Hand Lettering Tutorials

Hand lettering basics: a tutorial guide for beginners.

Everyday and everywhere, you are surrounded by letters and written messages. From logotypes to posters, billboards, t-shirts or book covers, letters not only tell a story but evoke certain emotions as well. What if, instead of using an already existing font, you could draw beautiful hand lettering that’s full of personality?

Even if you’ve already dipped your toes into the infinite universe of hand lettering, or you’ve thought about trying it out but weren’t sure where to start, you are in the right place! We’re going to take a look at the essentials that you need to start this wonderful journey of hand lettering.

I’ve been hand lettering for a little over a year, and it all started when a weekly challenge popped up on Instagram and I decided to enroll. I previously played around with calligraphy, but I wasn’t really sure what the difference between that and hand lettering was. I had zero experience, never taken a class, never watched someone do it live. I just thought it would be fun—and it was! Since then, I’ve been lettering almost daily, and learning this skill has been one of the best things I’ve ever done!

By the end of this article, you’ll know the basics of hand lettering and have the confidence to create your own pieces!

What is hand lettering?

Many people out there confuse hand lettering, calligraphy, typesetting and type design and use the term “type” or “typography” to refer to all of these.

Type design

Type design is the process of making typefaces which all of us can use. A type designer creates systems of letters, making sure that all letters of the alphabet work together in endless combinations.

Typesetting simply means arranging type that’s been created by a type designer in a given layout. This might be as simple as a black and white newspaper or as complex as a typography-driven brochure.

Back in the day, this was done by hand. Today, we do it all on a computer.

Calligraphy

Calligraphy is flawless, gorgeous handwriting. After many years of practice, calligraphers use muscle memory to perfect their style so that the next time they gets commissioned to create a wedding invitation, for example, they can perfectly write all the copy on the first try. Although hand lettering often imitates calligraphy, the process behind the two is very different.

Hand lettering

Finally, hand lettering is the art of drawing letters and can take on many shapes and sizes, from traditional-looking letters to intricate, detailed and not-so-obvious looking ones. This can be done in any style, on any material, with any media.

Even though there are no rules in hand lettering, there are still guidelines that we need to take into consideration.

How to start hand lettering

Before we start, let’s take a quick look at how hand lettering can be used. You might be surprised to see just how many ways there are to use this art form!

1. Get your tools

You don’t need any fancy tools to be a hand-letterer. When I started to get into lettering, I thought I needed the most expensive and professional pens, judging by all those super-duper shots from Instagram. I bought a bunch of brushes and pens which I probably used… five times?

The only tools you will truly use are a pencil, paper, eraser and ruler. If you want your lettering to look calligraphic, consider using the proper calligraphic tools (such as brush pens or nibs), but you can do just fine without (more on that later).

If you want to bring your lettering in the digital medium, there are a few ways to make it happen. To start digitally from scratch, use a graphic tablet or an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to draw. Or scan your piece, and edit it in Photoshop or Illustrator by using the built-in tracing option or by tracing it yourself using the Pen tool.

2. Know about letter construction and relation

Guidelines are very important in the process of drawing letters. They help you keep your letters in proper proportion so they’ll have a harmonious relationship between one another.

The ascender line shows how long the ascender of a lowercase letter should be (like l, h, b). The cap height is the height of an uppercase letter. The x-height is the height of a lowercase letter and the line that holds the crossbar. The baseline is where all letters rest. The descender line shows how long the descender of a lowercase letter should be (like p, j, g).

In some cases, you’ll have to slightly ignore these guides and make some optical adjustments.

Here is a technique I’ve learned from Martina Flor. No matter what style of lettering you use, there are a few basic shapes that we work with—shapes she calls “mother forms.” We have rectangular shapes (like the letters H or E), triangular shapes (like the letters V or A), rounded shapes (like the letters O or C) plus the combination of all of these.

If you have all these shapes on the same baseline, all the exact same size, the circle and the triangle would look significantly smaller than the rectangle. Why? Because the square touches the baseline and cap height with its entire border, while the circle and triangle don’t.

Even if technically they are the same size, optically they’re not. This is when you’ll use your eyes and instincts to enlarge those letters just a little over the baseline and cap height. How much should you enlarge them? Well, that’s up to you! In time, you’ll find it easier until you’ll do it without even thinking about it. The same rule goes for the lowercase letters, too.

3. Learn the anatomy of letters

Before you dive into the actual lettering, it’s important to know the most commonly used terms, so that next time you’ll be able to call the ‘little thing on the end of a lowercase letter’ by its proper name—a terminal. Once you know these terms, you’ll be able to talk with anyone about this topic.

Here are the ones you’ll use the most:

4. Choose a lettering style

This is where we go wild! As a letterer, you have to know all the different styles so you can choose the one that fits your current project the best. Knowing the basic styles will help you create endless variations of the same letter.

We still have some rules to play by, but your imagination can go crazy!

The most important rule to keep in mind at all times is legibility. You can create the most ornate, fancy looking E, but at the end of the day, if it can’t be easily recognized as an E you failed. Since there’s not just one right way to draw an E (except for its basic skeleton, which can still be modified), it’s up to us to decide how to draw it.

Ready? Here we go!

Serif lettering

A serif is the small line attached at the end of a letter’s stroke. Initially, it was invented to help with legibility but designers and letterers have pushed it and reinvented it many, many times, creating some really funky and interesting serifs.

