A ton of you guys have requested me to do a post on my hand lettering slash brush lettering, slash calligraphy. I do know it’s not like precise calligraphy, but it surely’s trendy calligraphy kinda just like the stuff that I’m certain a bunch of you’ve got been seeing on Pinterest and on Instagram.
And it took me some time to be taught. There’s undoubtedly plenty of suggestions and methods that I discovered useful, so hopefully in the present day I can cross these on to you, and a few of you discover it helpful. I needed to be sure that it is vitally detailed and in depth, in an effort to actually get the grasp of it and find out about typography.
Let me know in the event you wanna see extra writing movies sooner or later. I can undoubtedly try this for you. I may also have my complete bullet journal video playlist hyperlinks down under in the event you wanna examine that out. However with out additional ado, let’s simply get proper into the tutorial. Alright, so getting began with the supplies and provides that you’ll want.
There’s a few totally different choices that you should utilize. The primary is the most well-liked, which is the Tombow Twin Brush Pens, these are type of like a brush marker. After which we even have the Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens, kinda just like the child sister of the Twin Brush Pens. These are smaller and extra exact.
You too can use common brushes. This one is a water brush so it has the water in it, normal watercolor brushes, after which additionally you possibly can really use Crayola markers. I’ve the tremendous suggestions markers, however I’ve heard that the fatter Crayola markers work as properly. I’m additionally gonna be displaying you guys tips on how to use common fineliners for calligraphy.
I’ll present you that in a while, however these are simply normal fine-tipped fineliners. And lastly, you’re gonna wanna bear in mind the kind of paper you’re utilizing since you wanna ensure the paper is easy and never textured in any method as a result of the feel will really fray any marker suggestions that you simply use and likewise make it tougher so that you can get a easy calligraphy stroke.
When you’re an entire newbie at calligraphy, I like to recommend doing these workout routines, simply type of doing a wavy line. And what you’re gonna wanna do is just remember to are utilizing much less stress in your upstroke and extra stress on the downstroke, and it will make it in order that your upstrokes are skinny and your downstrokes look thicker.
Doing this train may also assist you determine the right grip try to be utilizing. You wanna be sure to’re not utilizing the tip perpendicular to the paper, type of at a diagonal so that you’ve got extra management, and I’ll provide help to whenever you’re setting up your letters. So now on to the fundamentals of calligraphy and typography.
I needed to speak about this simply because it’ll provide help to guys in a while. As you possibly can see, I’ve drawn form of like a information, kinda like what you’d do in kindergarten whenever you’re studying to put in writing letters. The center house is on your x-height, the highest house is for ascending letters, after which the underside house is for descending letters.
So in the event you’re questioning about x-height, x-height is principally the peak of all of those middle-sized letters, like, an a, an i, an x, in fact, an n. As you possibly can see, they match completely inside these center traces. Characters which might be descenders, clearly descend into the decrease house, however as you possibly can see, the x-height remains to be the identical, they simply hit that backside line after they go down.
So these letters could be your p’s, your j’s, your q’s all of that. Identical factor goes for letters which might be ascenders, besides these are on your h’s, your t’s, your l’s, something that hits that prime line. What I might advocate is to follow doing the entire alphabet. That’s the one method you’re gonna get the grasp of it.
Simply be sure to do a skinny upstroke and a thick downstroke, and you may follow this a ton of instances, and that is the way you’ll additionally discover your stylistic choice as a result of there’s totally different ways in which you are able to do each single letter as I’m showcasing right here. There’s like totally different variations of s’s that you are able to do, r’s, all of that stuff, and also you’ll solely discover your favourite by training it.
Once you get the grasp of writing letters and the entire downstrokes and upstrokes, it’s time to place all of it collectively and this needs to be fairly easy in the event you’ve been training your letters as a result of they kinda simply seamlessly join. Simply be sure to’re not going too quick or too sluggish, you wanna be at a gradual tempo.
When you actually need, you may as well draw these pointers that I drew earlier, and that’ll provide help to to get your x-height and your baseline all the identical if that’s the look that you simply’re going for. However in fact, as you’re gonna see very quickly, you possibly can really swap issues up and alter the x-height and the baseline of all of those letters.
