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Drawing the Flourish Basics and Beyond
4.1(94)5k students
Korshub's take
Flourishes: From Spirals to Ornament
Flourishes elevate both lettering and illustration, transforming functional type into expressive art. This class walks you from the simplest flourish—the spiral—through increasingly elaborate ornamental styles, teaching you when and how to use them effectively.
You'll discover multiple approaches to flourishing, practice techniques with provided worksheets, and learn symmetry tricks using tracing paper. The class suits both beginners discovering flourishes for the first time and experienced artists deepening their toolkit. By understanding how flourishes enhance rather than overwhelm your work, you'll develop a personal style that uses these decorative elements intentionally. The techniques apply whether you're working with calligraphy, brush pens, painting, or illustration—any medium where adding elegance and visual interest matters.
About this course
In this class we will explore flourishing techniques, from the simple spiral all the way to some more involved styles and ideas. I will walk you through the different methods and how to use flourishes to enhance both your illustrations and your lettering designs. I have provided worksheets to help you get the feel of creating a variety of flourishes, and also a page of more ornamental styles to give you some creative inspiration. I will walk you through some of the ornamental styles on this page and show you how to use tracing paper to get the symmetrical look with a hand drawn design.
This class is for both beginners and seasoned artists. I provide ideas that will get you started as well as inspiration to take the ideas further in whatever form of art you love to create.
Join me as we explore this fun and versatile art form.
What you will need
- Paper
- Pencil - regular and soft lead. Any pencil in the B range is soft, I suggest a 3B.
- Eraser. I use both a white eraser and a putty or kneadable eraser.
- Pen. Regular fine or med tip art pen is great.
- Tracing paper. Any weight will work, as long as you can see through it nicely
- 3 downloads provided, printed out. You can print these worksheets as many times as you need to have lots of practice time.
- Optional - brush pens, calligraphy marker, paint brushes - we will use these in the lesson on exploring different pen styles.
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