3 Ways to Write Happy Birthday in Calligraphy

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Wow loved ones with an elegant, artistic birthday greeting
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Want to make a birthday card so pretty the recipient could frame it? Write “Happy Birthday” in calligraphy to create a fancy design with a thoughtful, handmade touch. With practice, even beginners can learn how to craft an elegant calligraphy birthday message—just take it letter by letter. Below are tutorials for different skill levels. We even spoke with calligraphy artists Katherine Rinewalt and Swetha Shenoy to get advice on practicing the ancient art form.

Best Calligraphy Tips for Beginners

  • Sketch guidelines with a pencil and ruler to help you write in a straight line.
  • Apply light pressure during upstrokes for a thin line and medium pressure during downstrokes for a thick line.
  • Go letter by letter, moving with your wrist instead of your fingers to avoid cramps.
  • Try faux calligraphy if you’re uncertain about using a dip or brush pen.
Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Happy Birthday Calligraphy: Step-by-Step Tutorial

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  1. First, trace three lines. Make the top one 2.75 inches (7.0 cm), the middle one 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) shorter than the top, and the last one 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) shorter than the middle. Space them about 0.8 inches (2.0 cm) apart. Create three more identical lines for “Birthday.” Sketch them 0.4 inches (1.0 cm) below the bottom line, starting at its center. [1]
    • If you only have one birthday card, practice on blank paper first before repeating the steps on your card when you’re ready.
    • If you’re writing calligraphy on a thin paper and worried about the guidelines showing, sketch them on another piece of paper and place it below your paper. Use a lightbox to see the guidelines, advises Rinewalt.
  2. 2
    Prepare your calligraphy pen and ink. This tutorial requires either a dip pen and ink or a thin brush pen . If you’re using a dip pen , dip the writing end in your ink well so that the reservoir of the nib (the small hole) is submerged. Ink will fill into the nib. Re-dip as needed while writing.
    • Shake excess ink off in your ink well (jar) before writing. Have a scratch paper nearby to blot on before starting your strokes if you’re afraid of dispensing too much ink onto the card.
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  3. 3
    Write your lowercase “h” across the top three guidelines. With your calligraphy pen, start a tail just above the second guideline, thinning as you create the loop at the top of the “h.” Complete the loop. Make a straight, forward-leaning line down to the bottom guideline. From there, make a thin, curved stroke toward the middle guideline. At that point, make a thicker stroke down to the bottom guideline. End your “h” with a small serif. [2]
    • The goal is to write the letter in one stroke without picking up your calligraphy pen until the letter is complete.
    • “When you do calligraphy, you want to use your wrist versus your fingers to move the pen,” says Rinewalt. Doing ‘finger writing’ where you move your fingers more than your wrist can result in hand cramps.
    • A serif is a small line or stroke attached at the end of a larger stroke in a letter. It usually stems from the top or bottom of a straight line.
  4. 4
    Write your “a” between the second and third guidelines. Place your calligraphy pen at the second guideline, about as far from the “h” as the “h” is wide (so that all your letters are about the same width). Arc from your starting point past the h’s serif, touching the third guideline. Make a straight, diagonal line back to your starting point to close the body of the “a.” Drag down to the third guideline for the “a” tail. Create another serif. [3]
    • The easiest way to make a serif is to flick your pen at the angle of your serif while pulling it off the page when it’s about halfway between two of your guidelines.
      • Try to match the serif’s angle to the serif on the “h” for consistency.
  5. 5
    Create your two “p” letters. Place your pen on the middle guideline and barely flick it upward to create a serif before dipping down below the third guideline for the tail of the “p.” Trace your tail back up to thicken it, arcing out when you’re almost to the middle guideline to create a loop. Close the “p” loop at the line you created, where it hits the third guideline. Repeat to write your second “p.” [4]
    • The line of your second “p” should extend down right where the lower set of three guidelines starts. If not, no worries! Extend the lower guidelines with a pencil.
  6. 6
    Draw your “y” across both sets of guidelines. Position your pen on the second guideline. Draw a small serif beside the second “p,” arcing down in a thick line until you hit the third guideline. From there, draw a thin line diagonally upward (like your “y” is a “v”) until you hit the second guideline. Make a small loop toward the left and drag your pen down to create your “y” tail. [5]
    • Once you hit the fifth guideline, curve leftward and upward. The tail of your “y” should end when it meets the fourth guideline. It should not touch the tail of the second “p.”
  7. 7
    Start “b” and “i” on the lower three guidelines. Place your pen on the fifth guideline, almost touching the “y” tail. Swoop upward and rightward toward the third guideline. Once you hit it, create a leftward loop into a downward line that hits the sixth guideline. From there, curve upward to the fifth guideline. Create a small leftward loop to ‘close’ your “b.” Extend the loop’s tail out to the right to connect the “b” to the “i,” stopping when you hit the fifth guideline. [6]
    • Drag your pen down in a straight line from that point, hitting the bottom guideline. Create a serif at the bottom and dot your “i.”
    EXPERT TIP

    Katherine Rinewalt

    Calligrapher
    Katherine Rinewalt is a Calligrapher based in Orlando, Florida. Katherine owns Rosebud Calligraphy and has over 6 years of experience. Rosebud Calligraphy is a calligraphy and stationery design studio offering invitations, handwritten pieces, and signage for weddings and special events. Katherine is passionate about helping others elevate their weddings and events with her personalized touch.
    Katherine Rinewalt
    Calligrapher

    Hold the pen between your thumb and index finger. Grip close to the end of the pen where the nib is so you have solid control as you write. The pen will be resting on your middle finger.

