Fabulous Flourishes!

Flourishing is one of those learned skills.  I think some people are more natural than others and are confident swirling their pen around.  For the record , I am not one of those people!  It takes a lot of practice and muscle memory to develop fluid looking flourishes and embellishments.  But good news!  In several years of my quest to flourish effortlessly, I have a four tips and tricks that make the flourishing process easier!

1 – Keep it round! Flourishing should always move in a circle or oval shape.  It keeps things even looking and smooth.

2 – Keep it light! Keep the pen pressure light on your flourishes.  I am always less is more when it comes to flourishing.  And, I definitely want the focus to be on my letters.  I really prefer to practice my shapes with a pencil or a monoline pen.

**If you do want to add thick and thin in your flourishes, be consistent and add your thick lines to the downstrokes!**

3 – Keep it consistent! If you are going to swirl or curl your flourishes, pick one.  I like to think of them as birds or bubbles – see the picture below!  If you do it one time, you need to do it at least one other time in your piece to make it look intentional.  And, pick a bird or a bubble… but not both in one piece!

4 – Keep it wrapped up! When you finish your flourish, curl in the end. It makes the final line look thoughtful, rather than just running out of steam.

I also love practicing with these a flourishing worksheet.  I trace over it many many times until I feel like I have the muscle movement down pat.  I hate when I am mid-flourish and don’t know where to go next!  Using this sheet until flourishes feel more natural and I don’t have to worry about the direction that they are headed!

 

You can download this flourishing practice worksheet for FREE!  Check it out in my shop and grab a copy to print and keep with your hand-lettered things!

 

Go get your letter on!

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