Seb is a designer and calligrapher from Lewes in East Sussex, England. He’s also a social media darling and a leader of an online arts community, thanks to his incredible calligraphic skills.

Seb’s craft, calligraphy, is as old as time. Writers and artists have been designing and decorating the texts they were writing ever since writing existed, and we can find examples of calligraphic traditions all over the world – from China and India to the United States. There’s something captivating in intricate, carefully-designed lettering – it’s as if the text is more than just a text, the ink on the paper itself is a type of art.

Unfortunately, like many age-old traditions, calligraphy has been a dying art in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Today, most of us communicate via text messages and emails, not hand-written letters, and the interest in such thing is quickly waning. But Seb has brought calligraphy to the 21^st century, thanks to social media.

Seb has been documenting and sharing his work on Instagram for years, and the platform has helped him, as well as other calligraphers, find a new audience, in followers who enjoy seeing the writing process itself. In an age when our day-to-day is overwhelmed with stimulations, Seb’s slow, deliberate process is oddly soothing.  

Today, Seb has 1 million followers on Instagram, and he can keep doing what he loves – turning letters into art.  

The post Designer Turns Letters into Art appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Born in 1981 in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed was disconnected from his Arabic roots, speaking only the Tunisian dialect of the language at home. In his teenage years in a kind of quest to rediscover his identity, he began to delve into his own heritage and learned to read and write standard Arabic. It was during this journey that he began to develop his artistic style of calligraphy, which would later bring him worldwide acclaim.

“As a kid, I was into hip hop culture,” he recalled in an interview with Art Radar. “Graffiti was the natural medium for me to express myself in an artistic way. It became more and more a case of [me finding my] identity and reconnecting with my Arabic roots.”

According to eL Seed, Arabic calligraphy was a way for him to build a link between his equally important French and Tunisian backgrounds. “I mix graffiti, which is a ‘western’ medium (although I don’t like to use this term) and Arabic calligraphy, which is an ancient eastern way of expression,” he says. “Bringing both together is a way for me to bring together a picture that seems contradictory, but actually is not. I think that’s the power of calligraphy and art in general. [They] bring two worlds together and link them. That’s why I feel that my work speaks for me.”

Take a look at some of his inspiring work.

The post French Artist Mixes Graffiti and Arabic Calligraphy appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Over the past years, Lampas took part in group exhibitions and art projects held in Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Korea, and the UAE. In 2015, he performed the first world’s largest calligraffiti on the roof of a building in Moscow – an artwork that can be seen from a satellite and on Google Earth.

“For me, Calligraffiti is a great way to create art non-stop,” he shared with the Fendi blog. “Now I can easily take a big bucket of paint and perform my art everywhere. On walls, on glass, on cars!”

“The Calligrafuturism is my self-developed style,” he went on to explain. “We’re all living in a multi-cultural world and if I can help people to learn more about foreign calligraphy, they’ll learn more about other countries. So that’s why Calligrafuturism is so important for me, I don’t want to make something new just because I’m crazy, I want to create it because I can see a very big knowledge and that’s why I’m doing it.”

He admits that he’s always hunting for the next best surface to work on. “Of course, I prefer something smooth, but it depends on the material and the tools,” he says. “So, if I could find something very nice to work on outside this earth, it would probably be the moon. That would be my favorite surface!”

Take a look at some of his out-of-this-world murals:

The post Pokras Lampas Mixes Together Calligraphy and Graffiti appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I feel like lettering has added so much to my life and given me the balance it needed through some busy and tough times,” she gushed in an interview with Surely Simple. “It is amazing how adding just a few hours of a hobby for yourself can make you a better, all-around more effective person. I feel like I am currently the best wife, mom, and teacher I have ever been and I think much of that is allowing myself to take part in an activity that uses my creativity, relaxes me, and brings me constant joy and inspiration.”

Her first and most important tip to starting calligraphers? To have fun! “It is so important to have fun and find your own style through the process of practicing modern calligraphy,” she told Surely Simple. “My biggest tip is to find your own style through lettering. This takes tons of practice but will make your lettering unique and will make it so much more fun!”