  8. 8
    Write your “r” between the lowest two guidelines. Begin at the fifth guideline, above the “i” serif. Start a small serif curving leftward and down in a thick line. Trace the line back over itself and flick right at the fifth guideline to create the top of your “r.” [7]
  9. 9
    Craft your “t” across all three lower guidelines. Place your pen at the fourth guideline and drag it down diagonally to create a thick line. Curve into a serif at the sixth guideline. Move your pen to hover halfway over the top line of the “r” and drag it rightward to cross your “t.” [8]
    • Only extend the “t” bar or cross as far as the serif at the bottom of the letter.
  10. 10
    Write your “h” across the three lower guidelines. As with the “t,” start at the fourth guideline and swoop downward at the same angle as the other letters until you hit the lowest guideline. From there, make a straight line toward the right until you create a point at the fifth guideline. Drag straight down in a thick line. Add a serif. [9]
  11. 11
    Craft your “d” across the three lowest guidelines. Start on the fifth guideline and arc leftward and downward, almost touching the serif of the “h.” From the lowest guideline, flick upward and rightward to create a straight, angled line that stops just short of the starting point. Move your pen up to the fourth guideline and swoop down at an angle, touching the last point you made as you hit the sixth line. Do a serif. [10]
  12. 12
    Draw your “a” between the lowest two guidelines. Start with your pen on what will be the right side of the “a” along the fifth guideline. Curve toward the “d” and down to the sixth guideline. Arc rightward to create a thin line, ending halfway toward the fifth guideline. From the fifth guideline, slope downward to close the “a” while hitting the sixth line. Put a serif. [11]
  13. 13
    Start the “y” like you did the first one. Position your pen on the fifth guideline above the serif of the “a.” Create a small serif and drag it downward to make a thick line. Flick toward the right to create a straight line (the “v” of the “y”) and a small loop leftward at the fifth guideline. Drag down and stop when you hit the sixth guideline. [12]
  14. 14
    Craft the “y”’s decorative loop. Place your pen at the sixth guideline where you stopped. Create a large loop that extends downward about 1.75 inches (4.4 cm) below the bottom guideline and leftward until the left side of the “d,” at which point it curves upward and eventually rightward and downward to close the loop. [13]
    • Keep moving past the closure (where the loop crosses itself in the tail of the “y” and double back like you’re drawing an infinity symbol.
    • Complete the tail by passing back through the top of the “y” tail and curving down through the left loop before curving beneath it. The “y” tail should look like an infinity symbol with an almost completed circle over its center.
  15. 15
    Go back over your lines to thicken them. Do so by applying slightly more pressure to the pen while making downstrokes. For “happy,” add downstrokes on the vertical lines of the “h,” the left and right sides of the “a,” along the tails and curves of the “p”s, and along the left curve and tail of the “y.” [14] For “birthday,” thicken the vertical lines of all letters, including the left-side curves on the “d” and “a.” For the “y,” thicken the left top line and the tail, as well as the outer curves of the infinity sign swoop. [15]
    • Fill in gaps between letters and serifs where desired for a more connected, cursive look.
    • Add a curve over the “h” if you’d like, swooping rightward and downward from the fourth guideline.
  16. 16
    If desired, add another loop below “happy.” For a more elaborate design, use a pencil to draw a C-shaped curve that starts below the “h,” about the same distance as the lowest guideline. The curve arcs upward before curving downward from the “a” to the “y” in “happy,” connecting with the “y” loop. Once it’s penciled in, trace over it with your calligraphy pen.
    • For a cleaner design, leave 0.3 inches (0.76 cm) gaps between your curve and the tails of the “p”s in “happy.”
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Happy Birthday Faux Calligraphy Tutorial

