A Lesson in Type | 1
Acknowledgements This student planner was created by Christopher Bambury in 2016. The articles and interviewes contained within this book are sourced from LetteringHub.com. Guidance was given by Aurelie Maron and Dominique Falla.
Š Christopher Bambury ISBN located on back cover. Published by Blurb, USA. This book was first published in May 2016. This work is copyright. Apart from use as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without the written permission of the artist.
2 | A Lesson in Type
WELCOME TO A LESSON IN TYPE
STUDENT DIARY
JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC PROJECTS
1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6:
36 Days of Type pg 12 26 Letters, 26,000 Miles pg 28 Spewbag Challenge pg 42 Daily Drop Cap pg 58 Barrel of Ampersands pg 76 Illustrated Word of the Week pg 90
Y pg 7 UST pg 25 TEMBER pg 39 OBER pg 53 EMBER pg 71 EMBER pg 87
ARTICLES
MV IC DF LL MM JD
Matt Vergotis pg 8 Introduction to Calligraphy pg 26 Dominique Falla pg 40 Lettering pg 54 Maria Montes pg 72 Jasmine Dowling pg 88 A Lesson in Type | 3
12 TIPS TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE IN SEMESTER 2
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BEFORE SEMESTER Check your QCA swipe access card... does it need recoding?
Make an appointment with your Student Success Advisor. Success is in the name.
Join a social club or organisation... It’s good for the mind, the body and the resume.
Schedule time to exercise each day, nothing big, but enough to be active.
Read course profiles, assignment expectations and note dates. Plan ahead, preperation is key.
Plan assignments out in planner... dont leave it until the last minute.
Stock up on stationery. Ensure you have everything needed for a productive and successful semester.
Visit the Student Guild to gain access to End of Trip Facitities, incuding showers and bike storage.
Talk to tutors, lecturers and convieners about expectations thier of the semester. Course profiles are open to interpretation, It’s helpful to get what you need straight from the horses mouth.
DURING SEMESTER Make preperations for healthy meals each day. A healthy body allows for a healthy mind.
Attend anything you can during O’week... you never know what you’ll gain.
Introduce yourself and make friends. Don’t graduate a hermit. A Lesson in Type | 5
JJ
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Can you briefly outline your career? How did starting out on your own come about and are you ever looking back? I’m a self taught graphic designer. I’ve always had a preference for identity work and conceptual advertising which I worked on through various careers on the Gold Coast, Sydney and in London before going out on my own in 2007 and specialising in Corporate Identity. Originally it was stepping out of the office environment in Sydney where I creative directed the branding for an international recruitment firm. I moved back to my home town on the Gold Coast where I worked remotely and over time that company got bought out by a big corporate and then gobbled
variety, so I am loving where things lettering style logos after seeing are at right now. it posted. So you could say the lettering flood gates were opened I read you’ve always been good thanks to David Michael and I at drawing – what sparked your was hooked from then on. It also interest in lettering specifically? reacquainted me with drawing. The lettering thing all came about Prior to that my drawing skills three years ago when I landed a had been kind of hibernating since client that was a clothing label school, apart from thumbnail (David Michael). One of the sketching for logos. greatest things I love about my job What is your typical process is that it gives you the opportunity when creating a piece of to explore different styles as lettering? How much happens different clients and different values present themselves. For this particular client I wanted to explore a hand lettered style signature and whilst I had done this sort of thing in the past, I look back at it as amateurish now. Through social media I was beginning to notice and identify more and more
“So basically my process starts out with writing a name with a pencil or favourite brush pen. It’s better to start with a pencil because you free yourself up to concentrate on the letterforms and not the stroke variances from thick to thin.” up by an even bigger corporate. This became a serendipitous chain of events that led me to stepping outside of my comfort zone to do my own thing. Am I ever looking back? Nope! Right here, right now. Being freed up to be my own boss has opened doors to specialise in areas I want to go and with that has come growth. Three years ago I hadn’t picked up a brush pen, now I get to draw letters for a living and indulge in new visual identities as they present themselves. My previous job didn’t give me that 8 | A Lesson in Type
sexy typography work that began to inspire me. So for this project I really wanted to push myself and try my best to capture that same creative craft look aesthetic letterers embellish in. After illustrating the logo (no brush pens at this stage) and mimicking the transitions and stroke variances, I published the logo on dribbble and the presentation on behance and received positive feedback from well respected letterers but more importantly, received a string of follow up clients all requesting
by hand VS on the computer? Equal parts magic, I say. The ratio is 1:1. I enjoy both stages as much as the other. If you’re talking lettering that’s untextured or that has silky sexy smooth curves, then it takes just as much attention to detail and skill to get those curves looking immaculate in the vectoring stage as it does laying down the brush pen. This’ll sound fruity but I really enjoy getting intimate with those curves, balancing nodes by the smallest of margins in order to strike that desirability. No matter how refined your sketch is, there’ll always be so much room for improvement when vectoring… and it shows. Beautiful lettering can be butchered in the vectoring process if it’s not handled with that passion and attention to detail.
Matt
Vergotis
letterer
is a
and
type
designer based on the beautiful
Gold
Coast
of Australia.
In his work, Matt specialises in logo, brand and identity design – outside of work he is passionate about surfing. Matt shows that being left-handed isn’t a problem if you want to produce great lettering. This is the e-mail interview conducted by Eva Schafroth for LetteringHub.com.
