Digital Hand Lettering and Modern Calligraphy

Essential Techniques Plus Step-by-Step Tutorials for Scanning, Editing, and Creating on a Tablet

Shelly Kim

• Publisher: Quarry Books
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781631597213
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Arte general

For lettering enthusiasts of all levels, learn easy ways to develop and adapt hand lettering skills and techniques to a variety of digital platforms. Popular Instagram lettering artist and workshop instructor Shelly Kim (@lettersbyshells) offers lettering artists from beginner to advanced step-by-step instruction, along with ample photos and lettering examples. Start with lettering essentials that show how to create different styles of brush lettering with the right tools, how to connect letters to form words, form flourishes, and more. Then turn that unique calligraphy into lettering that you can use over and over again, just by digitizing it. Discover several options for creating digital lettering, each one clearly outlined and explained. Become familiar with tools and techniques that make the process fast and enjoyable. See how far you can take your digital lettering with fun projects for creating cards, name tags, adding foiling and more. In this book you'll learn how to:

• Produce loose, bouncy lettering that adds style to any project
• Design meaningful quotes by learning a quick trick for great compositions
• Create digital files that give you numerous options for adding color and changing the shapes and sizes of letters
• Make a custom digital lettering brush that you can use for unique calligraphy
• Letter on a tablet and learn the basics of Procreate and Apple Pencil
• Use your lettering for great projects that incorporate digital and hands-on techniques
• Get inspiration from stunning gallery pieces by Karin Newport of @ipadlettering and Myriam of @halfapx

Digital Hand Lettering and Modern Calligraphy will guide you to the future of lettering!

1

lettering essentials

Why begin with hand lettering? To create beautiful digital lettering, it’s absolutely critical to know its fundamentals, whether you’re using a brush pen on paper or a stylus on a tablet screen. And while there are important differences—for example, a stylus is far more responsive to pressure than a brush pen tip—working with a brush pen on paper will help you build the skills needed to understand the essential strokes and forms of hand lettering and modern calligraphy.

The main style of brush lettering presented in this book is modern calligraphy. We also explore several creative modifications to it, including bounce and flourishes, as well as some other lettering styles.

Getting Started with Brush Lettering

BEFORE WE BEGIN, I want to share something with you that I share with all my workshop students: When I picked up the brush pen for the first time, I had no idea where to start. Not only did modern calligraphy appear intimidating, but there were so many supplies out there. I also didn’t understand that there was a technique to using brush pens. During the first couple of months, I literally applied one degree of pressure—heavy—to every brush pen I used and wondered why the result didn’t look like modern calligraphy. Essentially, I didn’t acknowledge that there was a specific way to achieve the desired strokes when using brush pens, completely ignoring the fundamentals of calligraphy. After months of frustration, I came to realize that the basics are the fundamentals of modern calligraphy. Without the understanding and knowledge of the basics and common drills, using brush pens to create modern calligraphy will be very challenging. Together, let’s understand the basics, drills, and the tools to help you become more familiar with your brush pen.

There’s definitely a learning curve when comparing a brush pen to an Apple Pencil for the iPad. When using brush pens, there are specific ways to hold the pen to achieve specific strokes and to ensure the brush tip does not get frayed or ruined. However, when using the Apple Pencil for the iPad, there’s more flexibility when holding the pencil at different angles to achieve desired strokes.

Modern Calligraphy Tools

WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO THE TOOLS, the number of available useful brands of pens and paper these days can be quite overwhelming. I totally get it, because I was in that same position when I first started modern calligraphy—I bought every brand out there. Little did I know that it would be hard to understand how to use each brand of brush pen and paper, since they were all made with a different intent.

Finding the best brush pen and paper may be challenging if you’re unsure where to start because the options are endless. During this search, you’ll find that brush pens come in a range of tip sizes: large, medium, and small. When it comes to paper, some paper brands may be more textured, contain fibers, be heavier or lighter in weight, or be more transparent or opaque, among other properties.

As you begin your lettering journey, know that every brush pen has a different but unique purpose (see here). There might be a brush pen brand that you aren’t in love with, which is totally okay. The most important part of the process is to find the perfect brush pen brand for your journey. Keep in mind that, typically, the larger the brush tip, the easier it is to achieve larger-sized lettering. On the other hand, the ...