That is one thing that you are able to do whenever you get somewhat bit extra comfy with calligraphy and hand lettering as a result of it provides somewhat bit extra persona to your hand lettering. It seems to be somewhat bit extra whimsical and enjoyable, and there actually isn’t a components for doing this, you kinda simply get an eye fixed for it when you follow it lots.
Right here I’m simply demonstrating what I imply by altering up the baseline. The highest instance, you possibly can type of draw a straight line throughout, however the backside one, as you possibly can see, the baseline adjustments from letter to letter. Different issues that you are able to do to modify up your calligraphy is change the spacing of your letters, so this one I’ve accomplished it extra spaced out and extra type of italicized.
After which on the flip aspect, I’ve additionally accomplished an instance the place I’ve squished the letters nearer collectively and made them thinner and taller. So it’s actually fully as much as you. I needed to point out you guys the distinction between every of the instruments that I discussed earlier, and kinda speak about my suggestions and methods for each as a result of they’re fully totally different.
Clearly, the one which I’ve been utilizing this complete time is the Tombow Twin Brush Pen, however the Tombow Fudenosuke Pens, as I discussed, are type of just like the child sister of the Twin Brush Pens. They arrive in laborious tip and gentle tip. I personally favor the gentle tip as a result of it’s essentially the most much like the Twin Brush Pen.
These work lots higher for smaller lettering as a result of they’re fairly skinny, and also you do have so as to add a bit extra stress than you do on the Twin Brush Pens. When you didn’t know, you possibly can really do calligraphy with Crayola markers, which is kinda like an inexpensive various to getting the comb pens. This takes somewhat little bit of getting used to, it’s a must to type of alter your grip and be tremendous gentle in your upstrokes and really heavy in your downstrokes, so that you get that distinction within the traces.
Clearly, you should utilize watercolor brushes as properly, I suppose this was type of like the unique brush. The one factor is, with watercolor you do should re-dip your brush again into the paint very often, or else it’s gonna have like a pale impact, until in fact that’s the look that you simply’re going for, which is completely cool.
Okay, now I’m gonna present you guys tips on how to pretend calligraphy in the event you don’t wanna purchase a brush pen. So I’m simply utilizing a traditional fineliner and I’ve gone forward and accomplished some cursive lettering, and what you’re gonna do is, on the downstroke of the letter, you’re going so as to add an additional stroke subsequent to it.
So it’s gonna make it look thicker on one aspect of the letter. You’ll be able to type of faux to redraw the phrase, after which on the downstroke add that further stroke. You’ll be able to even go away it hole like this, it kinda seems to be cool. However if you wish to actually emulate the comb pen impact, you simply should fill in these areas, and there you go, you’ve got your very personal fake calligraphy.
Clearly, it takes somewhat bit extra time, however I believe it seems to be fairly correct. So this was type of like a fast overview, however in the event you wanna be taught much more about lettering, I undoubtedly advocate you try Skillshare. I personally discovered tips on how to do lettering by way of their web site. It’s one of the best.
When you don’t know what it’s, it’s a web based studying neighborhood with over 15,000 lessons in design, photograph and extra. You’ll be able to take a category, you possibly can train one, and it’s solely $10 a month for a premium membership with limitless entry to lessons on cellular and offline. I’ve talked about Skillshare earlier than as a result of I actually do imagine in what they’re doing and I like their platform a lot, which is why I partnered up with them once more to provide you guys a free two-month trial for the primary 250 folks to click on the hyperlink within the description field.
Positively examine them out in the event you’re concerned about studying new expertise. It’s actually such an ideal useful resource, you’ll not remorse it. All proper, guys, so these have been all of my private suggestions and methods for hand lettering and calligraphy. I hope you guys discovered one thing.
However aside from that, be sure to examine the outline field. I’ll have a ton of vital hyperlinks and particulars there together with the entire supplies and provides that I used on this post.
I hope you’ve got an superior day, and I’ll speak to you in my subsequent post. Bye, guys.