Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
🖋️ Calligraphy Starter Kits for Beginners
20
items Soon after I learned calligraphy I just knew… Calligraphy is more than just pretty writing, it’s an art form that blends patience, rhythm, and beauty. Whether you want to try elegant dip pens or playful brush lettering, this curated list of beginner-...benable.com/ijeoma
Sections
6
🖋 Essential Pens & Nibs
🖌 Brush Pens (for Modern Calligraphy)
🧴 Ink & Cartridges
📜 Paper & Practice Pads
🎨 Accessories & Extras
📚Helpful Beginner Tutorials
🖋 Essential Pens & Nibs
These are the backbone of calligraphy. You want classic pens and nibs that give you control, style, and precision as you learn the basics.
This is a modern calligraphy pen with smooth ink flow and interchangeable nibs. Common colors are red and black. (Affiliate link)
Pilot Parallel Calligraphy Pen Set
This set includes multiple nibs and cartridges for exploring different writing styles. (Affiliate link)
Manuscript Calligraphy Compendium Set
Perfect for copperplate or Spencerian scripts, giving you the right writing angle. (Affiliate link)
Speedball Oblique Pen Point Holder
Having a backup set of beginner-friendly steel nibs that balance flexibility with control is essential. (Affiliate link)
Replacement Calligraphy Nibs
🖌 Brush Pens (for Modern Calligraphy)
Perfect for beginners who want a fun, flexible way to practice calligraphy with smooth, flowing strokes.
These are a clear favorite for practicing brush lettering especially because they each come with two tip sizes in one pen. (Affiliate link)
Tombow Dual Brush Pens
This is a small brush pen that’s easy to control which makes it simply perfect for beginners. (Affiliate link)
Pentel Arts Brush Tip Sign Pen
This brand makes smooth-flowing pens that are really great for both practice and finished projects. (Affiliate link)
Faber-Castell PITT Color Artist Brush Pens
🧴 Ink & Cartridges
Reliable inks and refills that make your practice smoother, cleaner, and more enjoyable.
When you're ready to practice with ink, this is a dark, smooth ink that's perfect for dip pen practice. (Affiliate link)
Higgins Eternal Ink
Part of the fun of calligraphy is getting to make your won inks. Just add water to these walnut ink crystals for a beautiful vintage brown ink. (Affiliate link)
Natural Walnut Ink Crystals
These mess-free refills are designed for the Pilot Parallel pens recommended above. (Affiliate link)
Namiki Ink Cartridges
📜 Paper & Practice Pads
Bleed-proof, smooth papers designed to keep your letters crisp while giving you plenty of space to practice.
These pads are made of smooth, bleed-proof paper and are complete with helpful dot grids for the beginning calligrapher. (Affiliate link)
Rhodia Dot Grid Pad
The thin yet durable sheets in this practice book make it ideal for practicing your calligraphy with brush pens. (Affiliate link)
Canson Marker Paper
A workbook is a staple and a must-have for tracing or printing alphabets and flourishes for structured practice. You'll be able to track your progress over time as well. (Affiliate link)
Calligraphy Workbook for Beginners
🎨 Accessories & Extras
Helpful tools that make calligraphy easier, neater, and more enjoyable as you progress.
When diving into the world of inks, having a set like this comes in handy. Each jar holds your ink safely during practice sessions. (affiliate link)
Glass Inkwell Set with Lids
Now if you're more eco-conscious and don't want to use paper, there this light pad tracer. It makes tracing your calligraphy letters easy without wasting paper.
Light Box Tracing Pad for Artists
After a few practice sessions you'll appreciate having this on hand to get your pens fresh and clean for more writing. Regular flushing and cleaning keeps nibs and brushes in good condition for longer life. (affiliate link)
Fountain Pen Cleaning Flush Kit
This helps to give you straight guidelines and to keep your letter slants consistent. (affiliate link)
T-Square for Layout
📚Helpful Beginner Tutorials
Step-by-step videos to help you get those first few strokes of pen on paper.
Here's a very quick intro to calligraphy that covers the basic tools you need and a quick tutorial on beginner lines and strokes that give you a good foundation.
Calligraphy for Absolute Beginners
Here's a primer to learn how to write all your English alphabets in calligraphy. It's a long so take your time going through it.
Learn Calligraphy: A Step-by-Step Calligraphy Tutorial for Beginners
I think this is a helpful video to watch to get a better understanding of fountain pen nibs in general and their place in the art of calligraphy.
Calligraphy Stub Nibs Explained