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The letters to the right and left were written with a calligraphic nib.....

.....and those below were built up by drawing outlines, first in pencil and then in ink, and filling them in - mimicking the shapes made by a calligraphic nib.

The advantage here is that you can plan your letters and get them to look just right before painting them. The letter 'A' (right - click for larger image) was executed in this way, a fine border being applied to the outside edge of the finished letter with a pen after it was painted.

This is an excellent way of decorating a piece of text but should be used sparingly as it will look overdone. It is a laborious method for writing long passages of text.

The example (left - click for larger image) was written with two different size nibs. The large lettering was written first and the work left to dry before lettering the rest. The shadow strokes around the large letters were done with the same size nib I used for the smaller lettering.

There are endless possibilities for decorated letters. Try looking around you for shapes and patterns in everyday life, there is a wealth of inspiration to be had from signs on shop-fronts, books, material, greetings cards, grafiti, etc. I do not advocate spraying public buildings, but some grafiti artists would make excellent calligraphers.