Within this category, there are many other styles. We’ve got old style serifs, transitional serifs, didone or modern serifs, glyphic serifs or slab serifs. Whoa, right?

Let’s take a look at what all these look like:

Sans serif lettering

“Sans” means without. So this category of lettering contains typography that has no lines attached to the ends of each letterform. Sans serif lettering is often used to convey a more contemporary style.

Even though these letterforms have a more basic structure than serifs, there are still a number of creative ways to do this. You might think there’s not much you can do with something so simple, but let me prove you wrong!

• Date: January 2020
• Client: Threads
• Category: Illustration

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Introduce Kids To Calligraphy

Set up your supplies. Calligraphy pen, ink, paper

Show your child examples of calligraphy. Ask, “how is this writing different from the writing that we use to make lists or write our names?” See reference books below for calligraphy resources.

Practice drawing and writing. The object here is to have fun with the pen/s and not worry too much about how the writing actually turns out.

We drew right in our sketchbooks, which is nice a nice place to keep a running record of our drawings. The biggest challenge of using a calligraphy pen boiled down to how you hold the pen. I gently held the pen in my own hand to show my kids how to best twist the pen so that the nib was positioned properly on the paper. I didn’t worry too much about real calligraphy form.

The idea here isn’t to teach my kids how to write in perfect calligraphic form but to introduce them to a cool material. In the image above, my 3-year old used a drawing nib and shared with me that this was the most comfortable grip for her. She had a great time playing with the pen and drawing a picture (of me, on a swing, by the way!).

My 5-year old has been rocking flourishes for a while now, and used a pointed calligraphy nib for her lettering. She really enjoyed the challenge of adding swirls and spirals to her letters.

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Website project to introduce Calligraphy

First, analyze your handwriting

Before you can improve your handwriting, you first need to do a full audit of your writing.

Write a paragraph or two on paper by copying some text out of a book or from your phone. The more you write, the more you'll be able to see patterns (good and bad). Take your time, but also try to write at your normal pace.

Once you're done, you can start to analyze some things about your writing that you wish to improve:

Spacing: Spacing between letters should be consistent, and spacing between words should also match up!

Slant: Does the slant of your letters match, or is it all over the place, tilting left and then tilting right?

Style: Are your letters formed the same, or does your style go all over the place?

Height of letters: The heights of the lower case letters should all match up, and same with upper case letters.

Consistent baseline for letters: Do your words line up on the bottom, or does it bounce around and go astray?

Closing counters: I’m totally guilty of this one… when rushing, do you leave your O’s and similar letters open?

Dotting your i's: And cross your T’s… blah blah blah.

Once your hand recovers from writing so much (ouch!) try writing the same passage again, paying attention to what you want to improve. Here you can see improvements in my writing already. Sure, it took me longer, but the payoff is worth it!

Improve your handwriting by writing more

As a digital society, we tend to stick to our computers and phones when writing notes and emails. Our hand muscles for writing and drawing are going unused! Muscle memory is important for anything we do, even writing with pen and paper. If you don't have regular practice, you're going to have a harder time writing neatly.

Taking 10-15 minutes each day to write neatly and slowly can vastly improve your handwriting. Schedule time into your calendar to write a page or two (like right after a meal or when you wake up). Write as neatly as you can, about anything. Maybe even kill two birds with one stone by keeping a daily handwritten journal.

Focus on Consistency to Improve Your Handwriting

Consistency is key. No matter what style you practice of your own handwriting, whether it's cursive or not, you want to find a set of letter styles that you like to write and that look good together.

Practice with varying slopes and angles, heights of your letters, roundness of letters, etc. Once you start to see a style pattern in your handwriting, practice the same letter over and over again (literally fill one page with a's and then the next with b's) until you start to feel comfortable.

Experiment with Pens and Writing Utensils to Maximize Your Handwriting Improvement

There are seemingly countless brands and types of pens and writing utensils available. It's up to you to find the style of pen that works best for the level of control, line thickness, pressure, and preference you prefer.

For example, some gel pens are too slippery and move too fast. A super fine pen may not work for someone with a heavy hand. Cheaper ballpoint pens may be clumpy and messy.

For basic handwriting, I prefer fine felt tip markers over any other type of writing utensil, because they provide more friction on the paper and help me slow down. You can even practice with an old fashioned #2 pencil in order to help you slow down to improve your handwriting.

Learn Traditional Calligraphy to Improve Your Handwriting Skills

I know this seems counter-intuitive. It's like I'm telling you to run before you can walk. However, I saw vast improvements with my hand lettering after I studied calligraphy. Learning how to form letters traditionally can help you understand consistency and anatomy.

Grab a calligraphy book that isn't for pointed-pen calligraphy (I recommend Calligraphy for Dummies) and a $1 grid composition book or cheap graph paper. Studying this book helped me slow down (super important!!) and focus on consistent letterforms.

Finally, Practice. Practice. Practice.

I can't stress how important regular practice is! If improving your handwriting sounds like a chore to you, try to make it fun:

• Journal daily—with pen and paper.

• Write letters to your friends (because really, everyone would love to receive a handwritten letter!).

• Write out your grocery list as neatly as possible.

• Take notes—even sketchnotes—when listening to a podcast or watching an educational YouTube video.

• Start a bullet journal.

Even if you can't dedicate time to daily practice, make it a point to write neatly for everything you write down—notes at work or school, filling out forms, etc.

All in all, slow down, pay attention, and work to find the handwriting style that is best for you, along with your preferred pen type and paper combination.

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