I usually try to keep my calligraphy separate from my lettering since it is an entirely separate journey. THIS particular design solution however should definitely be filed under the “lettering” category as there were NO scripts. Just a clean, serifed solution.
I wouldn’t have been able to do this without having practiced actually DRAWING these letterforms! Just an intersection where weddings and more architectural lettering can meet!
One of my friends and members of the Chicago Calligraphy Collective let me know about this spot and I’m SO glad that she did. Not sure I would have bumped into this location otherwise. Its in a part of the Loop that I am not usually in. The South Loop on 8th and Wabash, not far from my alma mater, Columbia College.
This brick and mortar has seriously eliminated the need for Amazon and JetPens online ordering! Seriously, if you are teaching a lettering or calligraphy course you can buy everything here. Nibs, nib holders, fine line brush pens, everything! Please give them a visit. Two floors of supplies and decidedly cheaper than Blick’s Art Supply on Kingsbury. There are also Artist & Craftsman chains in different cities, see if there is one near you!
I’ve been participating in the #StylingTheAlphabet challenge which is a more loose online challenge with no real deadlines, its just multiple iterations of the same letter til’ you get through all 26! Plan to do 16 of each letter… That’s a good basis from which to start.
Its always fun and profitable to do these drills because it FORCES you to think about letter construction BEYOND your normal “go tos.” We all have things that we normally do when its time to construct a certain letter.
Styling the alphabet not only makes you think outside the box, but if you DO come up with something interesting, you can take the next step of deriving an entire alphabet based on that solution. These drills help you to be creative and unique. Its all about making sure your work is standing out… Give it a try…
Hashtags to use: #stylingthealphabet #handletteredabcs #letterarchive #letterarchive_a #letterarchive_b #letterarchive_c #letterarchive_d #letterarchive_e #letterarchive_f #letterarchive_g #letterarchive_h #letterarchive_i #letterarchive_j #letterarchive_k #letterarchive_l #letterarchive_m #letterarchive_n #letterarchive_o #letterarchive_p #letterarchive_q #letterarchive_r #letterarchive_s #letterarchive_t #letterarchive_u #letterarchive_v #letterarchive_w #letterarchive_x #letterarchive_y #letterarchive_z
Some of what I did (I still need to finish!):
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My latest muse has turned out to be Game of Thrones. This is one of my all time favorite shows and the quotables are pretty amazing. The entire look of the show/theme, et al. also fits perfectly with the design aesthetic that I’m drawn to.
Victorian style fonts (although their logo, see above is interestingly made up of a simple roman serif, think Trajan Pro), vines, vintage scroll elements, etc. These are all perfect to create the feelings invoked by these characters and the rich dialogue that’s woven throughout this series.
Some of the things I’ve created…
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I taught an Intro to Brush Lettering class at Delish Cakes in Bloomingdale, IL! Such a wonderful experience, I showed students how to work with both fine line brush pens as well as Tombows!
Alicia and her staff even went as far as trying to duplicate some fonts I wrote out with a piping bag, it was amazing!
Thanks for having me guys, hope to be back soon!
I recently joined the pencil lettering challenge by Threeologie on Instagram. I LOVE lettering in pencil so this challenge was right up my alley! Using fine line ink pens for me sometimes ruins what I’ve done in pencil. I’m sure that will change with more practice, but definitely don’t want to stop honing my graphite skills in the meantime.
A lot of accomplished letterers use mechanical leads that you can place in holders or even just Blackwing or Ticonderoga pencils but I like the graphite pencils that go from a hard grade (H) to a softer grade (B).
Here are some of the things I created from the challenge so far!
