast
Many people may have this misunderstanding. Those who can write fast are very powerful. In fact, it is not entirely correct. The style of the calligraphy determines the writing speed. For example, in seal script and official script, the writing speed is relatively slow, so that the round and even characteristics of the center strokes can be fully expressed; in regular script, the writing speed is accelerated, and the twists and turns are more obvious; in cursive writing, the writing speed is faster, and the lines are flowing, but There must be no lack of intensity. What about beginners? You don’t have to be too quick at the beginning. Write each stroke honestly and master the strokes well. Once you get familiar with it, you will naturally become faster. If you write very fast at the beginning, the strokes will have no strength at all. That would not be writing calligraphy.