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Layout  getting the page proportions right

Your finished piece of calligraphy needs some careful planning in the first place. You need to take the overall size of the finished piece of lettering, plus any page margins you wish to take into account (click on the diagram to the left).

:: HINT :: It is worth remembering that the lettering is not easily corrected if you go wrong. Apply the lettering first and then the decoration. If you spend hours over elaborate painted initial letters and decorative borders and then do the lettering and make a mistake you might have a lot of repeat work to do.

Page Layout

Once you have decided on the script you are using, write a few test lines in slightly different sized nibs to see how long the lines of text are. I would suggest writing some of the longest lines to get an idea of the overall width of the work. If you have decided to use any decorative letters you will also need to plan where they are going and how big they will be. Use pencil and pen drafts to plan the design.

Now you have decided on which size nib to use, write out some or all of the lines of text. You can use these to ensure you stick to the original size and layout of your planned piece by cutting them out and holding them under the line you are writing - to act as a placement guide (click on the diagram to the right). I have shown the lines centred on the page in this example but you may wish to arrange them differently. The same method can still be used.

Leave the ink to dry for some time before attempting to do any more work or before erasing any pencil guidelines. You don't want to smudge anything because of impatience. I will usually wait until the following day before I erase any guidelines.

Page Margins

Page proportions are important for the overall look of the work and the diagrams below show the formula for margin measurements. These proportions apply whether you are writing a book or a one off piece for framing. See The Gallery for more layout ideas.

Lettering and decoration are contained inside the margins. Alternatively, you might like to keep the lettering contained within the boxed (grey) area and the decoration to fill the margin to the edge of the paper. This formula will work whatever the size and orientation of the paper.

(click for larger images)

One unit can be millimetres, centimetres, inches or divisions of an inch. What you use is your choice. I usually work in centimetres, hence the single page layout will have a top margin of 2cm, side margins of 2.5cm each and a bottom margin of 4cm.

Note how the side margins for a double page layout are slightly different. This is to counteract the ‘weight’ of the work. If you use the margin formula for a single page layout in a double page spread the pages could appear to want to fall away from each other, as if weighted on the outside edges. The inner margins, the division between the pages, would appear too wide as if separating the pages rather than uniting them.

If you are going to frame your work (and why not, after all the hard work you've put into it) you will also need to leave room for for the frame.

Useful Links:

Calligraphy Starter Sets from Amazon.co.uk

Calligraphy Starter Sets from Amazon.com

Decorated Letters >>