10-Step Introductory Guide by s - Desconocido

So you want to learn hand lettering? I’m often asked for tutorials on how to create hand lettering, or where one can go to learn hand lettering. Personally, I learned to make lettering by observation and experimentation. I hope what I share here will serve as an invitation for you to explore the hand lettering techniques, methods, and styles that work for you so you can develop your own process. Don’t take what I share here as gospel, but rather view it simply as my story, and then hopefully take the inspiration to create your own.

General tips for getting into lettering Well first off, there’s nothing new under the sun—and type is no exception. There are only so many ways a letter design can be expressed and still remain recognizable. You want to familiarize yourself intimately with each of the groups of type (serif, sans serif, script, blackletter, calligraphy etc.)

and then understand the characteristics of the type that are in these groups and how they are designed. This understanding will influence your hand drawn lettering. You want to eventually be able to draw letters with the proper weight and stroke contrast without reference material so you can develop your own style. The best way to do this is to focus on one thing at time. For example: say you pick serif to work on first. You’ll want to study the history of that style, learn how it originated, how it evolved, what it was used for, what’s different or the same now compared to a few hundred years ago. A foundational understanding is very helpful, but of course the best way to solidify this is to draw letterforms and LOTS of them. Pick some reference material and recreate it. Start with just a single letter and pay attention to all of the subtle intricacies and attempt to replicate it. Trace the letters even. Whatever helps you become more familiar. Of course, make sure you’re not sharing copied work. This is strictly for practice. More on that here: On Copying.

What pens are best for hand lettering? The best pen is the one you’re comfortable with. With this said, I have an entire post specifically on hand lettering pens.

Hand Lettering Process When starting out, I like to draw a number of small thumbnails to help flesh out a general direction for the composition. For this rough stage, I’ll use either a pencil or a brush pen—just something easy to get the idea out. Effortless prototyping is the goal, so use whatever tool is easiest to crank out iterations with.

Step 1 In this very first step, I’ve simply written out the words to be used. For this piece, the quote is one I wrote myself, so I was still working through exactly what I wanted it to say. This gives you a basic look at the number of words you have to work with, and is a good way to overcome the blank page syndrome. There’s no pressure, simply write out your phrase in simple handwriting.

Step 2 You can see in this next version, I start to formulate a rough composition. I’m gauging a tentative arrangement and contemplating which words should be in which lines. Here, I try to stack lines in a comprehensible way that gives important words the necessary focus.

Step 3 Building off of the previous step, I begin to incorporate some vague indications of style for the various words. You’ll notice that I have some very rough script, serif, sans-seirf, and block outline letters beginning to develop. We’re starting to get a decent idea of our composition, and we can begin to pay attention to potential letter interactions and overall balance.

Step 4 This improvement is subtle, but one that is the start of tightening things up. The first three words are now all in one line. We start to see the first interaction of the ‘f’ descender in ‘Life’ interacting with the second line. If you look closely, you’ll also notice some faint pencil lines. These guides and shapes are used as a reference for building the initial sketch of the actual composition.

Step 5 With the ‘f’ descender presenting a unique opportunity, I explored a few ways that it could descend without interrupting the flow and legibility of the words in the second line. The highlighted solution is what ended up being in the final piece. The ‘f’ swoops down to completed the cross bar of the ‘A’ for a smart fit that prevents any awkward extra space. It’s almost unnoticeable if you don’t know what to look for, but that’s the beauty of it.

Step 6 Going off of the rough pencil guides from a couple steps ago, I create a much more precise and even pencil sketch. I render the previously chosen styles with detail and pay close attention to spacing, balance, and legibility.

Step 7 Much of my time is spent in these pencil stages. Typically I’ll start out lightly, and gradually press in harder with the pencil to create the darker lines to be inked once I’m quite certain of their shape. When I go to ink, I don’t want there to be any thinking left to do. Only rendering.

Step 8 The pencil sketch is complete. The primary thing you want to nail in this stage are the styles, spacing, alignment and balance. It’s ok if your pencil lines aren’t perfect, but the closer you are to perfect, the easier the inking will be, so take your time.

Step 9 Now, we finally begin the exhilaratingly dangerous stage of inking! There’s no going back at this point, so just relax, put on some music, and get in the zone where it’s just you, the pen and the paper. There’s nothing else in the world you’re thinking about but the very line you are drawing at this precise moment. There will be time for the zoomed out look later, but now is for the macro detail.

Step 10 After much patience, and often numerous breaks, you will see the conclusion that is hopefully your grand vision. If you’re anything like me, I encourage you to bask in this moment, for tomorrow you will see only flaws. We are our own worst critics, after all. This is a good thing however, because it keeps us moving forward, and it ensures that we push ourselves to be better and better with each and every new piece.

seanwes podcast If you’re a freelancer, my podcast is all about conflating creativity & business. We talk about everything from clients to productivity, to inspiration, workspace, creative block, practice, marketing, and more! Here’s a few really good episodes: • 068: You Have One Life – Set Bigger Goals • 080: Making A Living With The Trifecta Part 1 of 3: Client Work • 149: 6 Ways to Stay Motivated (and How to Find Drive in the First Place) • 176: Audience Building: Getting People’s Attention & Increasing Your Influence

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