Aside from using a pointed pen, she also works with gouache, Tombow brush pens, and watercolor brushes to write her calligraphy. “My favorite way to explore new styles is to pick up a pencil or brush pen and just start writing,” she says. “Yes, there are tons of inspiring people on Instagram and it’s ok to find things that you like in others’ work, but the best way to find your own style is to put down the phone, get out the pens, and just practice until you find what you love.”

Take note!

The post Improve Your Lettering Skills with This Lefty Calligrapher appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Born and raised in Hokkaido, Japan, Yamaguchi has been trained to master the basics of calligraphy by learning under the Master Zuiho Sato since at the age of 6, while refining her knowledge and skills. “I grew up in small towns in the countryside of Hokkaido, surrounded by beautiful nature,” she recalled in an interview with The Design Kids. “I started to read and write around age 3. I loved drawing, writing stories, crafts, anything to do with paper, paints, pencils and pens, glue, playing piano, using my hands. I loved exploring the woods, hiking in the mountains, walking into the river, playing with snow.”

While exploring, she’d come up with stories, and write them down in notebooks at home. “Around 5-6 years old, I made a series of picture books with my illustrations and my little fantasy stories; about this bear exploring the forest, flying on the cloud, traveling around the world,” she said. “I remember bringing the book I made to the calligraphy school and showing it to Master Sato. My childhood dream was to become a novel writer.”

Her current works show her exploration in juxtaposing the traditional Eastern classics and her contemporary artistic expressions, as well as her unique ambition of transforming two-dimensional art of Japanese Calligraphy into the art of physical expression through performances.

Currently residing in Berkeley, California, Yamaguchi continues her work on her conceptual calligraphy installations, exhibitions, and performances as she continues to push the boundaries of traditional Eastern classics and contemporary artistic expression.

Prepare to be wowed.

The post Japanese Artist Pushes the Boundaries of Traditional Calligraphy appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Seb is a designer and calligrapher from Lewes in East Sussex, England. He’s also a social media darling and a leader of an online arts community, thanks to his incredible calligraphic skills.

Seb’s craft, calligraphy, is as old as time. Writers and artists have been designing and decorating the texts they were writing ever since writing existed, and we can find examples of calligraphic traditions all over the world – from China and India to the United States. There’s something captivating in intricate, carefully-designed lettering – it’s as if the text is more than just a text, the ink on the paper itself is a type of art.

Unfortunately, like many age-old traditions, calligraphy has been a dying art in the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Today, most of us communicate via text messages and emails, not hand-written letters, and the interest in such thing is quickly waning. But Seb has brought calligraphy to the 21^st century, thanks to social media.

Seb has been documenting and sharing his work on Instagram for years, and the platform has helped him, as well as other calligraphers, find a new audience, in followers who enjoy seeing the writing process itself. In an age when our day-to-day is overwhelmed with stimulations, Seb’s slow, deliberate process is oddly soothing.  

Today, Seb has 1 million followers on Instagram, and he can keep doing what he loves – turning letters into art.  

The post Designer Turns Letters into Art appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Born in 1981 in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed was disconnected from his Arabic roots, speaking only the Tunisian dialect of the language at home. In his teenage years in a kind of quest to rediscover his identity, he began to delve into his own heritage and learned to read and write standard Arabic. It was during this journey that he began to develop his artistic style of calligraphy, which would later bring him worldwide acclaim.

“As a kid, I was into hip hop culture,” he recalled in an interview with Art Radar. “Graffiti was the natural medium for me to express myself in an artistic way. It became more and more a case of [me finding my] identity and reconnecting with my Arabic roots.”

According to eL Seed, Arabic calligraphy was a way for him to build a link between his equally important French and Tunisian backgrounds. “I mix graffiti, which is a ‘western’ medium (although I don’t like to use this term) and Arabic calligraphy, which is an ancient eastern way of expression,” he says. “Bringing both together is a way for me to bring together a picture that seems contradictory, but actually is not. I think that’s the power of calligraphy and art in general. [They] bring two worlds together and link them. That’s why I feel that my work speaks for me.”

