Introduction

I’m regularly asked about how I got into lettering, if I have general tips for hand lettering, or maybe a list of resources I use and other similar questions of that nature. This page is a curated and re-written collection of my many responses to various questions that have been asked in the past. Previously, my responses have been fragmented and scattered all over the place, and this is my attempt to change that. I’m publishing this in a self-interview format to make some cohesion of it all. Also, because I think it will be fun.

How did I get into lettering?

I’ve been really into lettering most of my life. For some reason I’ve always been drawn to letter forms. Many people don’t really notice letters. Letters make words, and most people see words and derive meaning from the words and hardly even notice the letters themselves. I tend to be captivated by the little-noticed details in life. I see letters as individual glyphs rather than only words as a whole. Glyphs full of character and curvature, each with it’s own distinct beauty with almost limitless forms of expression—yet with the restrictions of legibility that I am so fond of. I always thought I was a bit odd as a kid in middle school drawing letter forms when most other artists I knew were drawing still life or other illustrations (more about that). I was overjoyed to discover, as I got older, the world of typography—which to my delight was everything I ever loved and was fascinated by, all packaged into one nice classification.

Where did I receive my classical training and degree?

Ahh, trick question see? This is why I like writing my own interview. I’m entirely self-taught. I didn’t go to school for this, I didn’t received any fancy certification. What I did do at a very young age was learn how to learn. If you go to school and you don’t learn how to learn, then you’ve learned nothing. Your knowledge will be complacent and your education stagnant. If you learn how to learn you can do anything. Don’t let anything stop you, and don’t let anyone tell you you’re no good because you don’t have a degree. Do you think people see my work and ask where I was certified? No, they hire me based on the work I do.

What is my process?

Typically, my process now involves a very rough (smaller) sketch to formulate a type arrangement, and then depending on what it is I’ll redraw it usually a little larger (still using pencil here), erasing and refining as needed. I usually keep the pencil sketches pretty light so I can get a general idea, but not have it set in stone yet. Once I tweak, I’ll go over it again with a heavier pencil stroke to give it a solid outline. Finally, I go over the primary lines with a light/medium tip Micron. After that I use a medium/heavy tip to create the heavier strokes and shadows, and finally a fine tip for details.

Here’s a few process shots of one piece:

  • Step 1

    This is where I first roughly sketch out what I have in mind for the piece. Often, I will start by using a ruler to draw in some lines with a pencil to serve as guides. For most of the pieces I do, I like to justify the text within a box. As you’re drawing out your guides, you want to know which words will be on each line and be picturing how tall the line height is based on the length of the line. For example, if you have a single word (such as ‘Expediency’), you’re going to need a fairly tall line for the word to fill the entire width of your box. In the case of a longer line (such as ‘should never come’), you’ll end up having a fairly short line height as you’ll have to write small for it to fit all in one line.
  • Step 2

    Make sure to account for leading between lines when you make your pencil guides. Notice I have have a pencil guide at the x-height of the second line. This keeps it grounded so you don’t start floating off of the baseline. Below the inked word, ‘should’ you can see that I started to pencil in the third line. You can be as detailed as you want in the pencil sketches, but the most important thing is to get the letter width set. Your kerning should be completely done at this phase (there’s no tracking adjustments once ink hits the page!)
  • Step 3

    Now comes the fun part: seeing your design come to life. Often times, I don’t have an exact idea of how I want to execute the letters stylistically when I’m sketching, which is why I like to leave room for exploration in the inking phase. Typically I’ll go over the outlines first, if it’s a sans-serif, and then decide what I’m going to do with the fill. In this case I thought micro stippling fill would look nice.
  • Step 4

    After you have the basic forms inked, I like to go and add extra detail. Notice if you compare the word ‘AT’ in the previous step with this one, I’ve added a drop shadow to give an illusion of depth. I’ve also given the first serif word, ‘EXPEDIENCY’ a detailed fill. I left a sliver of white on the left and upper parts of the blackletter word, ‘EXCELLENCE’ to give it the look of a shine and add further depth.
  • Step 5

    Finally, once you’re happy with your work and done adding detail, you need to remove your guides and pencil marks with an eraser. Unless you think leaving them makes you look cool and impressive or something. In which case I say to you, “GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY OFFICE YOU HIPSTER!” Ok, not really, you can keep them if you want. If you do this often enough, you definitely need to get yourself a big eraser. They’re only like $0.50, but trust me, you’ll grind down that wimpy little one on the end of your pencil in no time.

What are my go-to resources?

I actually never used book resources to refer to. Rather, I exposed myself to large quantities of classic typography through the internet and spent great lengths of time recreating, experimenting with and practicing my letters. Textbooks and other type specimen are still a welcome resource, though it’s not the type of thing I would say is necessary in anyone’s education that is interested in getting into lettering. Practice is the most important thing, and classical type reference is very important in my opinion (which you can access a lot of online).

Do I have some 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 you can express a letter and have it still be recognizable. You want to familiarize yourself intimately with each of the groups of type (serif, sans serif, script, blackletter, etc.) and then understand the characteristics of the type that are in these groups. 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. Draw a lowercase ‘a’ in Helvetica a dozen times. Draw a capital ‘K’ in Garamond another few dozen.

I’m constantly seeing improvement in my work looking back as I continue to draw more. I pull inspiration from an infinite amount of sources. Obviously I saturate myself online, but also in the every day world. Signs, advertisements, billboards. Most people see words, I see letters. The main thing is to not get caught up in the inspiration. You won’t get any better by looking at someone’s else’s work, only by repetitious practicing. Sometimes I have to take a break from surfing Dribbble, turn my phone off and just grab a writing instrument and isolate myself with some paper. Whatever works for you.

What about pens?

On pens, it depends on what you’re comfortable with and the style you’re going for. When I first started out, I used to just used whatever pens I found around the house. Don’t be disillusioned in thinking you need some sort of fancy pens or brushes to be any good. Medium and instruments aren’t as important as the techniques. Give a true artist some crayons and you still won’t be able to limit him. That said, I really like Micron pens. I first remember seeing Kyle Steed work with them and I think that’s probably what got me hooked. I now have a set and pretty much swear by them. They’re pretty easy to find and you can get them online or at Hobby Lobby/Michael’s/whatever craft store you have.

Hope you found this useful!

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