3 Benefits by Good Characters

Special Top Grade Calligraphy and Painting Paper Roll Small: Approx. 50 feet long and 12 inches wide. Use it for your daily practice or group project like this. You can crop it to any length you desire.

Our bamboo paper, also known as Maubian (毛邊) paper, is made from real bamboo. It’s superior to regular paper because bamboo paper absorbs the ink, doesn’t bleed through, and gives a single brush stroke many tones and gradients. 50 sheets/pack. 6 boxes/sheet. It is great for practicing calligraphy and painting.

This felt mat is called “Dianbu” in Chinese and “Shitajiki” in Japanese. This mat provides a comfortable surface to work on that also prevents ink from bleeding on your work surface by aborbing ink.

Do you draw or do calligraphy on a regular basis? Writing calligraphy is a process and you don’t need to know the meaning of characters to do calligraphy. When kids first learn Chinese calligraphy, they model their drawings on historical master calligraphers’ writings even when they have no idea what some of the character or perhaps the entire page means. I see practicing calligraphy as a way to calm myself and relieve  my mind of stress. In this day and age, we want everything to be done boom! boom!-right away. Writing Chinese calligraphy one stroke at a time at a very slow pace could be difficult for many. I’ve seen people take almost a minute to write just one stroke.

First Step
 
When you buy practice papers (for example, http://goodcharacters.com/art/art3630.html) and books of sample calligraphy (for example, http://goodcharacters.com/art/art2242.html), you will see that they both have grids of nine boxes. When you practice writing calligraphy, the first step is to try to copy the characters exactly as the masters wrote them. The grid helps you to place each stroke or dot at the exact place. So don’t write hastily, but do spend time to do it carefully.

Second Step
 
After you are able to write exactly like the sample calligraphy, which might take days or weeks practice, you are ready to test your skill by using the same type of paper but without looking at sample calligraphy. The goal of this step is to be able to write exactly without looking at the samples.

Third Step
 
The next level is to write on a blank paper without a grid. You should be able to write exactly like the master without looking at the sample since you have it in your heart.

Final Step
 
Once you are able to write like the master on any blank paper without looking at the sample, you should be ready to write any character, not just same characters from the sample book, and retain the style and spirit of the master. Since all Chinese characters are based on a limited set of dots and strokes, you can apply what you have learned to any new characters.

Yan Liu
 
Most students start out by learning Yan Zhenqing’s and Liu Gongquan’s calligraphy. (http://goodcharacters.com/art/calligraphy-books.html) Master Yan’s writing (http://goodcharacters.com/art/art4009.html) is thick (fat) and solid. Master Liu’s calligraphy (http://goodcharacters.com/art/art4016.html) is thin but strong. It is said that once you master these two fundamental styles, you have the base for creating your own unique style.

Real Beginners
 
For real beginners, you might want to take the baby first step by getting practice books or papers that have character outlines in red. For example, Book of Sample Calligraphy for Beginners 1 to 4 (http://goodcharacters.com/art/art4027.html) and Beginner’s Calligraphy Practice Paper Set 1 to 3 (http://goodcharacters.com/art/art3388.html).

I hope this helps. If you have any other questions about drawing or calligraphy, please let me know.

The difference is that an ink stone is designed for grinding ink. The ink stone has a deeper end to store water and a shallow flat surface that is commonly used for grinding ink. An ink well is designed to be used with premade ink since the entire surface is the same flat level. However, some people opt for using an ink well to grind their ink as this is ok to do so as well. We appreciate your questions and I hope that I was able to help.

1. Flow Brush Large
2. Flow Brush Extra Large
3. Orchard Bamboo Brush Medium
4. Silver Mountain Brush No. 2
5. Shitajiki Felt Mat Large
6. 3 Inch Engraved Inkstone
7. 6-Brush Brush Rest – Limited

1. Purple Haze No. 3 Brush
2. Special Writer’s Brush Large
3. Beginner’s Calligraphy Practice Paper Set 3
4. Student Grade Inkstick
5. Shitajiki Felt Mat Medium
6. 6-Brush Brush Rest – Limited
7. 3 Inch Engraved Inkstone