ATLA: Calligraphy
When Sokka first approaches Piandao, Piandao is practicing his calligraphy and later on attempts to teach Sokka. Attempts being the keyword. Sorry Sokka, you’ll never be a proper gentleman :P
But what makes good calligraphy?
Utensils:
Brush, inkstick, ink slap/stone, paper, seal, seal paste and paper weights.
Calligraphy is done with a brush, not a quill. Brushes come in many different sizes and types, from soft to hard, depending on what style of calligraphy they are intended for.
The ink is made on site by grinding up the inkstick on the ink slab with a bit of water.
The seal is a carved stamp with the artist’s name, red paste is used to ‘sign’ the finished piece and/or as identification on official letters (see Ozai’s official seal on the wanted posters).
As for the writing itself: What makes good calligraphy?
- Characters must be written correctly i.e. in the right stroke order. Typical stroke order is from left to right, from top to bottom (with variation in a few cases).
- Characters must be recognizable as a certain style or script. There are many different styles, from flowing Grass Script to ancient Oracle Bone Script.
- Characters must be concise (extra flourishes would change the word you are writing).
- Characters must fit the context/topic. Often calligraphy is chosen alongside a painting. The painting, the poem and the calligraphy itself should create a pleasing unit, not three separate parts.
- Characters must show both yin and yang qualities i.e. “shadow and light” aka ‘thick and thin’ parts. When you write characters with a brush the tilt and pressure of the brush creates dark and light parts, the balance thereof should be pleasing and fit the topic.