Take a look at some of his inspiring work.

The post French Artist Mixes Graffiti and Arabic Calligraphy appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Over the past years, Lampas took part in group exhibitions and art projects held in Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Korea, and the UAE. In 2015, he performed the first world’s largest calligraffiti on the roof of a building in Moscow – an artwork that can be seen from a satellite and on Google Earth.

“For me, Calligraffiti is a great way to create art non-stop,” he shared with the Fendi blog. “Now I can easily take a big bucket of paint and perform my art everywhere. On walls, on glass, on cars!”

“The Calligrafuturism is my self-developed style,” he went on to explain. “We’re all living in a multi-cultural world and if I can help people to learn more about foreign calligraphy, they’ll learn more about other countries. So that’s why Calligrafuturism is so important for me, I don’t want to make something new just because I’m crazy, I want to create it because I can see a very big knowledge and that’s why I’m doing it.”

He admits that he’s always hunting for the next best surface to work on. “Of course, I prefer something smooth, but it depends on the material and the tools,” he says. “So, if I could find something very nice to work on outside this earth, it would probably be the moon. That would be my favorite surface!”

Take a look at some of his out-of-this-world murals:

The post Pokras Lampas Mixes Together Calligraphy and Graffiti appeared first on PlayJunkie.

“I feel like lettering has added so much to my life and given me the balance it needed through some busy and tough times,” she gushed in an interview with Surely Simple. “It is amazing how adding just a few hours of a hobby for yourself can make you a better, all-around more effective person. I feel like I am currently the best wife, mom, and teacher I have ever been and I think much of that is allowing myself to take part in an activity that uses my creativity, relaxes me, and brings me constant joy and inspiration.”

Her first and most important tip to starting calligraphers? To have fun! “It is so important to have fun and find your own style through the process of practicing modern calligraphy,” she told Surely Simple. “My biggest tip is to find your own style through lettering. This takes tons of practice but will make your lettering unique and will make it so much more fun!”

Aside from using a pointed pen, she also works with gouache, Tombow brush pens, and watercolor brushes to write her calligraphy. “My favorite way to explore new styles is to pick up a pencil or brush pen and just start writing,” she says. “Yes, there are tons of inspiring people on Instagram and it’s ok to find things that you like in others’ work, but the best way to find your own style is to put down the phone, get out the pens, and just practice until you find what you love.”

Take note!

The post Improve Your Lettering Skills with This Lefty Calligrapher appeared first on PlayJunkie.

Born and raised in Hokkaido, Japan, Yamaguchi has been trained to master the basics of calligraphy by learning under the Master Zuiho Sato since at the age of 6, while refining her knowledge and skills. “I grew up in small towns in the countryside of Hokkaido, surrounded by beautiful nature,” she recalled in an interview with The Design Kids. “I started to read and write around age 3. I loved drawing, writing stories, crafts, anything to do with paper, paints, pencils and pens, glue, playing piano, using my hands. I loved exploring the woods, hiking in the mountains, walking into the river, playing with snow.”

While exploring, she’d come up with stories, and write them down in notebooks at home. “Around 5-6 years old, I made a series of picture books with my illustrations and my little fantasy stories; about this bear exploring the forest, flying on the cloud, traveling around the world,” she said. “I remember bringing the book I made to the calligraphy school and showing it to Master Sato. My childhood dream was to become a novel writer.”

Her current works show her exploration in juxtaposing the traditional Eastern classics and her contemporary artistic expressions, as well as her unique ambition of transforming two-dimensional art of Japanese Calligraphy into the art of physical expression through performances.

Currently residing in Berkeley, California, Yamaguchi continues her work on her conceptual calligraphy installations, exhibitions, and performances as she continues to push the boundaries of traditional Eastern classics and contemporary artistic expression.

Prepare to be wowed.

The post Japanese Artist Pushes the Boundaries of Traditional Calligraphy appeared first on PlayJunkie.