Calligraphy Glossary: 24 Terms Explained
The words that show up in calligraphy specs, reviews and how-to guides, explained without jargon. Open any term for the full explanation and what to look for when buying.
- Blackletter script
- A dense, angular broad-edge script, sometimes called gothic or old English, built from narrow, heavily overlapping vertical strokes.
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- Bleedproof paper
- Paper treated or coated so ink stays on the surface instead of soaking through to the back or feathering outward.
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- Bounce lettering
- A brush lettering style that intentionally raises and lowers letters off the baseline for a playful, uneven rhythm.
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- Broad edge
- A flat, chisel-shaped nib that produces thick and thin strokes based on pen angle rather than pressure, used for italic and gothic scripts.
- Read more about broad edgeRelated: Best Parallel Pens
- Brush pen
- A pen with a flexible brush or felt tip that creates thick and thin strokes through pressure, used for brush lettering and hand lettering.
- Read more about brush penRelated: Best Brush Pens for Lettering
- Copperplate script
- A slanted, looped pointed-pen script built on thin hairline upstrokes and heavily shaded downstrokes at a consistent angle.
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- Ductus
- The specific sequence, direction and number of strokes used to build a single letterform, similar to stroke order in handwriting.
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- Faux calligraphy
- A technique for faking the look of calligraphy with an ordinary pen by manually filling in downstrokes to imitate thick and thin contrast.
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- Feathering
- Ink bleeding outward into paper fibers instead of staying crisp, usually caused by thin paper or ink that is too wet.
- Read more about featheringRelated: Best Calligraphy Practice Pads for Daily Drills
- Fudenosuke
- A small, firm-tipped Japanese-style brush pen valued by beginners and detail letterers for its control and modest flex.
- Read more about fudenosukeRelated: Best Fudenosuke-Style Pens
- Guide sheet
- A printed or overlaid sheet of baseline, x-height and slant lines used underneath practice paper to keep lettering consistent.
- Read more about guide sheetRelated: Best Calligraphy Guide Sheets for Consistent Letterforms
- Gum arabic
- A natural plant-based binder added to ink, gouache or watercolor to help pigment flow smoothly and adhere to paper.
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- Iron gall ink
- A traditional dark ink made from iron salts and tannic acid that darkens as it dries and oxidizes on the page.
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- Modern calligraphy
- A looser, more personalized style of pointed pen lettering that borrows the thick and thin contrast of traditional scripts without strict rules.
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- Nib flex
- How far a pointed nib's tines spread apart under pressure, controlling how dramatic the thick and thin contrast in a stroke can be.
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- Nib prep
- Removing the thin factory oil coating from a new pointed nib so ink adheres and flows evenly instead of beading up.
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- Nib tines
- The two flexible metal points at the tip of a pointed pen nib that separate under pressure and channel ink onto the page.
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- Oblique holder
- A pen holder with an offset metal flange that angles a pointed nib for slanted copperplate and modern calligraphy scripts.
- Read more about oblique holderRelated: Best Oblique Pen Holders
- Pointed pen
- A flexible metal nib that swells from hairline to bold shading under finger pressure, used for copperplate and modern calligraphy.
- Read more about pointed penRelated: Best Calligraphy Nib Sets
- Straight holder
- A simple pen holder with the nib set in line with the shaft, commonly used for modern calligraphy, brush lettering and left-handed writers.
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- Sumi ink
- A dense, dark black ink traditionally used in East Asian brush calligraphy, popular with pointed pen letterers for rich, opaque lines.
- Read more about sumi inkRelated: Best Sumi Ink for Calligraphy and Brush Lettering
- Upstroke and downstroke
- The two basic pressure movements in calligraphy, light hairline upstrokes and heavier shaded downstrokes, that together form every letter.
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- Waterproof ink
- Ink formulated to resist smearing or reactivating once dry, useful for layering watercolor, addressing envelopes or mixed media pieces.
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- X-height
- The height of a lowercase letter's main body, excluding ascenders and descenders, used to keep lettering proportions consistent.
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