Benefits of pencil lettering:
Depending on what kind of pencil you use, you can recognize dark and light values and influence what you are doing by simply applying pressure
Pencil lettering will teach you a lot about values (lights, darks and contrast)
SO much detail can be achieved by ONLY using a pencil…
Lettering on iPads is amazing however you will realize that there is no greater feeling of control than actually putting a pencil to paper
Hashtags to use: #pencillettering #letteringinpencil #analoglettering #pencilletteringpractice #pencilletters #pencilletteringart #pencilletteringchallenge
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I just got a super cool new tool the other day that I read about on Lettering Daily. Lettering Daily is a GREAT resource by the way with tons of blogs with step by step tutorials and wonderful advice for beginning and seasoned letterers.
This tool is great for creating layouts. This was definitely a weakness of mine, however I’ve gotten a LOT better in just the last 6 months. A strong and crisp layout is a necessity no matter what you are trying to achieve. Thought I’d give it a whirl and then post my own review about it. Shout out to Amazon for getting it to me in one day even though it was supposed to take two.
Great video demo on how to use the tool here:
I took a lettering class on Sunday and thought I’d post a quick review. Jennifer Hines is a great letterer and was great at teaching the basics. I think my biggest challenge right now is composition and not letter construction. I just want everything positioned just so. Calligraphy projects have to be pretty much perfect/uniform so its a real paradigm shift for me with all of the layout options and directions a hand lettering piece can go in!
Because I’m all about composition and layout right now, it was great to see that Jennifer covered this extensively. From the thumbnails that she used to create the logo for the class as well as her approach to it. LOVE. I think my layouts should have a better direction now as I want my work to be stronger.
For the class I picked a quote by Derrick Rose that I love and can apply to my own life in some respects: “…I quit a couple of times but I never gave up.”
Thumbnails and my own review in terms of which style I wanted to go with.
I usually just like to dive in and start sketching thumbs, but Jen encouraged me to use shapes. It DID help to organize my words and my thoughts so I think I will use this method from now on. I’ve seen this in books before but it was different doing it in a class and really considering what you are doing spatially.
Bought some goodies from Jennifer after class simply because I like supporting other artists. Full stop. Great work.
I’m still working on my final quote and will share it on Instagram when I’m finished!
—ct
It has been SO long, I know, I know. I’m re-dedicating myself to LLBCT this year. I always start off strong in the 1Q and then wedding season hits and I get sucked into project after project with no strength to continue. I’m determined to change this narrative this year. EVERYONE makes the time and finds the money for what they value. I will have to do the same with balancing the calligraphy and the lettering.
I am taking a workshop on Sunday called Letter Like a Pro: Beginning Hand-Lettering Workshop! This course is being taught by Jennifer Hines. I met her on Instagram and she’s a wonderful artist. She started The Chicago Lettering Club which has become a nice resource for me as I continue this lettering journey.
Basic goals for the New Year is to obviously post more and create more. I also want to sell prints of my work. It would be so awesome to actually get a commission but I need to beef up my portfolio first. I picked up a great resource called 100 Days of Lettering. I’d been seeing this hashtag being used on Instagram so as I went through it, I got an “aha” moment. Its got GREAT prompts and its just what I need right now.
Just wanted to let you guys know that I’m back and I’m not going anywhere this time!
Cheers to 2019!
—ct
I had the pleasure of taking a class with local calligrapher and lettering artist Julie Wildman recently. It was an amazing experience. I purchased paper I would have never purchased and tried techniques that made me very uncomfortable!
Not a HUGE color person I was faced with watercolor washes, colored pencils and gouache. I am definitely going to do more of this. My favorite technique was learning how to use the fine line bottle writers.
You can use these with acrylic and gesso and also masking fluid.
They've actually got a precision applicator that features a needle sized closure which is cool to prevent clogging. You use two parts gesso and 1 part acrylic matte or gloss. Then add water based on what consistency you'd like. We did this, let it dry and then added color with gouache, colored pencil or watercolor. I've actually had some masking fluid for quite some time now and I know that I can use that as well as a "resist" technique to watercolor. Definitely want to try that out as well.
