Introduction to Hebrew Calligraphy

Introduction to Hebrew Calligraphy

“Congratulations! You have reached the end of this Domestika course. Thank you so much for enrolling. I hope you've enjoyed exploring the world of Hebrew calligraphy! Our work will culminate in this final step of writing the letters and vowels on a clean page. Before you begin your final project, make sure that your workspace is organized and free from clutter. Prepare the appropriate tools and materials, so that everything is ergonomic and within reach. Don't forget to also clear your mental clutter. You may want to turn off your phone to avoid disrupting your focus. Once you're ready, here are the necessary steps to complete your calligraphy piece: The Text First, choose the text you want to write. Begin by practicing your text boxes on graph paper, then in a draft layout on plain paper. Always turn your paper upside down and look for "rivers". A good thing to do is to be conscious of repeating shapes that can perhaps be aligned. This way, you can create a rhythm and make it easier to read. The Layout Draw out the layout in pencil and analyze the letters, spacing, and vowels to plan the proportion of the elements in the block. The First Draft Complete your first draft with a calligraphy marker. Remember, no punctuation! Originally, Hebrew had no punctuation at all, but later had a 1.5 space in between sentences.

The Final Piece Ink in the letterforms and wait for the ink to dry, then erase the pencil marks and add the vowels using the pencil. The vowel sounds are indicated using small marks known as niqqud above, below, or on the interior of the letter. They require a much smaller pen or brush than the lettering. Like me, you can choose to do this in ink. Or, you can use a marker. Whatever you feel more comfortable with. Always remember to make sure that the vowels and the letters aren't touching. The vocalization marks are an optional step. They add sound and meaning to your letters, but fluent Hebrew speakers don't need them to read. So, if you want, you can skip the vowels. But these give another layer of beautification and significance, so I would love to see these in your piece! And that's all! I can't wait to see what amazing calligraphy you create! You can share your project with all of us by clicking on "Create your project". Remember to share both the final result and the steps that have led you to it. It would be great if you showed a picture of each step and added a brief explanation about what you have done in each one. If you have any questions, be sure to ask them in the forum. I will reply as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I encourage you to interact with each other. Communication fuels creativity. So, don't be afraid to reach out and collaborate with others. But most of all, have fun! See you there! ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Hi, and thank you for joining me in this course. I started doing calligraphy as therapy after an accident which injured my hand. But after a while, I realized that writing the Hebrew letters was really a form of worship, and I wanted to extend this service to others. And that is how I ended up pursuing my dream of becoming a sepharit. In this course, I wanted to share with you some of my knowledge of Hebrew calligraphy. For your final project, I'd like you to select a short text in Hebrew with which to create some calligraphy artwork. If you'd like some ideas of which to choose, I've left y...”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Introduction to Hebrew Calligraphy

• Level: Beginner
• 100% positive reviews (80)
• 3046 students
• 4 units
• 14 lessons (2h 45m)
• 8 downloads

• Category

  Calligraphy & Typography

• Areas

  Calligraphy, Writing