June & Lucy vs Loopinky: Which Calligraphy Workbook Is Right for You?

If you've searched for calligraphy workbooks on Amazon, chances are you've seen June & Lucy at the top of the results. Their flagship title, The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners, has become the go-to recommendation for anyone wanting to learn modern calligraphy from scratch. It's the #1 bestseller in its category — and for good reason.

Loopinky, on the other hand, takes a completely different path. Rather than focusing on one elegant calligraphy style for beginners, Loopinky workbooks offer multiple creative lettering styles in every volume — from comics lettering and Western scripts to ocean-inspired calligraphy. The result is two brands that serve different needs and complement each other beautifully.

June & Lucy: The Gold Standard for Beginners

June & Lucy have earned their #1 bestseller status through consistently high-quality, beginner-friendly content. The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners is exactly what its title promises: a comprehensive, step-by-step introduction to modern calligraphy.

The book covers everything a complete beginner needs: basic strokes, letter formations, connecting letters, and building confidence with a brush pen. The instructions are clear, the practice space is generous, and the progression from simple strokes to full words feels natural and encouraging.

What makes June & Lucy particularly effective is their focused approach. By concentrating on one beautiful modern calligraphy style, they can take the reader from absolute zero to writing elegant phrases without overwhelming them with choices. For someone who has never picked up a brush pen, this focused methodology is invaluable.

Loopinky: Creative Exploration Beyond the Basics

Loopinky workbooks are designed for a different moment in your lettering journey. Instead of teaching one style from scratch, each book delivers 5 to 10 completely distinct lettering styles, each with full A-Z alphabets, numbers, and punctuation. The philosophy is creative diversity: giving you a range of expressive tools rather than perfecting a single one.

Comics Lettering Vol.1 alone contains 10 completely different lettering styles across 210 pages. Each style has its own personality — from superhero-bold to manga-inspired — giving you creative options that simply don't exist in traditional calligraphy workbooks. It's a playground for anyone who already knows how to hold a pen and wants to push their skills in unexpected directions.

Beach Premium brings coastal elegance to calligraphy with flowing, wave-inspired scripts and decorative flourishes. Meanwhile, the Drift workbook distills ocean-inspired calligraphy into a focused, accessible format.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	June & Lucy	Loopinky
Best for	Complete beginners	Post-beginner & creative exploration
Style variety	1 modern calligraphy style	5-10 styles per book
Teaches basics?	Yes, from scratch	Assumes basic pen skills
Style direction	Elegant modern calligraphy	Comics, ocean, Western, themed
Page count	~120-160 pages	108-210 pages
Price range	~$8-$12	$9.99-$14.99
Complete alphabets	1 per book	5-10 per book

Which Should You Choose?

The right workbook depends on where you are in your calligraphy journey:

• Brand new to calligraphy? Start with June & Lucy's The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners. Their focused, step-by-step approach will build your foundational skills properly and give you the confidence to write beautifully.
• Comfortable with basic letterforms? Loopinky will expand your creative horizons with styles you've never encountered. Comics lettering, ocean-inspired scripts, and Western calligraphy are entirely different artistic territories worth exploring.
• Want the complete experience? Get both. Use June & Lucy to master the fundamentals, then pick up a Loopinky workbook to discover just how many directions your pen skills can take you.

Better Together: Two Chapters of the Same Story

We genuinely believe June & Lucy and Loopinky work best as complements, not competitors. June & Lucy gives you the solid technical foundation every calligrapher needs — the ability to form beautiful, consistent modern calligraphy. Loopinky gives you the creative breadth that keeps calligraphy endlessly exciting.

Think of it like learning to draw: June & Lucy teaches you anatomy and proportions. Loopinky teaches you manga, pop art, impressionism, and street art. You need the foundation and the exploration to become a well-rounded artist.

The hand lettering world is vast enough for elegant modern scripts and bold comics lettering. For flowing ocean calligraphy and rugged Western styles. The most versatile calligraphers are those who embrace the full spectrum.

There's no rivalry between mastering the fundamentals and exploring creative styles. They're two chapters of the same story — and the best calligraphers read both.