A.S.C. CALLIGRAPHY KIT.
These are suggestions for equipment and not everything is needed to begin with.
A pad of A3 or A4 bleedproof paper.
(Paper on which the ink will not cause fuzzy lines).
Broad Edged Chisel Nibs.
E.G. William Mitchell, Brause, Speedball C series, and pen holders for the nibs.
Parallel Pens sizes 2.4 & 3.8 the most commonly used.
A 2B pencil – The clutch/automatic/propelling types are best.
An Eraser. White or kneadable.
A 40cm ruler. Either a clear plastic ruler with easy to read graduations or metal ruler, which is useful for tearing paper against.
A bottle of non-waterproof Black Ink.
E.G. Pelican 4001, Chinese bottle ink, Chinese Stick ink, which will need a small grind stone. Walnut Ink (brown) available in liquid or crystal form also gives nice fine lines.
Dr. Martin’s Bleedproof White or Dr. Martin’s Pen White, is useful for writing on black or coloured papers.
Distilled Water or Rainwater, which is used to add to Gouache, Acrylics, Watercolours or Inks to dilute or mix to a creamy consistency.
Water Containers. Sturdy plastic or glass jars used for washing nibs and brushes etc.
Paints. Several colours of Gouache , Watercolours or Acrylics.
Palettes. Ceramic or plastic multi sectioned containers in which to mix the paints or stir inks. Ice block trays can also be used.
Painting Brushes. Sable brushes are very expensive. There are some very good Taklon brushes available.
A packet of cheap nylon brushes from $2 shops are used to mix paint, stir ink etc.
An old Toothbrush, used to clean nibs.
Old Rags, Towelling or Tissues etc. used for cleaning hands, drying nibs.
A note book. For taking workshop notes, quotations and spoken reminders etc.
A Drawing board – approximately 450mm X 600mm. Offcuts from the hardware store are fine and can be covered with, paper, Calico, blotting paper, so that you are writing on a soft surface. A block of wood to give slope to the board.
PLEASE NOTE. Boards and blocks are available for use at Primrose Park, the usual site for ASC Workshops and CalliClasses.
Useful but not essential items.
Masking Tape or Blu-Tak
Rolling ruler for ruling parallel lines.
French Curves, very useful for drawing wavy lines
Extra Fine Sandpaper, small piece is good for fine-tuning scratchy nibs.
Small Protractor and Triangle, can help check the squareness of the paper or the slope of the script.
A Bone Folder if you plan to fold paper for cards etc.
Books recommended.
The Anatomy of Letters. Charles Pearce.
The Little Manual of Calligraphy. Charles Pearce.
The Art of Calligraphy. David Harris.