Brush Calligraphy Tips: How to Improve Your Thin Upstrokes

Hey guys, Charisse here from Pieces Calligraphy. In this video we're going to talk about thin upstrokes. A lot of you have been asking me questions lately on thin upstrokes. I've heard frustrations and challenges shared on my blog, on Instagram, and on my YouTube channel, so I hope this video addresses some of those questions and concerns that you have. And just to mention a few, some of you have expressed needing tips on improving the thin upstroke in general, questions on why the thin upstrokes don't seem thin enough, and how to avoid shakiness. Okay, so before I go into some tips and troubleshooting techniques, let's talk about what are thin upstrokes, just so we're on the same page. And if you've been following my basic stroke series, you know that the thin upstroke is very much a part of nearly every basic stroke, so it's really essential to master this stroke, this, basically the technique in creating the thin upstroke. Okay, so I'm going to draw a couple here. So the thin upstroke is this thin line that I'm creating with light pressure in an upward motion. Okay, so I'm going to do it a few times. This is also known as the entrance stroke or an exit stroke. Okay, so when creating the thin upstroke, you have to be sure that you're maintaining the same width of the stroke all the way through the stroke. And I'm not including transitions here, I'm just talking about isolating the thin upstroke alone. Okay, so let's draw a couple of basic strokes here that utilize the thin upstroke. Okay, so notice how the thin part of this stroke, let's talk about the first one, it's a lot obviously thinner than its counterpart, the thick downstroke, which is right next to it. And likewise, you can see here on these next two strokes, you can identify easily where the thin part of this stroke is. And that takes a couple of things. It takes holding your brush pen properly, so you can really be on the very tip of your brush pen. It takes control and maintaining the same width of the stroke throughout the part of that's thin. Okay, you don't want to sort of have like inconsistent thinness like that. Okay, we don't want something like that. We want controlled, steady movement so that that thin part is very consistent. Okay, and again, using an upward motion, yes, you can create thin upstrokes downward like this, but that's in brush calligraphy and in calligraphy in general, you don't, you want to practice an upward motion because that's what helps you to create the rhythm and creating your strokes and your letters. Okay, and lastly, a thing about the thin upstroke is it doesn't necessarily have to be a hairline. I get wary calling the thin upstroke a hairline. Okay, see this stroke right here? It's a perfect, perfect example. I'm using the same pen the same this whole time, but this thin stroke happens to be a little thinner than this thin stroke, but they're both thin upstrokes. Okay, the key is consistency and a very big contrast from the thick downstroke. Okay, so now that we kind of discussed what is a thin upstroke and how do you create it again with upward motion and upward direction and with light pressure, let's go into how to improve the thin upstroke. Okay, so you already know how the thin upstroke is created and what characteristics it should have. I want to really stress the importance of going slow when you do your drills, when you're studying the stroke. Okay, and I'm actually just doing the basic strokes that you can find in my other videos and in my basic stroke series. Okay, we're not going to go into transitions in this video, but focus here on the thin part of your stroke. Go slow. Don't worry about shakiness. It's more important in the beginning to build your muscle memory for good letter forms and rhythm. The shakiness will improve over time as you gain familiarity with your pen and find out what works for you. And honestly, after just a year of experience, I've found that you would think I would have gotten rid of all the shakiness by now, but no. I from time to time still find myself shaky and sometimes it's just a matter of not being relaxed or rushing. So again, go slow and focus more on the form. Okay, and so you know what the strokes are. You know to go slow and practice that control. I want to just compare the use of different pens. So this first one was a Koi coloring brush. Okay, and this next one here, this is a Pigma brush. Okay, and then this here is a Tombow dual brush pen. And the point I'm making here is that not all brush pens are created equal. Some of them just happen to be more flexible or more firm. They're bigger or they're smaller or they just are stiffer or looser. This next one here is a Pigma professional brush in the bold tip or big tip. That one's really flexible. And then I'm just going to do a couple of smaller brush pens here. This is the Tombow hard tip, the food. And all of these will be listed in the description below along with links to them. This is the Tombow soft tip. And then you might be able to hear my little boys in the background. They just woke up from a nap. Here's the Pentel sign and with a brush tip. Okay, so you might be able to tell here that the strokes are all in the same form, but there's slight variations. Some of them are easier to maintain that thin up stroke. Some of them are a little harder just because they are just that flexible. So the point I want to make here is not to beat yourself up over aiming for that hairline. Don't chase the hairline, chase the thin stroke that is clearly obviously different than the thick down stroke and just be sure that you're just constantly practicing. Don't worry about perfection. Just be improving from the last time. Okay, so that's what I have for you today on the thin up stroke. I hope you enjoyed this video. Please share it with a friend. I'd love for you to share it with someone who's interested or leave a comment below and let me know what you thought, how it helped you, or what you'd like to know for next time or even if I haven't answered a question that you have in this video. And please subscribe so you can stay in touch and head over to piecescalligraphy.com which is my blog where I share posts that go along with these videos and I also provide resources and other supplies that you can find all in one place. Alright, so thanks for watching and I will see you guys next time. Happy writing!