Traditional vs. Modern Calligraphy: What’s the Difference?

With so many different calligraphy and lettering types, it might be difficult to decide which type of calligraphy you want to work on--or even to know which type is which.

We want to show you the difference between two contrasting styles: Traditional and Modern Calligraphy.

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Table of Contents

    Traditional calligraphy written with a pointed pen

    Modern calligraphy written with a brush pen

    Modern calligraphy written with a brush pen

    If you’re new to traditional calligraphy, we recommend learning more about the art and history of calligraphy. You can also find out the difference between cursive and calligraphy as well as what calligraphy actually is. There’s so much more to this craft than just pretty writing!

    As you can observe below, traditional calligraphy is much more "old fashioned" looking compared to modern calligraphy. What are the differences, really?

     
    Breakdown of the style differences between modern calligraphy and traditional calligraphy

    Learn how to bounce in our bounce lettering guide

     

    Modern Calligraphy Vs Traditional Calligraphy

    Looking at the example above, it's not hard to see that modern calligraphy is very different from traditional calligraphy.

    At a glance, you can see that the letters, the colors and overall style of the letters are different, and those differences are quite identifiable.

    Once you start to look at the details, you can compare the characteristics of these styles:

    Traditional
    Modern
    Elegant and sophisticated
    Fun and whimsical
    Rules that must be followed
    You can break the rules (with intention!)
    Script is more slanted
    Slant is more upright
    Basic letterforms, such as a traditional 'r'
    Modern letterforms, such as a loopy 'r'
    Lots of history involved
    More current and more popular
    Consistent lines, angles, and spacing throughout
    Proportions can change to suit the artist’s style
    Neutral color palette
    Brighter colors
    Typically associated with pointed pen
    Typically associated with brush pens or digital mediums

    Before we get into modern calligraphy, let's take a moment to have a closer look at the traditional calligraphy style.

    Learning the Rules of Traditional Calligraphy

    We think it’s important to learn the rules of traditional calligraphy before giving modern calligraphy a try. Without a strong foundation of calligraphy letterforms, it’s more difficult to understand how to make adjustments to suit your own style.

    You have to learn the rules before you can break them, right?!

    Traditional calligraphy comes in a variety of hands, such as the prominent Copperplate and Spencerian scripts. Each specific hand has its own set of rules, so it’s helpful to know which one you want to learn before getting started.

    The vast majority of our students get started with a Copperplate hand, and that’s the one we recommend the most to beginners. You can start practicing Copperplate today with a pencil and our free practice sheets:

    In addition to rules, you’ll want to learn some of the key vocabulary so when you take tutorials you know what to look for.

    Learn more about these vocabulary terms starting at about the 2-minute mark here:

     
     

    Copperplate Calligraphy

    Written with a pointed pen, Copperplate calligraphy is an old calligraphy script that’s still widely popular today. If you look around the greeting card aisle at Target or at quotes on Pinterest, you’ve certainly seen this style represented.

    A 55-degree slant and beautiful contrast between thick and thin parts of letters characterize this script.

    Copperplate is the best foundation for learning calligraphy, no matter where you want to take your lettering. You can follow our Copperplate practice tutorial to learn how to try it for yourself:

    Spencerian Script

    Another hallmark of traditional calligraphy is the Spencerian script. When compared to Copperplate, you’ll notice this hand is defined by less contrast, sharper angles and a 52-degree slant.

    Historically it was written with a pointed pen, but we practice digital Spencerian on our iPads more than paper! It may remind you of cursive writing, as this was a precursor to the cursive script which is taught in schools.

    Follow our Spencerian script tutorial to see how to write this traditional calligraphy script for yourself:

    Traditional Calligraphy For Beginners: Where To Start?

