Difference between calligraphy and hand lettering
Let's start with the definitions:
calligraphy
[kuh-lig-ruh-fee]
noun
fancy penmanship, especially highly decorative handwriting, as with a great many flourishes: She appreciated the calligraphy of the 18th century.
handwriting; penmanship.
the art of writing beautifully: He studied calligraphy when he was a young man.
hand letter
[hand-let-er]
verb (used with object)
to print by hand: She hand-lettered a “for sale” sign.
Great now that is all cleared up this is how I feel about the two.
With calligraphy I use a dip pen or brush pen and use some basic strokes to form letters in a cursive way. I do add flourishes or keep it simple with a more modern approach. If going for a more traditional look I always use a dip pen and stick to the fundamental elements and strokes of the alphabet I choose.
When hand lettering I always hand draw out the letters individually and then go back and ink or color the letters. There is no flow to the process it is more like drawing.
With both calligraphy and hand lettering I sketch out my ideas or words and piece them together in similar ways but change things up depending on the look I am going for. In simple terms for calligraphy I maintain a flow with my pen and put the strokes together to form words and with hand lettering I draw all the letters individually.
I see calligraphy as hand lettering but not all hand lettering as calligraphy.
I hope this helps a little. I know there are many resources for this information and encourage you to check them out and find out what they mean to you.