Finger, Wrist and Arm Movements in Calligraphy

Using a combination of these movements can help you to achieve a variety of calligraphy and flourishing techniques, as you can extend your range of motion with ease.

This means bigger and smoother strokes when writing letters and flourishing!

In this blogpost, I’ll break down these three types of movements, when to use them, and how to practise them. At the end of this blogpost, there’s a link to download a free set of worksheets to practise the drills I’ve mentioned, so don’t miss that!

Let’s examine these movements from the smallest to biggest range of motion:

• Finger Movement

• Wrist Movement

• Arm Movement

Finger Movement in Calligraphy

Finger movement involves moving only the fingers, while the hand and wrist stay still. The side of the hand and forearm remains planted on the table.

Hence, the range of motion is small and restricted to how far the fingers can stretch out. My finger movement is restricted to the space between the ascender and descender lines, in an upward and downward motion.

When to use finger movement: Lowercase letters, small details and delicate strokes

How to practise finger movement: Hairline upstrokes and shaded downstrokes as far as your fingers can reach. You can also practise with wedge strokes, inverse wedge strokes and stitch strokes. These will help you with smoother transitions from hairlines to shaded strokes, and vice versa.

Wrist Movement in Calligraphy

Wrist movement involves moving the wrist, while fingers mostly stay still. The side of the hand rests lightly on the table for stability, and glides along as the wrist moves. The forearm remains planted on the table.

The range of motion is larger, but still restricted to how far your wrist can move. My wrist movement allows me to go beyond the ascender and descender space, and move horizontally when flourishing.

You can also extend the range of motion of your wrist movement slightly by moving the forearm. Even when the forearm remains planted on the table, you can use the fleshy part of the forearm to help it move it in place.

When to use wrist movement: Uppercase letters, flourishes

How to practise wrist movement: Oval drills in clockwise and counterclockwise directions. You can also practise oval drills that are increasing and decreasing in size. Oval drills are especially helpful for creating smooth flourishes, since flourishes are based on ovals.

Arm Movement in Calligraphy

Arm movement involves pivoting at the shoulder to move the whole arm, while fingers and wrist stay still. The side of the little finger or hand rests lightly on the table for stability, and glides along as the arm moves. You can lift your forearm, or rest it lightly on the table for extra stability.

The range of motion is the largest, and restricted to how far your arm can stretch. With arm movement, it’s easy for me to make smooth strokes across an entire piece of A4 paper.

When to use arm movement: Large flourishes, offhand / ornamental flourishing to create birds and feathers

How to practise arm movement: Infinity loops in clockwise and counterclockwise directions, as large as your paper can fit. Ribbon drills are also helpful as they are commonly used in flourishing.

Additional Tips on Movement in Calligraphy

When using wrist and arm movement, it’s important to take note of your pen angle against the table. It should be approximately 45° – holding it too upright makes it easy for the nib to catch on paper. This creates more issues with the nib flicking and snagging on paper, preventing it from gliding smoothly.

Another tip for smooth movements is to maintain a light touch. The nib should touch the paper lightly, just enough to deposit ink. If you apply too much pressure, it’ll be difficult for the nib to glide along and create smooth strokes in wrist and arm movement.

Lastly, you may find yourself over-analysing when to use which type of movement at the start. But with more applied practice with writing words and flourishing, it will come naturally to you! You’ll be able to switch between the three movements smoothly and without conscious effort.

For example, I will naturally switch from finger to wrist, or wrist to arm, once I feel that I am reaching the limit of my range of motion. Sometimes, I also use finger and wrist movement simultaneously – finger movement can add an extra bit of flexibility if the flourish I’m making is just slightly out of the range of my wrist movement.

So don’t feel unnecessarily bogged down with these movements. These are guidelines and techniques that you can use to help you in calligraphy, not restrict you!