    Ready to start practicing traditional calligraphy for yourself? Here are our most popular free sources for learning traditional calligraphy:

    Image of a dip pen being dipped into an ink well

    Jordan writing traditional calligraphy with a pointed pen

    When you get proficient in traditional calligraphy and learn its rules, you can have a lot of fun with your projects by breaking all the rules and really putting your own personality and style into your craft.

    That’s where modern calligraphy comes in!

    What Is Modern Calligraphy?

    As the name suggests, modern calligraphy is an updated version of the old, traditional dip pen calligraphy styles.

    A modern calligrapher swaps out traditional writing tools such as quills or dip pens (AKA pointed pens) for modern ones such as brush pens or the Apple Pencil. Likewise, real calligraphy paper can now be replaced by the screen of the iPad.

    Rather than replicating an existing historic script, a practitioner of modern calligraphy focuses on expressing their own creativity and discovering their own style.

    But don’t be fooled by the free-spirited sound of modern calligraphy: there’s still an incredible amount of precision and mastery that goes into a gorgeous, well-balanced composition.

    Modern calligraphy is all about choosing certain rules to break while keeping others.

    Let’s take a look at the most common form of modern calligraphy: brush lettering.

    Modern Brush Lettering

    One of the most popular styles in modern calligraphy is brush lettering, which refers to any style in which you create modern calligraphy using brush pens.

    This can sometimes also be referred to as “brush calligraphy,” but instead of an actual brush, you write with a calligraphy marker that has a flexible tip.

    Just like any modern calligraphy style, there are many different ways in which calligraphers playfully break the rules to personalize their calligraphy.

    For example, in bounce lettering, you let go of the baseline and bounce some letters a little bit above and below the baseline.

    Letters are still formed using the basic calligraphy strokes but they break the rules every now and then.

    You may also like: How To Use A Brush Pen

    Adding Modern Style To Your Calligraphy

    While traditional calligraphy is very consistent from project to project, modern calligraphy allows you to color outside the lines. You can adjust your lettering to fit the project, so you can make invitations to a Halloween party a bit edgy and spooky, while baby shower place cards might be more bubbly and fun.

    Modern calligraphy is more casual, with many different looks that you can research and emulate. And if you mess up? Well, since you’re breaking the rules anyway, no one will even know!

    Modern calligraphy quote example

    Example of modern calligraphy

    When you’re ready, there are a lot of different ways you can make modern calligraphy your own. Just a few ideas include:

    • Play around with the baseline, even making it slanted, curved or bouncing

    • Use different ascender and descender line heights in the same word or project

    • Vary the t-crossings and flourishes

    • Use upright letters or slanting letters instead of an exact predetermined angle

    • Experiment with different letter spacing such as expanded or condensed

    • Use a variety of large and small letters within the same project or word

    • Explore the hashtag #moderncalligraphy on Instagram for even more inspiration

    We share calligraphy tips 3x a week on Instagram, we’d love to connect with you there!

    Jillian doing modern calligraphy with a brush pen

    Jillian writing modern calligraphy with brush pens

    Modern Calligraphy For Beginners: Where To Start?

    Browse our most popular resources for learning modern calligraphy:

    Faux Calligraphy

    When you’re learning calligraphy, one of the most difficult calligraphy skills to master is the contrast between thick and thin lines.

    A skilled calligrapher can create this contrast by applying different levels of pressure in their basic strokes. Generally, downstrokes are thick and you use thin lines for any upstrokes.

    In faux calligraphy, or fake calligraphy, you still use a version of the basic strokes of calligraphy. However instead of relying on pressure to create thick lines, it involves drawing letters and adding shade later.

    Faux calligraphy tutorial

    Faux calligraphy teaches you the basic shapes of both lowercase letters as well as uppercase letters which makes it an excellent first step for learning calligraphy.

    Faux Calligraphy For Beginners: Where To Start?

    We’d love to help you get started learning faux calligraphy! Our free faux calligraphy course will teach you the fundamentals of traditional calligraphy, but using ANY tool you already have, such as a pen or pencil. Get started now.