How many of you have had formal training in Calligraphy?

Hi Tasha,

I have an arts education background and formal graphic design education and work experience, and in the past year and a half have sought formal training both through my guild and private classes and mentoring.

Nothing is "necessary" as you say, but all of the above certainly helps.

Instruction can teach you many things you may miss or be otherwise unaware of while learning independently—and they can teach you things an order of magnitude faster than you can learn on your own, especially when you run into trouble. Many of the calligraphers posting here experiencing difficulties that last for weeks or even months could be straightened out in a matter of minutes by an experienced instructor.

All that being said, you asked specifically about researching online.

Computers have myriad uses, and you can certainly look up countless digitized manuscripts online in detail and completeness that beats most published books' photos. However, most information about calligraphy—particularly the information you need to advance past the basics—simply isn't available electronically, and even if it were, it would be very difficult to assimilate.

Calligraphy isn't just about knowing—it's about doing, and getting the feedback from doing. Finding a mentor online that can provide good feedback on your work—and being able to supply them with enough information electronically about your work to provide said feedback—is almost impossible.

I would personally join your local guild and try to find others in your area that may be able to provide instruction—but admittedly there may not be much. If you are frustrated with the options available locally, I would urge you to consider taking mail-based instruction if you are looking for formal education on how to improve your work.

/r/Calligraphy Thread