Hand Lettering

Do you carry the proverbial “I can’t letter” chip on your shoulder? You know the one… it drives you to do all of your journaling on your beautiful layout last or (gasp) use your computer to do your writing for you? Do you believe that there is no way you can create hand-lettered titles and neatly spaced blocks of information? Would you believe me if I told you that you could? Didn’t think so…. let me give it a shot anyway!

When I begin my lettering classes I try to stress that we all have preconceived notions about what we are capable of, artistically speaking.

I think that with a little bit of practice and gentle guidance,everyone of us can be great at lettering! First, you need to have the right supplies available: a pencil, white eraser and lots of white cardstock. I use ZIG Millennium pens in several different sizes.

Begin by creating a baseline, and a ceiling line in pencil. After you have lightly traced these lines you are ready to create your title. In this example, you can see that this is a very chunky alphabet. You want to draw your base line of your top line of your title and the ceiling line of your second line of type close together. In other words, you don't want to create a lot of white space between the lines of type in your title.

Begin drawing your letters by
replacing one vertical line with a box (see figure 1). Notice that all of the letters in the alphabet are not suited for a box such as the "S", "y", and lower case "e". Its o.k. not to create a box for every letter. This creates a more pleasing title. After you have sketched out all of your letters, trace over them with a .02 black pen and erase your pencil lines. Add the detail that is shown in figure 2 and 3. When adding your daisies, keep them quick and simple. With this alphabet, the messier, the better. Don't try to be perfect! Last, color in your letters with fun combinations like bright orange and lime green or hot pink and bright blue. (figure 4) I have found that lining over your letters in a really light color (like EK powder blue or English lavender) softens the letters and adds a finishing touch to your title.

Be creative! Use this alphabet with stars, turn the boxes into gifts or crayons.... let your imagination run wild! I hope that you’ll enjoy this alphabet as much as I do and remember... practice, practice, practice!

This article is provided for personal use only by Danielle Donaldson. Reproduction for distribution is prohibited.