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  1. Open your birthday card flat so you see the top and bottom sections. Place a standard ruler so its top side is about two-thirds of the way down the bottom section. Lightly trace along the top side with a pencil. Move the ruler so its bottom side is touching the pencil line you just made. Trace along its top side to create your upper guideline. [16]
    • Your guidelines don’t need to extend all the way across the card. The standard greeting card is 7 inches (18 cm) across, so leave about a 1 inch (2.5 cm) border on each side of your guidelines. [17]
  2. 2
    Write “birthday” between your guidelines in faux calligraphy. Use a pencil to write your letters in a calligraphy style without a calligraphy pen. Begin by writing the word “birthday” lightly in lowercase cursive —a swooping font where all letters are connected. Go back over the letters and add extra lines along any straight lines and curves. These lines resemble a calligraphy pen’s downstrokes when filled in. [18]
    • Each letter should start on the lower guideline, but only the stems (lines) of the letters “b,” “t,” “h,” and “d” will touch the top guideline. The other letters or letter parts should extend to about halfway up from the bottom guideline.
    • To make things easier, use tracing paper to trace a real calligraphy script of the word “birthday” onto your card.
  3. 3
    Write “Happy” and the recipient’s name. Use a pencil and write in block letters or regular cursive, ideally in all caps. Make these words small so the faux calligraphy in the center of the card stands out. Write “Happy” above the top guideline, roughly spanning the “rthd” part of “birthday.” Write the recipient’s name below the bottom guideline so it’s centered with “Happy.” [19]
  4. 4
    Use a gel pen to fill in your words. If you’re using a light-colored gel pen on a colored card, you’ll want to erase your pencil or do several traces to cover the markings. Trace each letter in “Happy,” “birthday,” and their name. Then, use your pen to fill in the extra lines you left in “birthday” to emulate calligraphy marks. [20]
    • Let the ink dry before you close the card so it doesn’t transfer onto the upper section.
    • If you’re using a dark-colored gel pen on a white or light-colored card, there is no need to erase it.
  5. 5
    Optional: Add sparkles, flowers, or laurels around the text. Leave your elegant text unadorned, or dress it up for an even fancier design. To add sparkles, make angled “+” signs around the word birthday with your gel pen. [21]
    • Sketch a ring of flowers for a simple, cute border around the text. Start by drawing a half-circle on top and another on bottom. Doodle small flowers along these lines to create a ring.
    • Alternatively, draw a laurel wreath that encircles the word birthday. Start by drawing two curved lines on the left and right sides of the word birthday, like two parentheses. Draw small, tapered oval leaves along the lines to create an elegant design.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Happy Birthday Brush Calligraphy Tutorial

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  1. Using brush pens is tricky with a card because it’s such a small surface for a paint-like design. Write your birthday message on a full sheet of standard paper, oriented horizontally. If you’re concerned about the brush pen’s ink bleeding through, choose a thicker paper type like cardstock.
    • Tombow is a popular brush-pen brand for beginners, says Shenoy.
    • If you’re new to brush pen calligraphy, Shenoy recommends printing out calligraphy worksheets to practice your strokes and letters on. “Practice is key when you're learning any kind of calligraphy. Repeated brushstrokes are essential,” she says.
  2. 2
    Freehand “Happy” across the top of a page. Apply light pressure when making upstrokes, and more pressure when making downstrokes. This will result in thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes that resemble those of a calligraphy pen, giving your text the signature calligraphy look. [22]
    • For a more colorful design, use three different colors of brush pens. Switch colors for every letter, repeating the colors once you’ve used all three in a row.
    • The thick lines in “Happy” should be the two vertical lines of the “H,” the curve and vertical lines of the “a” and “p”s, and the left vertical line and right vertical line/tail of the “y.”
    • If you’re new to calligraphy, look up example fonts online and imitate their appearance and strokes when writing.
  3. Write the “B” further left than the “H” in “Happy” since it’s a longer word. As before, use differing amounts of pressure to vary the strokes’ thickness for a calligraphy effect. Apply more pressure on downstrokes to create a thicker line and light pressure on upstrokes to create a thin line. [23]
    • The thick lines in “Birthday” should be the vertical line and two curves of “B,” the stem of “i,” the right-side stem of the cursive “r,” the vertical lines of “t,” “h,” “d,” and “a,” the curves of “h,” “d,” and “a,” and the left vertical line and right vertical line/tail of the letter “y.”
    • ”Birthday” will likely extend past “Happy”—make sure you leave enough room as you write so you don’t run up against the end of the page.
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      Things You’ll Need

      Beginner Happy Birthday Calligraphy Tutorial

      Happy Birthday Faux Calligraphy Tutorial

      Happy Birthday Calligraphy Tutorial (Brush Pens)

      • One to three colors of brush pens
      • Sheet of paper (printer paper or cardstock)

      References

      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=11
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=29
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=35
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=40
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=52
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=61
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=69
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=73
      9. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=78
      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=82
      2. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=86
      3. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=90
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=94
      5. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=102
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/nAZRS--j8MQ?t=121
      7. ↑ https://www.thehappyevercrafter.com/blog/easy-diy-calligraphy-birthday-card/
      8. ↑ https://www.coreldraw.com/en/blog/greeting-card-design/
      9. ↑ https://www.thehappyevercrafter.com/blog/easy-diy-calligraphy-birthday-card/
      10. ↑ https://www.thehappyevercrafter.com/blog/easy-diy-calligraphy-birthday-card/
      11. ↑ https://www.thehappyevercrafter.com/blog/easy-diy-calligraphy-birthday-card/
      12. ↑ https://www.thehappyevercrafter.com/blog/easy-diy-calligraphy-birthday-card/
      13. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-g7_-yn3N1w?t=1&feature=share
      14. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-g7_-yn3N1w?t=15&feature=share

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