By Darla Hagensick Hand lettering will always remain an art worthy of specializa- tion. I believe that all artists practicing with any medium or form would benefit knowing how to hand letter and I also firmly be- lieve that it’s more difficult to design a good page of lettering than to fill the same page with a good picture. Hand lettering can add grace and beauty to a design that’s as attractive as the design it self. With this in mind I will attempt to instruct you with what little I know in the “Basics of Hand Lettering”. Before you start your education in hand lettering with an airbrush you must be adept at making an ordinary dot, dagger stroke and some simple line work-- keeping the line a constant width. You must also be dedicated to PRACTICE, as that is the only thing that stands between you and a pretty letter. I know many of you would like to start with a cursive alphabet in order to re-create the name shirts you so often see at fairs and flea markets but I think it’s important to first have a grasp of a basic Egyptian print alphabet. I believe it to be the fundamental structure of all hand lettering. REQUIRED NEEDS to practice lettering: Easel, Double action airbrush of your choice, butcher paper, newsprint, paper towels, etc. and a lot of this; 1 or 2 pages will teach you nothing, but a hundred pages will get you a pretty good start.Soft vine charcoal, yardstick, spray adhesive, black paint or ink of your choice. Mount the paper of your selection onto your easel with the spray adhesive, a lil’ dab will do it. Try to practice in a comfortable, serene environment; music is great--but nothing with complicated lyrics. Good lettering requires steady concen- tration you must strive to make each brush stroke connect to the next brush stroke to complete a letter. One right after another, over & over again. Your mind can’t wander off in other direc- tions, concentration is critical for success. With the vine char- coal and yardstick rule lines onto your paper; this is practice so it matters not that you make them light or dark. The width of a yardstick is a nice practice size and easier than measuring all of your lines. Approach your work tall and straight; good posture is another critical requirement. You can’t make a pretty letter if you’re all hunched over or tilted all askew. Arms tucked lightly to waist, very little arm movement, work mainly while pivoting your shoulders and waist and of course always AIR ON.
FAQ= Do you need to have pretty handwriting in order to let- ter with success??? ANSWER= Absolutely NOT!! Lettering is a trained response, an agreement between your head and your hands. (It may well be your heart and soul??) After many, many hours of diligent practice the two will reach an agreement and from that point on you will always make the letter in that ex- act way, with very little variation. Although it may seem very repetitious it is what it is “REPITITIOUS”. An “A” is a “A” and always will be. With practice you can memorize the basic shape of the letter and continue to replicate it time after time after time. Learn to SEE THE FLAWS in your early practice & CORRECT THEM BEFORE THEY BECOME HABIT! After becoming adept at making the basic shape, there are many ways to adorn and improvise this shape, forming different stylish alphabets. When lettering is done properly it will have little resemblance to your personal handwriting. Although after practice and experi- ence, your personality should start shining through--that’s what we all desire because that’s called “STYLE”. I would suggest making a series of all eight-brush strokes over and over. When those start to show progress advance to the entire alphabet over and over, do it again backwards to keep your mind sharp and to ward off boredom; you could write a letter to anyone. With the basic alphabet you will want the start and finish of the brush stroke to have a nice round appearance. You get this by starting your stroke with a dot pulling it into a line and finishing with a dot. Done properly this will give you a line with pretty blunt ends. You won’t be making any dagger strokes while painting the basic alphabet; the dagger stroke comes into play when you begin cursive or script lettering. Learning to letter requires prac- tice, a whole lot of it! I cannot hide that fact, nor take away it’s sting but I can assure you that learning to letter will bring you satisfaction that will make it all worthwhile. If you notice each letter in the Santa note (or any of my lettering) is a clone of the same letter. Every “a” I make today is the same as the “a” I practiced so many years ago. Your first task is to make the most attractive letter you possibly can and then retain it to memory from now on. All it takes is practice and therefore it’s NOT a small task and I applaud you for trying. Try NOT to get discour- aged and remember there is no such thing as perfect--close will suffice!!
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