So you want to learn hand lettering?

Im 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. Dont 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, theres nothing new under the sunand 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. Youll want to study the history of that style, learn how it originated, how it evolved, what it was used for, whats 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 youre 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 youre comfortable with. With this said, I have an entire post specifically on hand lettering pens.

Lettering Source Material & Inspiration

I expose myself to large quantities of classic and modern typography through the internet and spend great lengths of time recreating, experimenting with, and practicing my letters. The important thing is not to overly concern yourself with having the right information/books/references to start. In the beginning, you just need practice. Look at examples from the world around you and just start. Practice is the only thing you need to be concerning yourself with right now. You can access a great deal of examples and material to reference online. Focus on solidifying your basics before worrying about spending money on books.

Hand Lettering Books

I get asked a lot if I have books on hand lettering to recommend, so I figured it was about time to add this section to clearly address it. The truth is, I personally did not learn from books so there are none that I can recommend. I learned from experimentation and practice, and I highly recommend the same approach.

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, Ill use either a pencil or a brush penjust 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, Ive 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. Theres 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. Im 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. Youll notice that I have some very rought script, serif, sans-seirf, and block outline letters beginning to develop. Were 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, youll 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. Its almost unnoticeable if you dont know what to look for, but thats 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 Ill start out lightly, and gradually press in harder with the pencil to create the darker lines to be inked once Im quite certain of their shape. When I go to ink, I dont 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. Its ok if your pencil lines arent 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! Theres no going back at this point, so just relax, put on some music, and get in the zone where its just you, the pen and the paper. Theres nothing else in the world youre 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 youre 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.

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068: You Have One Life Set Bigger Goals 074: Curate What You Share 080: Making A Living With The Trifecta Part 1 of 3: Client Work

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- Sean