Thick And Thin Lines
Look at the word 'HYVE' written in fancy letters. Notice how some parts of each letter look fat and juicy, while other parts look thin as a hair? That's the biggest secret of pretty lettering — it's not magic, it's just thick lines and thin lines working together!
What You'll Learn
- Why letters look fancy when they mix thick and thin lines - Which direction to push for a thick line and which for a thin line - How to practice thick-thin strokes with any marker or crayon
The Big Secret: Down Is Thick, Up Is Thin
Real calligraphy pens make thick lines when you pull DOWN and thin lines when you pull UP. You can practice this with any marker! Press harder and pull down for a thick line. Lift up lightly and pull up for a thin line. That's it — that's the whole trick fancy letter artists use.
Practice Shapes First
Before writing letters, practice just the lines. Draw a straight line down — press hard, make it thick. Draw a straight line up — press soft, make it thin. Do this ten times until your hand knows the difference without you thinking hard about it.
Draw the letter 'i' but make the straight part THICK and the dot on top THIN. See how much fancier it looks than a plain 'i'?
Key Words
Stroke: one single line or mark you make with your pen. Thick stroke: a wide, heavy line, usually made pulling down. Thin stroke: a narrow, light line, usually made pulling up.
Match the direction to the type of line it makes.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
To make a THICK line with your marker, what should you do?
Why do fancy letters look different from regular handwriting?
Thick-Thin Practice Sheet
On lined paper, draw 5 straight down-strokes pressing hard (thick) and 5 straight up-strokes pressing light (thin). Then try writing your first name mixing thick downstrokes and thin upstrokes. Show a grown-up your best letter.
Long ago, before printers existed, every single book was hand-lettered by monks and scribes using thick-and-thin pen strokes just like the ones you're practicing today.
Want to keep learning?
Sign up for free to access the full curriculum — all subjects, all ages.
Start Learning Free