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So you took the plunge and want to hand letter? You have the materials, and you’re ready to go! Let’s get to it and start hand lettering!
The most important thing to remember is that it’s going to take time! In the beginning you are mostly training your hand! As your muscles get more comfortable, you will see noticeable improvement! 2 more tips before we get started!
Writing Slanted
If you are used to holding your pen straight up, you’re going to have to teach yourself how to write differently! Your pen is going to be more slanted in order to get those nice thick downstrokes with less effort.
This will especially come in handy as you transition to brush pens. If your pen is too upright you will ruin those pens so fast! And no one wants that, right?
When I hand letter my pen or marker almost rests in the crook between my thumb and pointer finger.
Write each letter form separately
If you haven’t ever seen hand lettering videos, you should look some up! Most hand lettering artists write each letter separately.
This gives you the opportunity to consciously work on thin upstrokes and thick downstrokes. When you are writing in regular cursive, you will likely write more smooth and connected.
Check out this video to see how I write each letter independent of the others.
Let's go!
In hand lettering classes I have taught, people are afraid to start! They are worried about those first marks they make! Guess what? You are going to use A LOT of paper! So just go!
Get your drill worksheet out. You can download ours here.
The first stroke our drill worksheet focuses on is upstrokes! This are going to be shaky at first. And probably thicker than they should be. Just remember, you are training your muscles!
The next stroke is a downstroke. People are worried they’re going to push too hard. I’ve never broken a marker or pen yet, so don’t worry about too much pressure. I don’t know that you can!
Most beginners don’t press hard ENOUGH! This is one of the biggest indicators of a newbie, downstrokes that are too thin! Really focus on getting those downstrokes thick in your drills!
And now the fun begins! The rest of the drills in our practice sheets focus on a combination of downstrokes and upstrokes! Print it out a few times until you are confident in heavy downstrokes, and thick upstrokes!
Practice, Practice, Practice!
I recommend starting with the basic practice sheets, and then moving onto the flourished.
After you work on drills, move onto the different letter forms. If you are struggling with a certain aspect of a letter, go back to the drills! You may have to go back and forth for a while!
Aim to practice at least everyday! But if you’re anything like me, you will become obsessed and do it all the time! No shame!
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