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Copperplate

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Want to learn pointed pen Copperplate?

Here’s a handy page of resources to learn Copperplate at your own pace & time!

What are the rules of Copperplate?

(First of all, check out this page if you need help with pointed pen supplies.)

Copperplate (or any traditional calligraphy script) has standard rules on letter ratios and slant.

Guidelines help you keep to these standard rules consistently, so you can achieve a neat and elegant script.

They are especially important for beginners. Guidelines help you to notice and fix most beginner problems from the onset, as you start building muscle memory. It’s much better to build muscle memory correctly, instead of undoing all the practice and fixing mistakes later on.

With practice over time, you may be able to write quite consistently without guidelines. Even then, it’s still good practice to use guidelines regularly.

So if following guidelines feels stifling or intimidating, remember that guidelines are not your enemy. They are meant to help you!

COPPERPLATE GUIDELINES —

A basic set of Copperplate guidelines includes 6 horizontal lines and a series of parallel slant lines.

X-height, commonly ranging from 4mm to 8mm, is the height of a lowercase letter x.

The x-height is used to determine the heights of the ascender and descender spaces. The common ratios for ascender : x-height : descender are 2:1:2 and 3:2:3.

Slant lines, commonly ranging from 53° to 55°, guides the angle at which letters slant forward.

For beginners, I recommend a 6mm x-height, 2:1:2 ratio and 55° slant. These are what I use in my digital worksheets too.

Check out this article where I explain Copperplate guidesheets in greater detail, and how you can create them yourself.

Or get this free package of Copperplate guidesheets for your practice! it includes various x-heights, ratios and layouts.

free resource —

Copperplate Guidesheets

Full package of PDF guidesheets for your pointed pen practice! Includes portrait and landscape practice sheets with calligraphy guidelines in multiple ratios, x-height and layouts.

Copperplate Basic Strokes

The beauty of Copperplate is that anyone can learn how to write, even if you think your handwriting isn’t great!

Calligraphy is like learning to draw simple shapes and lines, then piecing them together to form letters.

Both lowercase and uppercase letters are made up of basic strokes and some variations.

To get started, Copperplate in 8 Strokes is a free email course to learn the 8 basic strokes of the lowercase alphabet.

free email course —

Copperplate in 8 strokes

Your first step in learning pointed pen Copperplate!

Learn the 8 basic strokes of lowercase Copperplate through 8 emails sent directly to your inbox. Each email includes detailed explanations, diagrams and traceable worksheets for you to learn and practice.

At the end of 3 weeks, you’ll be able to write simple letters and at least two words — minimum & hippy!

Writing the Alphabet in Copperplate

To take your learning another step further, check out my lowercase and uppercase Copperplate worksheets.

Beyond simply traceable worksheets, think of them as textbooks!

They include detailed explanations & diagrams of each letter, breaking down spacing, ductus, shading, variations etc. These in-depth and often-overlooked details help you learn Copperplate, then improve over time for a more consistent and elegant script.

And get a 15% bundle discount if you buy both sets of worksheets!