Easy Chinese Characters in Calligraphy: 美 Beauty, 之 Of, 至 To

[DrRXJ]

Your calligraphy is fascinating to watch, and you've inspired me to practice. Which size brush do you recommend for kai script on 12-square practice paper? I've tried a few sizes and can't decide...

[artvirtue]

This brush is good for 12 or 15-square grid paper. Choosing the sizes of brushes usually depend on the sizes of the characters, calligraphy styles, and thickness of the strokes. Generally, the basic principle (not a rule) is to press no more than 1/3 of the length of bristles to fit the width (thickness) of each stroke. Say, the average width of the strokes is 0.8 cm, then the length of the bristle would better be more than 2.4 cm, but no more than 5 cm.

Thank you.

[artvirtue]

The principle of pressing "no more than 1/3" of the bristle's length when writing a stroke is to prevent overly excerting the leverage, power, and momentum of the bristle. Usually I use between 1/5 and 1/3 of the bristles; only in very specific occasions or rare situations I would press the bristle deeper.