Hi, Neus @miss.meissa here, and today I'm going to be showing you how to do some calligraphy using brush pens. If you are starting to learn hand lettering and modern calligraphy, don't miss this post in which I will show you how to join strokes to form letters and how to make a complete brush calligraphy alphabet. This alphabet will also serve as a base for script letters in hand lettering. 

Brush pen calligraphy and hand lettering are great for relaxing and expressing your creativity so if you haven't done it yet, I invite you to practice with me.

Supplies

• Archer & Olive Calliograph brush pens. 
• Paper. I recommend Archer & Olive notepad or notebooks (or smooth print paper if you are using the printable practice sheets at the end of this article).

(Feel free to use my affiliate code MISSMEISSA for a 10% off at archerandolive.com).

If you want to see me form the letters and practice the alphabet with me, I invite you to watch this video in which I show what I am going to explain in this article: 

Before anything else, if you are starting to practice hand lettering I recommend you to read my previous article first: How To Learn Calligraphy With Brush Pens - Beginner Hand Lettering Tips And Drills.
I recommend you read it first because in it I talk about some tricks to use brush pens comfortably and I show you the basic strokes that are used to form the letters. 

Once you have practiced all these strokes and can do them with a little confidence, let's put them together to form the letters, shall we?

For example, to form the letter "a "we need to join an oval, which we make with a slightly straighter shape at the end along with a descending stroke that goes up in a little bit of a curve, or an unfinished underturn if you prefer to look at it that way.

If we join an ascending loop with another oval, we get a letter "b". You can also use a descender stroke instead of an ascender loop, there are many variations that can be used when forming letters.
The letter "d" is like the "a" but with a higher ascender or an ascending loop like the one in the picture. And so the rest of the letters.

But better if we see the whole alphabet, so you have it as a guide, right?
The most important thing is that you are relaxed and enjoy the practice. Don't worry if the strokes are a little difficult at first. Just keep practicing with me and be confident and patient. And try to remember the techniques I explained in the previous article!

So, as I said, the letter "a" is formed with an oval and a downstroke with a small curve, something like an unfinished underturn.
The "b" we can start it with a downstroke or with an ascender loop like this and complete it with an oval.
The letter "c" is the easiest, it is made with an unfinished oval.
The "d" starts with an oval that we can complete either with a downstroke ending in a curve or with an ascender loop as in the previous example.
The letter "e" we have practiced in drills, starting with a loop and ending in a half oval.
The "f" can be done in many ways. One of the most complete is to join an ascender loop with a descender loop like these. We could also make a third loop to go out.
In the letter "g" we join an oval with a descender loop like this.
The "h" is very similar to "b" but with an overturn instead of an oval. 

The letter "i" is very simple, a descending stroke that we can end in a curve and a dot. 
The "j" has an ascending stroke at the beginning together with a descending loop and a dot.
The letter "k" consists of a first stroke that can be a simple descender or an ascender loop together with an ascending stroke and a half overturn that can end in a curve.
The "l" is formed by an ascending loop, although it could also be only a descending stroke. And we end it in a curve to join with the next letter.
The letter "m" is formed by a descending stroke together with two overturns.
The "n" has only a descending stroke and an overturn.
For the letter "o" we only have to draw an oval, although we can complete it with a loop.

The "p" is formed by a descending stroke together with an oval or an overturn.
The letter "q" is the same but in reverse order: an oval and a downward stroke.
The "r" is formed by an ascending stroke, a small loop and a descending stroke.
The letter "s" is a little different. We make an ascending stroke, a small loop that we can omit but always marking a little bit the curve and we go down making a kind of an oval.
The "t" is formed by a descending stroke crossed by a horizontal line, like this one.
The letter "u" is simply an underturn that we complete with a descending stroke ending in a curve to join with the next letter.
We get the "v" by joining an underturn with a small loop of exit.

For the "w" we join an underturn together with a second underturn exiting in a loop, as in the "v".
The "x" is formed by a diagonal downstroke crossed by a diagonal upstroke.
The letter "y" is made by joining an underturn with a descending loop.
And finally the "z" is a horizontal stroke, together with a diagonal descending and another horizontal stroke, which we can curve a little. If we want we can add a small horizontal stroke in the middle.

Once you know how to form the letters, you only need to join them together to form words, sentences and compositions. 

But take it easy and start practicing the letters separately. As I said before, don't worry if at the beginning it's a little difficult to make the strokes or if the letters look a little weird. It's a matter of practice and patience. Besides, you will see that while you are concentrating on drawing letters your mind relaxes and stops thinking about the things that stress you, it's fantastic! So enjoy this feeling and the letters will gradually come out better. 

And if you want to have a guide to draw letters, you can download my lowercase alphabet examples for small and large tip brush pens (ideal for the two tips of the calliograph pens).

Click to download now:

Thank you for following this article and practicing with me. I hope you enjoyed doing it!
If you post your practices on your socials, you can tag me, @miss.meissa, and @archerandolive so we can see them. And don’t forget to add #AOShare and #archerandolive 😊

If you want to continue learning, you can take a look at these articles: 
FREE Hand Lettering Workbook + Tips To Improve Your Modern Calligraphy by Kate from @journalwithkate.
Five Tips for Pro Brush Lettering in Your Journal by Missy Briggs @missybriggs.
5 Tips For Maintaining And Improving Your Lettering Practice by Lisa @nolalettering.

You can also check my resources or see more of my creations and videos on my Instagram and Youtube accounts.