Do you know someone who loves dabbling with the visual appeal of letters? You know, flipping through font catalogues, mixing them up, then laying them out for printing? Many even had fun doing a bit of that through the “Word Art” feature of today’s word processors. But back in the 16th century, all of these had to be done by hand with the help of calligraphy pens.
At present, almost all lettering and typography jobs get done by computers and then fed to either screens or printers. While some Asian and Middle Eastern countries still treasure hand-drawn calligraphy as a high form of traditional art, it might seem a bit out of the blue if you decided to give someone a set of calligraphy pens.
Nonetheless, calligraphy is very much alive and even desired in greeting cards, signages, ads, logos, corporate stationeries, tattoos, and movie credit rolls. And despite the dominance of printing presses and desktop publishing, these are unable to print out any single script unless a calligraphy pen wrote it out first.
Still relevant
The fact that a stroke of calligraphy adorns whatever medium it is on makes it a much-needed art form even in this digital age. The so-called “digital transformation,” or the changes caused by mobility and the internet to businesses and disciplines worldwide, helped calligraphy to become even more ubiquitous.
Calligraphy has likewise evolved to meet the unique needs of the times. Many refer to it now as “modern calligraphy” to distinguish it from its traditional Asian forms. Not surprisingly, millennials are smart enough to combine the best of both worlds through body art or tattoos.
Still revenue-rich
Since the ink-laden fruits of calligraphy pens always have their space, whether on paper or in cyberspace, earning from them is a no-brainer. Professionally-made wedding invitations are chock full of calligraphy that could fetch hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. The same goes for smart scripts that make their way to signature brands, A-list companies, and high-yielding websites.
Thanks to Apple and Microsoft, they digitised calligraphy to become quickly reproducible and transferrable. Now, more than ever, calligraphers-turned-font-creators can sell their hand-written fonts in digital form in hundreds each day.
Still reachable
Some might be inclined to think that, as with any other forms of art, calligraphers are born, and their calligraphy pens are their exclusive tools of the trade. Fortunately for everyone, nothing could be further from the truth.
In as little about a hundred dollars, one could own a good pen or two and start a profitable career in calligraphy. There are countless opportunities to learn from experts and professionals, either through actual schools or online tutorials. There are even organisations that welcome and promote beginners and new talents.
In the realm of calligraphy, age is a non-issue. Neuroplasticity, or the ability of the brain to change, remains in effect as one continues to learn and go beyond limits. Thus, mastering calligraphy is always accessible to all ages and very much possible at the expense of only a person’s time and patience.
So, the next time you suddenly feel like giving out calligraphy pens as a gift, you are setting up another’s potential for creativity and productivity. Or you could take a set yourself and bring home the opportunity to broaden your horizons.
Stay on it long enough and you can get as far as impressing your friends and other people. Once you reach such a point, making a good deal of money from it would not be far behind.
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