You can use your creative letter and neat writing skills through a calligraphy side job to earn some extra cash each month. You don’t need much to get started – just the pen, paper and patience to do it.
This makes your side job or dra whatever you want to call it – like it’s just some fun hobby that pays you money, but also provides a creative outlet for those of you who are into arts, writing and designs using nice letters.
Where You’ve Probably Seen Calligraphy
Now think about weddings for a minute, all of those types of things whether it be elegant name cards placed on tables, cute welcome signs at the beginning and/or entrance to the party; custom invitations; decorative quotes on the wall in your house; or anything else you’ve ever seen at a wedding are usually done by calligraphy artist.
Calligraphy is also utilized by several local business owners for their signals, menus, product labels, and promotional items. So when someone adds a personalized gift to their home that they framed, due in part to the type of calligraphy they have.
Anytime you can put something on paper you can create a nice piece or work of art using calligraphy.
Calligraphy = Not Handwriting
One thing that many people do misconception is that calligraphy is simply perfect handwriting for a person who we were talking about who is in…. as a result of the artistic side right now.
Rewriting Calligraphy to Another Medium
Calligraphy is much like illustrating letters instead of simply writing them. You learn to draw distinct strokes and shapes then put those strokes together into nice looking letters. If you put in enough practice, you will have many people with poor handwriting become excellent calligraphers!
So, if you are just starting out, do not despair. The ability to be a good calligrapher is developed through practice and understanding the forms we make and not because you have natural handwriting talent.
In other words, it can be learned, it’s not a gift you’re born with.
Starting Calligraphy Without High Prices
Most beginners believe they need to take expensive classes or use expensive tools to start their calligraphy journey. In actuality, there are a lot of free resources (like tutorial videos and practice sheets) available on line that can help students develop their skills and learn the basic strokes they will use to create letter forms.
Starting with free resources is a very good way to start out. Also, you get to find out if you truly enjoy the art of calligraphy without having to invest in expensive tools or advanced classes.
Once you have decided to become more serious about calligraphy, you may want to consider upgrading your tools or taking a structured class, but in the early stages, keep your materials simple and inexpensive.
The goal is to make progress, not perfection.
From a Hobby to a Side Job
Now we get to the fun part. After learning the fundamentals and creating a couple pieces as practice, it’s time to begin sharing your work!
Sharing your calligraphy on social media is a great way to get started. It’s so easy because you don’t even need to share finished pieces, sharing your practice can get you noticed since people love watching how things are created and seeing lettering videos.
It might feel embarrassing or strange to you when you start posting work that isn’t complete, but that’s how you gain confidence and create an online presence.
Having a presence will provide you an opportunity.
Most people that you make connection with will be your first customers when you are working creatively on the side with calligraphy. Whether it’s family, friends or old classmates, they’ll be your first set of customers.
Sometimes it takes just one simple announcement to let others know you’re available to do custom calligraphy.
Then the people start to place orders for custom work whether it’s for wedding signage, gifts, event decorations or for small business branding. One small project can lead to many more, that’s how you build momentum.
The freedom of working with calligraphy gives you the most flexibility. You don’t have to commute, you don’t have to adhere to fixed hours, and you don’t have to work within a strict schedule.
You are free to work on calligraphy any time of day, including evenings after your regular job or on weekends. Most clients do not mind when the final product is completed as long as you meet deadlines.
This is a great side hustle for anyone wanting to make some money without messing up their regular schedule, whether they be students, people with full time jobs, etc.
Calligraphy allows you to operate your life rather than have your life operate you.
How Much Money Can You Make?
Let’s face facts, most likely calligraphers will not get rich quickly from their art; as with other artistic endeavors, the most a beginning artist will probably make will be several hundred dollars.
However, over time, and with the right business practices (building relationships with customers, diversifying product lines, and selling your creations via internet), an experienced calligrapher could develop a full-time business.
Calligraphy will be seasonal due to weddings, holidays and events that create peak volumes of calligraphy.
Overall, the income earned will increase over a period of time – not instantaneously.
A few hundred dollars each month could help you feel good about your new creative side project.
The Reason Calligraphy is So Affordable
Most of the other side projects out there require a lot of expensive machinery or technical skill to do them, but calligraphy is unique because it does not require much in terms of start-up costs or experience.
You do not need any of the following: A high-end graphics program; A professional-grade camera; An all-inclusive investment. Just some basic supplies, and many different resources for learning and developing your skills to get started with calligraphy.
As such, calligraphy is one of the easiest side projects for almost anybody interested in doing something creative for extra money.
It’s also extremely simple and flexible and holds almost no risk.
That combo is pretty hard to find!
Calligraphy can prove that a hobby can become a viable income source if you have the right mindset and stay consistent. If you put in the time daily to practice, show your work to others, and create some type of consistent path to educating your clients, you will be able to go from creating simple lettering to having a rewarding side project that actually pays you.
What begins as just one pen and a couple of practice sheets can eventually evolve into a constant flow of additional cash and a creative outlet that returns on your investment!
