Paint Chinese Symbols
The art of painting Chinese symbols is known as Chinese calligraphy. It is both a practical technique and an expression of art, which is intricate, precise, and not particularly easy to learn. Mastering Chinese calligraphy requires patience and understanding of the art. Before you will be able to properly execute a Chinese symbol, you will first have to study the seven strokes used in the calligraphy.
Instructions
1. Dip a Chinese calligraphy paintbrush into some calligraphy ink. Hold the brush in a completely vertical position, making sure your palms aren't touching the paintbrush. Begin painting the strokes of the Chinese symbol you prefer to paint, using an image as a reference. The seven strokes that are used in Chinese calligraphy are the dot, horizontal dash, left and right sweeping downward strokes, vertical line, and two kinds of sharp curves.
2. Place the tip of the brush on a piece of paper and move it a tad to the left and slightly upward to create a dot stroke. There is not just one dot position; in fact, dots used in Chinese symbols are always turned in the same direction as the rest of the symbol, so that the entire symbol looks in sync as a whole. This means that some dots will be turned inward, and some will be turned outward.
3. Swish the brush in motion that goes from left to right to create a dash. The ends of the dash should be slightly fatter than the center.
4. Execute any downstrokes by moving the paintbrush from left to right to downward. Slightly press the middle of the paintbrush toward the paper as you make the downward stroke. The top of the downward stroke should be the thickest part and should taper off to a slightly curved point. Study the image of the Chinese symbol you are trying to paint and look for any edges that are thicker than others. These edges are the ones where the stroke began, and the pointed or skinnier ends are where the stroke ends.
5. Create any hooks that the Chinese character may have by painting a sideways 'U' shape, holding the paintbrush vertically the entire time you paint.
6. Practice continually on different pieces of paper until you are confident in your skill. Allow the ink to dry, and make sure to wash the paintbrush as soon as you are finished to avoid staining it with the ink.
Tags: Chinese calligraphy, Chinese symbol, left right, downward stroke, from left, from left right
