Calligraphy is a form of writing that dates back hundreds of years. Many people and cultures have looked at calligraphy as an art form, and people of all ages have worked to master the beautiful writing style that has been used to document countless historical documents.
There are a lot of people that believe that the art form of calligraphy is dead, but this could not be farther from the truth. Calligraphy is still a beautiful writing and art form, and there are many people that still enjoy learning and mastering this writing style.
There are many books and calligraphy sets that are available on the market to assist people who want to learn this form of artful writing, but just like everything else, there are good sets that truly help people in their desires, and there are sets that are not as helpful or useful.
Here, you will find out what it takes for a calligraphy set to be a solid purchase, and we have even went so far as to review a few of the top calligraphy sets, on the market, to show you the pros and cons of each, and give you an idea of what they have to offer you, if you choose to purchase one and further the art of calligraphy.
What Makes or Breaks a Solid Calligraphy Set?
There are hundreds of calligraphy sets available on the market, but there are a few essential things that is needed to make it quality. For instance, there are different styles of calligraphy, and there are different pen types that are used to write in calligraphy. A real set should have at least the basics to get started, like:
- Ink
- Pens
- Instruction book
It might sound redundant, but there are some sets that are meant for people that have tried calligraphy, and they might not include an instruction book on how to write calligraphy. Plus, regardless of your level of technique in calligraphy, no instruction book is exactly the same, and therefore, you should know the level of the instruction book that comes with the set you are considering.
Other than the basic pen, the art of calligraphy requires different types of strokes and pen tips to be effective. A quality calligraphy set will provide you with all of the different types of tips used in calligraphy to keep from stunting your ability to create beautiful calligraphy art by not providing you all of the necessary tools. In the following section, we have found three quality calligraphy sets that will provide everything you need to get started or continue honing your calligraphy ability.
Calligraphy Set Revews
Mont Marte Calligraphy Set
The Mont Marte Calligraphy Set has a lot to offer anyone that is wanting to start learning calligraphy. Not only does it provide you with all of the pens, tips, and inks needed to write calligraphy, it also has an instruction booklet and exercise booklet to help teach and practice the art. The instruction booklet provides step by step instructions on how to write each individual letter, making it easier to learn calligraphy and perfect it one letter at a time.
The exercise booklet is designed to give extensive exercises to let you refine and practice your calligraphic writing skills, with proven techniques. Mont Marte understands that calligraphy writing is a form of art, and to help encourage this aspect of the writing, they have provided 20 different ink cartridges to provide hours of fun and practice. They provide 5 cartridges of blue and black ink for traditional writing, but the other 10 cartridges are a mixture of yellow, brown, green, orange, and pink to help inspire the artistic side of the writing art.
You will get a total of four different classic style calligraphy pens that are capable of being refilled with the ink cartridges provided in the set, and you can hone your skills by using the five different nib grades that fit snugly into the provided pens. The different grades of the nibs are extra broad, extra fine, broad, medium, broad, and fine. This set has been helpful for beginners up to advanced calligraphy writers, and it has even appeared on several best seller lists, like Drawing Pens, Calligraphy Pens, and Arts, Crafts & Sewing.
Pros:
- Provides multiple classic style calligraphy pens
- Provides an introduction book which includes letter-by-letter instruction
- Provides exercise booklet to help refine and practice calligraphy with actual exercises
- Has five different class nib grades to provide different strokes
- Ranked in multiple best seller lists
Cons:
- Simplistic set-not designed for higher level calligraphers
- Difficult loading pen with ink
- 31pc set includes: 4 refillable calligraphy pens, 5 nibs, 20 ink cartridges, ink pen...
- Create a range of lettering styles
- Traditional nibs ideal for Roman, Round Hand, Italic, Gothic, Uncial and more
- Practice skills with included exercise booklet
- Great gift set, comes with everything needed to create
Pilot Enso Plumix Hand Lettering Calligraphy Set
This beautiful calligraphy set is manufactured by Pilot, and it has an emphasis on enso creative design. “Enso” means circle, and in different cultures, it symbolizes elegance, strength, and enlightenment. This calligraphy set was designed to help inspire beautiful calligraphy handwriting, and it comes with everything needed to increase one’s skill. This set focuses on “plume” or feature like strokes that early pens use to have.
This set comes with three different colored pens, and it has different colored ink cartridge refills to allow you to experience your artsy side. It is an excellent addition to anyone’s art materials that already has some idea of calligraphy writing. The calligraphy set can allow you to create beautiful invitations with a natural calligraphy touch for parties, announcements, and even weddings.
It does come with a short guide book on different tips for these particular pens, but this is not a calligraphy set designed for beginner calligraphers. It doesn’t provide any step-by-step instructions to teach you the different lettering in calligraphy, but it does provide everything for those who have knowledge to create beautiful creations and art work.
You will be able to convert your pens to different colored inks with the provided ink converter, and some of the colors that the ink refills come in are pink, black, green, purple, blue, and navy. The pens have a unique transparent look that give them an elegant and fun look, unlike many other simple calligraphy pens, and they still work just as well as traditional looking pens, and the ink flow is close to that of modern fountain pens, which makes the ink come out smoother.
Pros:
- 3 sized nibs made of italic steel
- Creative transparent pen design
- 15 ink refills
- Ink converted provided
- Multiple color inks
Cons:
- Needs a lettering book
- No instructions on given resources to assist in learning
- Not designed for beginners
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Complete Calligraphy Pen Starter Kit For Beginners w/Instruction Booklet!
This calligraphy set was designed and caters to the needs of beginners who are just starting out with the wonderful art of calligraphy writing. It is manufactured by NicoleCrafts, and the kit includes everything for calligraphy. It has a total of four pens that you can pick and choose from, and it has four different nibs that can fit onto any of the provided calligraphy pens. To ensure hours of calligraphy writing fun, this calligraphy set offers 16 refill cartridges that are easy to switch out, regardless of which pen or nib you prefer to use.
This calligraphy set even comes with an instruction book for calligraphy that is catered towards the beginner calligrapher. It provides different tips and project ideas that can help you get started in the beautiful world of calligraphy writing. After working through the basic techniques in the instruction book, you can take your new found skills and follow your own unique projects, like creating announcements, invitations, and beautifully hand written cards for any occasion.
Pros:
- Designed for beginner calligraphers
- Includes pens and refill inks
- Provides easy to understand instruction guide
- Offers basic techniques of calligraphy
Cons:
- Some ink flow problems
- Needs more step-by-step instructions
- This complete starter kit was designed with the beginner in mind
- Features all the tools needed to learn and practice the art of calligraphy.
- This kit includes a project and instruction book that features the basic techniques
- Use your new calligraphy skills to make handmade cards, anouncements, invitations and...