Skillshare Course Review: The First Steps of Hand-Lettering
I’ve talked before about some of the classes I’ve taken on Skillshare. Here’s another one for you: The First Steps of Hand-Lettering by Mary Kate McDevitt. I love taking these types of classes because I enjoy watching the process that lettering artists use so that I can adapt some of the processes into my own lettering and art.
My main takeaways:
Brainstorming for Style:
The main project from this course is to letter out a short phrase or quote. Mary Kate describes her brainstorming process for developing a style that suits the phrase or quote that you plan on using. She shares how to approach the sentiment behind the phrase and the visual influences you could use.
Lettering Tools and Paper:
Mary Kate goes over which tools she prefers to use for each stage of the process as she’s sketching. While it can be helpful to see the tools the pros use, they tend to emphasize that the best tool is the one you have. And many letterers have different preferences.
Lettering Styles:
The most useful part for me was to see different lettering styles and how they’re drawn. There are examples of various styles (script, serif, sans serif, and more) as well as a live demo and step-by-step tips on drawing some of them (block letters, script, flourishes, and serif).
Overall Impressions:
This was one of the first online classes I had taken about lettering. Many of the skills that Mary Kate goes over are useful and applicable to whatever style of lettering that you want to produce. It was nice to see all the steps laid out in a methodical order. For anyone interested in learning to handletter and wants a comprehensive introduction, this is a great resource.
The links provided for this Skillshare course are referral links. If you sign up for a Skillshare membership using these links, I will receive a free month of membership. This will allow me to view and review even more courses on the blog.
Pen Collection: Blue
I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.
The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.
The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100
The Conclusion: Blue is one of the three basic colors, so tons of varieties are available. I like using blue ink on forms to differentiate from the black that’s already printed there. Of note, the Zebra Sarasa is more of a blue-black color compared to the rest.
Pen Collection: Light Blue
I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.
The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.
The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100
The Conclusion: Light blues are another fun color to get away from the basics. The worst performers of my collection were the Pilot Acroball and Bic Round Stic Grip – way too pale for my liking.
Pen Collection: Purple
I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.
The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.
The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100
The Conclusion: Oh those purples. I love them all. Purple is the ink color that you can get away with using at work for fun while still being taken seriously. The colors are dark and bold and when you write, you can actually see what’s going on. Of note, the Papermate Profile Elite (and regular Profile) gives a redder tone than all the other purples out there.
Skillshare Course Review: Style Your Letters Boldly
I’ve been on a Skillshare kick lately and another course that I viewed was Style Your Letters Boldly: Hand-Addressed Envelopes by Erik Marinkovich. I’m still very interested to see the techniques from different hand-lettering artists. Especially to see if there’s anything useful for me to borrow.
My main takeaways:
Using Reference Material:
Erik recommends starting out by copying what you see, but to eventually stop looking at the reference material and developing your own style.
Letterforms and Deliberate Practice:
Erik emphasizes practicing your letter forms repeatedly to build up your muscle memory. He demonstrates a large sans serif font and a casual script. It’s useful to follow along to see the proper technique.
Composition:
Erik demonstrates the development of his composition by going through multiple iterations on tracing paper. Again, it’s very useful for beginners to see that experts go through multiple sketches before settling on a final design.
Overall Impressions:
I definitely got the most out of the detailed demonstrations and seeing the details of the techniques. There are some awesome ideas for composing your next envelope, possibly jazzing up your holiday cards for this year. Also, the lettering skills demonstrated in this course can be applied to other types of lettering, like signs and menus.
If these tips sound like things that might help you improve your lettering, check out the course page for Style Your Letters Boldly: Hand-Addressed Envelopes by Erik Marinkovich.
The links provided for this Skillshare course are referral links. If you sign up for a Skillshare membership using these links, I will receive a free month of membership. This will allow me to view and review even more courses on the blog.
Pen Collection: Pink
I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.
The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.
The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100
The Conclusion: Pinks can be hit or miss sometimes. Sometimes they’re light and sometimes they’re dark. My favorite of the ballpoints are the Papermate Profile Elite and the Bic Cristal Bold (I sure do love a bold line). The Pilot Acroball and the Bic Round Stic were the palest of the pinks. The Pentel Energel, Zebra NR7, and the two Papermate Flairs provided the darkest and boldest color.
Pinboard: Valentine’s Day Cards
After all the years that my husband and I have been together, sometimes looking through the drugstore for a Valentine’s Day card can be a little problematic. For one, we don’t usually pick the mushy and poetic cards. We generally lean more towards to humorous/fun cards. Secondly, over the years, the selection starts looking the same and it’s hard to find something that the other person hasn’t seen before.
And that’s where independent artists come in. There are a lot of talented folks around the web making and selling awesome cards you don’t typically find at your local drugstore card aisle. I’ve been collecting some pretty awesome cards from online retailers and pinning them on my Pinterest board.
Follow Olivia (Random Olive)’s board greeting cards: valentine’s day on Pinterest.
Click through to see all the cards I’ve been and then follow this board to keep updated when I add more!
Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age – Book Review
Studying letterforms is one way to improve your lettering game. Scripts: Elegant Lettering from Design’s Golden Age
How this Book is Organized
The book is broken down into five styles: French, British, German, Italian, and American. Each section begins with a written description of the style and history. The description is followed by photos of historical examples with a reference page citing the sources.
Overall Impression
Lots of nice examples of scripts that you can be inspired by with your own lettering. And if you’re not a letterer, you can still enjoy the scripty eye candy.
Amazon links are affiliate.
Pen Collection: Orange
I have an obsession with office supplies and I’m a bit of a pen hoarder. One thing that I enjoy doing is swatching out my writing utensils to see how the colors compare between brands.
The Test: Each pen is used on white notebook paper and a yellow legal pad. You can click on the image below for a larger view.
The Pens: (links are affiliate) Paper Mate InkJoy 100
The Conclusion: Orange is another tough color to find in pens. The Papermate Inkjoys provided a darker ink color than the Papermate Profile on white paper, but all were disappointing on yellow paper. The two Papermate Flairs provided the darkest and boldest color.
One Little Word: Sparkle
This year, I decided to participate in Ali Edwards’ One Little Word workshop. I had seen this around the blogosphere for several years and this time, I decided to take the plunge and really commit to my word.
I’m going to be journaling my responses to the prompts in this little journal that I found in my stack of blank notebooks.
One of the main goals of having a word is to incorporate it into your life and to keep it visible throughout the year.
To support the effort of keeping my (and your) word visible, I created a brush lettered art piece to hang up. To see the words I have made available, check out my shop page here
