Light-colored writing on dark paper is best achieved with either gouache or acrylic ink because of their opacity and high pigment concentration. However, even the most opaque colors will sometimes require a technique called infilling. Because opaque colors are relatively thick, the drag of the nib from stroke to stroke can actually pull the paint away from the top and bottom of the strokes, leaving a semi-empty spot. If you write on a slanted surface, you will find that gravity compounds this effect and your need for infilling increases. While the color is still wet—it will be too late if you wait until the end of a line of text—lightly press your nib down at the top of the downstroke and hold it there for a second. A bead of color will come out of the nib and spread down the length of the stroke, filling in the empty spot. The slight indent that your original stroke made in the paper, coupled with the outline it left, will prevent this second application of color from spreading outside the edges of the stroke. You may have to draw your nib downward slightly to evenly distribute the added color, but refrain from going over the entire stroke multiple times, or you could tear up the paper underneath.
Since graphite doesn’t show up well on dark paper and only translucent paper can be used with light boxes to trace designs, soapstone pencils offer the best alternative when you don’t want to do the calligraphy freehand. Soapstone lines can be calligraphed over and then erased without a trace once the calligraphy is dry—not even an indent in the paper. They are ideal for drawing horizontal guidelines and outlines of your lettering on dark paper. Their fine tips mean they’re also great for chalkboard lettering.
The circular address on this envelope was created by drawing a circle in soapstone pencil and using it as the center line for the text that goes around it (meaning that the center of each letter aligned with the circle). The recipient’s name is written on horizontal baselines for contrast.