Get our free Copperplate Calligraphy Guide Sheet

Excited to practice Copperplate calligraphy? With our free Copperplate calligraphy practice sheets, you’ll be able to use your pointed pen with confidence and begin learning your basic strokes right away.

Learning some of the fundamentals of your guide sheet and the Copperplate script will help you get better results from your practice. Let’s start with how a practice sheet helps you improve and why you need to use one.

Why Use A Copperplate Calligraphy Practice Sheet?

The Copperplate script is a traditional calligraphy style, which means that it follows a specific style convention. You can see the difference when you compare Copperplate to modern calligraphy:

Copperplate strives for consistency and polished form. Modern calligraphy allows for individual style choices and experimentation. Both styles build letters stroke by stroke (called the basic calligraphy strokes) which is what you’ll practice today with your free worksheet.

It’s this pursuit of perfection that makes a guide sheet an essential tool for Copperplate. Here’s how to get started.

Learning Copperplate calligraphy is easier with our practice tutorial:

How To Use Your Free Guide Sheet

You’re only a few steps away from using your downloadable practice sheets!

Step 1: Sign up

Click the download button and enter your name and email address below, then open your inbox to verify your email. This only takes about a minute, and then you’ll receive a link to your downloadable practice sheet.

Step 2: Print your practice sheet (on THIS type of paper...)

Writing with calligraphy ink (Sumi Ink or India Ink) on just any paper type can be problematic. Don’t print your free worksheet on just any paper, or you’ll probably experience frustration.

The wrong paper type can cause the ink to bleed through or across the page, and leave shreds of paper stuck in your pointed pen nib.

We recommend HP Premium 32lb Paper for pointed pen calligraphy.

Step 3: Put a guard sheet under your palm

The oil on your skin rubs off on paper over time as you write and can leave the page discolored. To avoid this, put any piece of paper under your palm as you write:

What You Need

A guide sheet is just one step in developing your Copperplate skills. Here are the other calligraphy tools that you need to get started:

1. A pointed pen holder

While there are many different pen holders on the market, we recommend the Moblique pen holder. It’s perfect because it can be used at an angle (called oblique, which helps you achieve the trademark Copperplate slant) or straight (better for lefties).

Need help putting your pointed pen together? We’ll walk you through the process:

Don’t have your pen or ink yet? That’s okay! You can practice with a pencil until you get Copperplate tools.

2. A pointed pen nib

A nib is the tip of a pointed pen that gets dipped in ink and dispenses it onto the page. While there are thousands of different nibs on the market, a great smooth nib for beginners is the Nikko G Nib.

Pictured: an oblique pen holder and an assortment of calligraphy nibs.

3. Calligraphy ink

Your normal household ballpoint pen comes with ink loaded inside of the pen body, but your pointed pen needs to be dipped in ink as you write. We use and recommend Sumi Ink.

You can get all of these Copperplate calligraphy supplies (plus more!) in our custom-made calligraphy kit:

Download the Guide Sheet

Enter you email address below so we can email you the printable PDF:

Other Free Calligraphy Resources

Looking for a different type of calligraphy style? In addition to Copperplate, we teach iPad lettering and brush lettering! Here are some other free resources:

• Free Procreate brush custom-made for digital calligraphy
• Free brush pen worksheets
• Calligraphy tools and style guide
• Capital stem loop practice sheet
• Our free Facebook Group

Happy lettering!
-Jillian and Jordan