Lettering: Intro and Serif
Ever since I could write, I remember doodling words over and over in empty spaces of worksheets and margins of textbooks. Every school project I had, I made the titles and subtitles bright and colorful. Every card I made, the front cover was extravagant and fancy. I loved the fact that I could take any letter and draw it any way I can think of. I loved that there were so many styles that give words different feels and personalities. So, I decided to improved my techniques in hand lettering by reading Hand-Lettering Ledger: A Practical Guide To Creating Serif, Script, Illustrated, Ornate, and Other Totally Original Hand-Drawn Styles by Mary Kate McDevitt.
What is Hand-Lettering?
The author defined hand-lettering simply as "...the art of drawing letters". McDevitt says that lettering takes communication and changes it into a signifying, expressive form of art (McDevitt, 10). It can be used on various projects to customize hundred and hundreds of phrases. People often confuse lettering with typography or calligraphy and use all three interchangeably. Typography is the technique of arranging type to be legible and appealing, mostly used for press. Calligraphy is visual art relating to the design of lettering that is written smooth strokes (10). There are so many different styles of hand-lettering for different projects, cards, letters, etc. It allows you to be imaginative and free with your phrases.
What is Serif?
For my first post, I decided to go with an easier style: serif. McDevitt defines serif as "a small line, flourish, or embellishment trailing from the main stroke of a letter" (20). Serif can be drawn in a modern or old style, triangular, or transition.
What is your favorite way to express art and why?
Citation - McDevitt, Mary Kate. Hand-Lettering Ledger. Chronicle Books, 2014.
Citation - McDevitt, Mary Kate. Hand-Lettering Ledger. Chronicle Books, 2014.
Great post Ubah! your words turned out great. I wish i could write like that and i leaned a lot more about writing and the different types such as the serif like you mentioned in your post. Even though i'm not doing letting, i am doing art and i would love to learn how to do this. Since you are doing lettering, would you ever consider doing this in your free time like at school maybe?
ReplyDeleteHi Keerat! I'm glad you liked my post and learned more about lettering. After learning the basics, lettering can be really fun to do. To answer your question, the only time I really use lettering is on big school projects that require it to be drawn or handwritten. However, I would consider practicing more.
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