Great opportunity to play, play, play! Joining the Chicago Calligraphy Collective last year was one of the best decisions I made... I am scheduled to take an actual pointed pen course in March with Heather Held. I'll post about that class on my Calligraphy by CT blog. Take care til' next time everyone and Happy New Year. I am finally posting more work, more regularly. I want the same work ethic to go into the website and blog now!
PHOTO CREDIT: Maria Alicia Marquez
I recently grabbed these titles from Hobby Lobby and thought I'd provide a review. I hadn't seen them in my local art store that I frequently visit so of course I snapped them up. It just shows how popular this genre has (fairly recently) become.
LETTERING WITH PURPOSE
by Brittany Luiz
This is a strong title. It has the same things that you usually find, i.e. tool suggestions, digitizing your work, different lettering styles, etc. But this one actually dedicated some time to your layouts which was nice. I'm always curious about how my letters are working together. Strong lettering layouts seem to work perfectly together... Even the overlapping elements.
She really took the time to explain some things I'd been wondering about, see above. BUT, the thing that takes this book over the top and makes it a MUST HAVE in mind are the lettering prompts in the back of the book. I had been so swamped with Calligraphy by CT work that I hadn't taken the time to really letter in a while. However, simply perusing this title and seeing the prompts, I actually took my pens out and did a little doodling... A book that actually made me do something as busy as I remain gets a thumbs up from me!
HAND LETTERING A to Z
A World of Creative Ideas for Drawing and Designing Alphabets
by Abbey Sy
Ahh, where to begin with this title? This one must sit on your shelf as well I must say. This is akin to a lettering bible if you will. Very in depth as far as lettering structure goes. Serif, sans serif and so forth. Additionally there are many different METHODS of lettering. By paint, graphite, monoline ink pens, etc. It will make you want to develop your own alphabet. Killer pics at the end showcasing beautiful, finished layouts by the author and guest lettering artists.
Just makes you want to play! Love books with tons of examples. I'm super happy with this purchase, believe me you won't be disappointed.
Ahhh, entering the 4Q and things are finally slowing down a bit. I'll be back blogging here soon enough about my lettering journey. I found this great video on YouTube with a brief history of type that I thought I'd share. Reminds me of working in the advertising business in the mid-nineties. So much has changed that's for sure! Enjoy!
I have FINALLY gotten on Pinterest and there are so many hand lettered goodies on the medium its hard to keep up. Follow me when you can. I'm slowly, slowly building my "lettering" vs. "calligraphy" following!
I've recently penned an e-book that you can purchase and download on this site or from my Etsy shop! Its a compilation of my favorite supplies, lettering how-tos and shipping tips.
Writing on mirrors has become very popular and while they are often referred to as "calligraphy mirrors" they are really hand lettered beauties. Hash tags to search: #mirrorseatingchart #mirrorlettering #mirrorsignage
Check out some excerpts below!
Hope you will try this resource! Take care til' next time.
--ct
I recently picked up these inspiring postcards from Greer Chicago. These are letterforms that I've plastered all over my studio. Because scripts are my "go to" style for obvious reasons, I like to look at these letters so I can steer my creative process in another direction.
To see 100 of these just shows you the infinite possibilities of creating letterforms. It makes me not want to play it safe. i.e. mixing a script with a block. Done to death and BORING. Its in my muscle memory though so I'm going through somewhat of a paradigm shift in this regard.
You can grab this off Amazon for under $20 btw... Enjoy the pics and I'll be back soon! --ct
My FIRST blog. Super excited. So much I want to share (and so much I have to learn)... So curious about this new world and its wonder and possibility.
Wanted to share what I found on Skillshare's site. I had downloaded Mary Kate McDevitt's class a LONG time ago, but when I went back to review some of the video, I did a search on lettering and there is a TON of affordable classes up.
I also have been tempted to check out Sean Wes' products...
More later, just wanted to get started!
--ct
