Course Content

On-Line Calligrafée Art School  Course Content

As explained on the Home page, Jane’s On-Line Calligrafée Art School is organised in modules of six lessons, and each module will lead you, step by step, to the creation of a beautiful project! As the access to a module is limited to 12 months, it is recommended to follow one module at a time, only signing-up for a new module when you have completed the preceeding one (which may, of course, take less that 12 months, if you are enthusiastic!) as you will lose access to the ongoing module when you register for a new one (but will keep all the handouts…).

Material for drawing and coloring :  pencil, eraser, sketch-paper and colored pencils, watercolor or gouache paints.

Material for Calligraphy : a ruler, and either a calligraphy dip-pen with ink (or to use with gouache paint – more about this in the video!) or a calligraphy felt-tip marker.

Module One —  An Illuminated Book-Mark

Class 1-1:  The Lombard Letters, the basis of our first illuminated initials.  Simple decoration and motifs to enliven your letters.  Two handouts.

Class 1-2:  Calligraphy in the Humanist Style, the basics of pen-angle, pen-strokes and letterforms in the minuscule alphabet.  Practicing with pleasure and an eye on balance, beauty and rhythm.  Two Handouts.

Class 1-3:  Drawing Fantasy Creatures  — a unicorn and a dragon.   Two Handouts.

Class 1-4:  Calligraphy continued, using our minuscule alphabet to write words and names.  Letter-spacing, special combinations of letters, flourishes with the pens. One  Handout.

Class 1-5:  Celtic Interlace Border Design.  A very simple way to create a complicated-looking rectangle of knotwork!  Very fun and relaxing to do, too — and useful in our final project for this module.  Two Handouts.

Class 1-6:  Our First Project!  A book-mark — the name of your choice, presented with an illuminated letter for the initial, followed by calligraphy in Humanist minuscule, PLUS a fantastical creature (unicorn or dragon, as you prefer — or even both!) and a colorful band of Celtic interlace as complementary decoration.  What a master-piece!   Five Handouts.

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Module Two —  A Mermaid Illumination, framed by Calligraphy

Class 2-1: Layout of an Initial Letter, placed in a pencil-drawn parchment frame. Planning the composition. Two handouts.

Class 2-2: Calligraphy practice : French bâtarde script, practicing the minuscules. Two handouts.

Class 2-3:  Fantasy Art Roughs — for a miniature “scene” inside or around your letter: mermaids and sea-monsters, dolphins and friendly fishes. Three handouts.

Class 2-4: Calligraphy: assembling words and writing text. One handout.

Class 2-5:  Step one of the final project: Calligraphy of the final text and composition of the central image in pencil. One handout.

Class 2-6:  Step two of the final project: Drawing, outlining and painting your enchanted seascape and golden letter. One handout.

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Module Three — An Illuminated Poem in “bâtarde” calligraphy, with fairies, unicorns, rabbits and a flying horse!

Class 3-1: Roughs for the lay-out of your composition.  Learning to draw “acanthus-leaf” decorations, rabbits and toadstools.  One handout.

Class 3-2:  Calligraphy practice.  The French bâtarde script.  Three handouts.

Class 3-3:  Continued drawing practice: unicorns, flying horses and fairies. Two handouts.

Class 3-4:  Beginning the final project.  Lay-out of the composition in pencil.  Calligraphy of the text in gouache.  One handout.

Class 3-5:  Drawing all of the decoration and the illuminated initial.  Out-lining in gouache or ink, before erasing all the pencil-work to prepare for the final painting step.  One handout.

Class 3-6:  Painting all the decoration, then returning with a very fine brush and white gouache to add highlights and details. One handout.

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Module Four — Delightful Dragons and their Surroundings.

Six classes which guide you through all the steps of sketching, inking and painting a dragon in a fantastical setting, with a swirling scroll bearing the title in Gothic calligraphy. One hand-out per class.

Class 1:  Learning to sketch some basic dragon details: heads, claws and wings.

Class 2:  Dragon anatomy and giving graceful movement to your composition.

Class 3:  Gothic calligraphy: the minuscule letters.

Class 4:  The final project, step one:  the full composition in pencil.

Class 5:  Step two of the final project: inking in the outline and refining the details. Learning

to draw a scroll for the title.

Class 6:  The last step: painting the background with a light wash of color, laying in the

solid color areas and then adding delicate details and highlights.  Writing the title

of your painting in Gothic calligraphy.

The following modules are given as an indication of what will come in the following months.

Module Five — A Name – in Very Knotty Celtic Interlace (Coming soon)

Module Six —  An Illustrated and Illuminated Recipe (Coming soon)

Join us!

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1 thought on “Course Content

  1. This calligraphy school is a treasure trove of information and inspiration. I was especially interested in Batarde which is offered through Module 3. What a delight to see Jane work through the stages of drawing , layout, calligraphy strokes and final painted piece. The content is wonderful and Jane’s work is a magical delight. Thank you for opening this school online. I can see it reaching all age groups!

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