Lettering - beginner's edition

I thought I would answer some frequently asked questions about how to begin hand lettering.

My first bit of advice: just start!

Use whatever supplies you can gather. Start with a pencil, eraser, ruler and paper.

I use a mechanical pencil because it travels well and is always sharpened. You can find these at most stores and sometimes just laying around the house. I also have a set of drawing pencils from years ago that I started with.

The next item can most often be found on the end of your pencil. You can start out using any old eraser but if you are like me, that thing will get a work out and you can invest a couple of dollars on a bigger, better one. I prefer a soft eraser so I don't feel like I am damaging my paper on the 45th time I start over.

Rulers are invaluable for keeping consistent at the beginning. I most often use a 6-inch clear plastic one to just get lines down on the paper. I also use some circle guides and t-squares when I am laying out a larger piece.

When I first started, I bought a sketch pad and thought it would be cool to flip through and see all my work in a cute little book but I found out I can't work with the paper attached. I like to rip the paper out and put it on a clip board that I can move all around. I use everything from copy paper to watercolor paper depending on what medium I am using.

Now that you have rounded up all of the necessary tools, let's start the fun stuff. I know when I started all I wanted to do was make a perfect, finished piece but I quickly realized I needed some skills. I did some google searches and bought online courses and a few lettering worksheets from amazing artists (that I still admire and buy classes and products from - I will link to them at the bottom of this post).

I am going to break this next bit into 2 different parts: drawing letters and modern calligraphy.

Drawing letters is just that - find a style or styles of letters you like and draw them. Put different styles together to make a fun and whimsy style or something more dramatic. Once you get used to the basic form and shape of letters you can add and subtract details to make them more your own.

Modern calligraphy is my go-to everyday lettering. Learning the shapes and strokes first really helped me put letters together that all looked like the same style. You can get familiar with the letter forms using faux calligraphy - that's where you draw your letters and then make the downstroke thicker while the upstroke stays the single line.

When you get the fundamentals down you can really find what works for you and change some letters to make your statement really pop. You will eventually find a style that people notice as yours. This took me close to three years to have a style that people tell me is recognizable as mine.

As promised, I've included some of the links that still help me out. Here are some of my favorite websites and blogs:

The Postman's Knock

Amanda Arneill

Two Easels

Books can also be an invaluable resource for learning letterforms and for inspiration. A couple ones that I own and refer to often are below (these are just recommendations of books I've purchased myself and I don't get anything from Amazon for the referral):

Modern Calligraphy: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started in Script Calligraphy

by Molly Suber Thorpe

Hand-Lettering Ledger: A Practical Guide to Creating Serif, Script, Illustrated, Ornate, and Other Totally Original Hand-Drawn Styles

by Mary Kate McDevitt

Drawing Type: An Introduction to Illustrating Letterforms

by Alex Fowkes

If you would like to check out the worksheets I designed with my style, here is a link to my Etsy listing:

Hand Lettering Worksheet - Small Casual Style

I am looking forward to seeing all of your creations. Find me on Instagram @detailsandscribbles and let me see what you are working on.

Here is my Amazon Storefront link: www.amazon.com/shop/detailsandscribbles

Just to be as open as possible, I did sign up for an associates account on Amazon so I could point you to the products. I do get a small amount if you order from these but you do not pay more. Also, I have purchased some of these at Target, Walmart and Michaels so always be on the look out for a good deal or a coupon!