Hand Lettering for Relaxation
I have always been a doodler. Whether it was scribbling on the corners of my homework, and later meeting notes, or creating cards and scrapbook pages, I’ve always been fascinated with fonts. I remember mastering the bubble letter in middle school and I still use cursive when my peers have given it up. I even spend time creating fun fonts for my bullet journal headers. Imagine my surprise, when earlier this year I found out that what I’d been doing all my life was considered a hobby called Hand Lettering. I knew this was the skill I wanted to learn for our March Reading Challenge, but can this skill be taught in a book?
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The Tools
Before I could get started on my Hand Lettering journey, I need to choose a book. There are so many workbooks on this subject, but after reading extensive reviews, I went with Amy Latta’s Hand Lettering for Relaxation, which is part instruction book and part workbook all in one. I did also purchase a mix-media spiral bound notebook to practice in.
I also picked up the proper supplies. Once again, there are TONS of hand lettering and calligraphy tools to choose from. I had read a great deal about the Tombow fudensuko pen as being a great one for beginners and when I found it included in this beginner set for $13, I immediately snatched it up. I also purchased the advanced set because I was feeling optimistic and I really liked the pink pens.
Hand Lettering for Relaxation
When everything came in the mail, I got to work and started lettering and let me tell you something – it’s hard to do at first. I already mentioned that I write in cursive frequently, so I thought hand lettering would be a snap, but it’s a bit more complicated. You need to write slowly but also consistently at the same speed so that your writing is even and not too squished or shaky. It’s also important to leave gaps between letters which I’m not used to doing in my everyday handwriting. Luckily, Amy’s book breaks everything down with ease into mini-lessons.
As you can see above, lesson one was about faux calligraphy. You can see by my practice “time” that I needed to write and re-write the word over and over to get an idea of spacing and layout. There are plenty of pages in the book however in which to practice. When I was done the practice session, I then moved onto my notebook to practice some more.
As you can see, I wanted to practice connecting certain letters together because some combinations flow easily and others are much harder. See how I struggled with “OUS?” After practicing a bit more, I decided to try my hand at a hand lettering sketch – a quote that really moved me in the book The Kite Runner.
Not so bad for just one lesson right? So then I decided to move on and learn about banners and laurels.
Again, Latta’s instructions made it simple for me to learn and when I tried my hand at the practice exercise, I was quite pleased. I also learned that I like to sometimes write in the faux caligraphy style without filling in the down strokes. It makes for an interesting design. Once again, I went to my sketchbook, practices some more and then created another quote sketch.
This one was from Kristen Hannah’s new release, The Great Alone. I still see the need for improvement, my lines aren’t consistent and my letters aren’t all the same size, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made so far. I really enjoy capturing inspiring or fun quotes and keeping them in the sketchbook too, so I think I’ll be doing that going forward.
I am only 5 lessons into this book but I am seriously hooked. Amy’s instructions are easy to understand and I’m already seeing improvement in my writing skills from the first lesson. My only complaint is that it’s a workout for my hand! I can’t wait to see how my handwriting improves as I go further into this book. I’ll keep you all posted with my progress.
Now, tell me, what skills have you learned from a book?
