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Category: How-to

How to Develop Consistency in Calligraphy

posted in How-to, Modern Calligraphy by Vivian on

Consistency is the most important thing in practicing calligraphy

The more I am on this journey the more I believe in the importance of the basic principles in calligraphy, and they can be sum up into this one thing— consistency. 

Mainly, consistency in the four S’:

  • The stroke width. Are your upstrokes all equal or similar in their thin-ness? Are the downstrokes all equal or similar in thickness? 
  • The size. Are the letters consistent in size? I know this one is debatable when it comes to modern calligraphy, but that’s for another email!
  • The slant. Are your letters all have the same slant?
  • The spacing. Are the letters spaced evenly, visually speaking? Are the spaces between words consistent?
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Choosing Your First Calligraphy Pens

posted in Hand-lettering, How-to, Modern Calligraphy by Vivian on

If you are brand new to the wonderful world of hand-lettering and calligraphy, this video is going to help you find the right calligraphy pens to get your start!

Calligraphy is a very broad term that covers a whole range of styles and “hands” (an old-fashion way of describing a style). Generally speaking, there are two types of calligraphy pens: the pointed nib and the broad-edge nib. And within those two categories, you’ll be presented with a variety of options with different sizes and flexibility.

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10 Ways to Quickly Improve Your Calligraphy

posted in Freebies, How-to, Modern Calligraphy by Vivian on

We all wish we can improve our calligraphy faster, here I am going to share with you 10 efficient ways to get the most out of your practice time!

We all start learning calligraphy by learning the basic strokes and the alphabet. Often time after that, many people are at a loss as to how to keep on improving their calligraphy. We have all been there, you start looking up on social media to find an interesting phrase to write. Or perhaps you try to come up with a clever quote yourself. But I don’t know about you, sometimes I just want to practice for the sake of practice. Since I am a very technical person, I try to discover patterns to systemize whatever that is I am learning. So I’ve put together a list of things to write when I am practicing calligraphy.

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How to practice calligraphy daily

posted in How-to, Modern Calligraphy by Vivian on

I used to think that in order to be really good at calligraphy I have to spend a lot of time to practice calligraphy.

While true, that mindset is hindering me in taking the initial steps to learn new things. Before I even make the first steps I’d be giving up thinking I won’t have the time to master it, so why even bother to practice calligraphy?

Until one day I saw a woman knitting in the subway. First I thought it’s so cool that she was just minding her own business knitting in the busy rush-hour train ride, and then I noticed she got off the train only in a couple of stops. So in total, she probably knitted for 10 minutes. 

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The Easiest Flat Lay Photography Tips

posted in How-to by vivian on

The most budget–friendly tips for taking clean and beautiful flat lay photography

A while ago, I made a video and blog post showing you how to make a seamless Instagram feed. In the video, I have many flat lay top-view photos. And many people were asking photography tips to achieve that look

In this video, I am showing you how to take flat lay photos with your iPhone or other smartphones. Using the native camera app, and with a little help with photoshop for post-production tricks.

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How to Maximize Personal Fundraising Campaign for Impact

posted in How-to by vivian on

It takes a lot of work to run a fundraising campaign. In this post, I want to give you some tips on how to maximize the impact of your campaign.

A while ago I went on a mission trip and used Bonfire.com to run a personal fundraising campaign. The campaign was successful. I went to India for two months working with a local ministry. We help the women and children victimized by sex trafficking in the red light district. It was the best two-months I spent in a foreign country. I shared with others how to use Bonfire.com to fundraise without any budget in this post.

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Posca Paint Pens Review and Projects

posted in Hand-lettering, How-to, Projects, Reviews by vivian on

I have a confession to make, I am a pen-hoarder.

I love Posca Paint pens. As an artist and DIY enthusiastic, I have this problem of compulsive pen shopping. I probably own more art supplies than I can use in my lifetime. I am going to make my supplies useful by giving it an honest show-and-tell review. This way you can know exactly what these tools are good for before you take out your wallet.

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Cyanotype Fabric Printing

posted in How-to, Projects by vivian on

In this post, I’ll show you how to do a sun-print on fabric!

Cyanotype fabric printing is a combination of sun-printing and fabric dyeing. Cyanotype is the grandfather of the sun-printing process and one of the earliest photographic techniques ever developed. The printing technique was discovered around 1948, and it produces a distinctive, vibrant Prussian blue monochromatic prints.

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