So basically my process starts out with writing a name with a pencil or favourite brush pen. It’s better to start with a pencil because you free yourself up to concentrate on the letterforms and not the stroke variances from thick to thin. From there I discover motifs or letter relationships that can be played around with to make up ligatures or an interesting composition. It also builds a little muscle memory so when you do jump on the brush pens you end up getting results quicker. After that I’ll write a name over and over and over. I find it very therapeutic and I often fill up pages with very similar attempts. Then it’s a matter of either identifying one solid attempt that’s as perfect as I can get it, or taking certain characters from certain attempts and marrying them up to make the perfect composition. Then I scan it and embark on the O.C.D vector path work. You often get people asking which pens you use – how important do you think it is to have the right ones? Which pens do you use and where do you buy them? How is that? Without fail I’ll get asked several times per post – even when I do mention it in the caption. People just froth on brushpens. I’m stoked people want to learn and are eager to try the same pens but if you’re asking me how important it is, then really for people starting out it’s probably a good thing to take a step back and not jump straight into them. What’s important for people starting out is getting comfortable continued on next page > A Lesson in Type | 9
< continued from previous page
with letterforms first. Go back to cursive writing and practice writing words over and over and getting use to finding that flow and fluid movement. From there pushing certain ligatures or terminals and getting a little expressive with mono-weighted strokes. I created stacks of brushpen style logos before I ever owned a brushpen. My tools consisted of a 2H led pencil and an eraser and that was it for the first year of me specialising in this field. There comes a time when you do want to get the results organically with the brush pens and I have always favoured the Zebra Fine Disposable hard tip brush pen. I also love the pilot parallel pens and an old gritty ruling pen that I have. When you do start getting desirable results it is important to explore different pens as every pen wields its own secret power. Sometimes it takes a while to unlock what works for them but when you do, you find you get varied results from one pen to another which keeps things interesting and also opens up your repertoire. I get them from jetpens.com
Do you have any side projects? How important do you think it is to have side projects? Side projects give you the opportunity to explore avenues client work may not offer you, so if you’re keen to grow as a designer then it’s a great way to scratch any creative itches you may have. Any week now I’m going to release my follow up font called “Museology”. It’s going to be a family of 4 weights with their respective italic partners, so 8 all up. Anyone that’s followed my work or have read other interviews from me will probably be yawning right now as it’s been an on going side project for the past 2 and a half years. There have been plenty of lulls along the way for various reasons but now I have decided to really pin my ears back and make a push for the finish line. I only need to create the italic lowercase letters of a couple of weights and then I’ll be close to releasing the family. The problem with taking a long time to fulfil side projects is you grow so much in that time as a designer. My knowledge of typeface design now is 10 fold of what it was back when I started this project, but Museology has its place and whilst it may not reflect where I’m at right now
“Don’t get hung up on achieving results with the brush pens too quickly. Chip away at it. If you put in the time you will get it eventually.” 10 | A Lesson in Type
with typeface design, I’m still very proud of it and I can’t wait to tick this one off the type nerd bucket list. Creating a font family really is a mammoth undertaking. Creative itch? More like a full body creative rash. I’m also in the process of putting together a storyboard for some video tutorials that will be going on Skillshare and my website. I’ve also got bubbling around my brain the idea to do more illustrative/ artwork pieces. Something where I can bring together my love for typography and surfing.
mental stamina goes for attention to detail? Blown away! There’s more, but it changes daily weekly and monthly. I see a new style or medium and I want to try it. Outside of the work, surfing and my girls inspire me. Surfing’s just pure soul food of the best kind and it inspires me to stay fit and active. And my girls inspire me to be a better person in every way. They certainly changed my outlook on life when they came along. What advice do you have for someone who wants to get started with lettering? Don’t get hung up on achieving results with the brush pens too quickly. Chip away at it. If you put in the time you will get it eventually. The learning curve is pretty steep and it doesn’t take years and years. Just lots of hours that you have to be prepared to dedicate yourself to often. Give pencils a go first and learn how to sketch your results. This will give you an understanding of thicks and thins and terminal shapes. For leftys, if you don’t already, come over a little from the top. That will help you get the right line of symmetry in order to achieve the same pen angle results as a righty and also prevent you from smudging.
Are there other lettering artists/graphic designers/ other visual artists that inspire you? Where else do you draw inspiration from? I follow so many designers on instagram and dribbble that my feed is full of gorgeous type work. I’ve always admired Sergey Shapiros style and how he has an ability to extract so much character out of a letterform. He has this effortless style that really motivated me to want to see what I could bring to the table. I also have a friend in South Africa, Simon Frouws that specialises in premium wine & spirits labels. I’m a sucker for people that have the mental stamina to throw themselves into crazy detail. The level of detail he goes to in order Article sourced from Eva Schafroth’s to achieve the authentic vintage letteringhub.com. look is admirable. I also recently loved CJ Hendry’s story. If you have been hiding underneath a rock and don’t know anything about her work I suggest you google her name. Her rags to riches story is very inspiring, and as far as
A Lesson in Type | 11
above Jean Carlos Garcia @champolatype
below Fabiola Mejia Lutz @fabifabiola_
36
In 36 consecutive days, create one letter of the alphabet & numeral system per day. Once designed, photograph or vectorise and make 1280 x 1280px for submission to the next #36daysoftype on Instagram. Look to the right for inspiration from Instagram. 12 | A Lesson in Type
DAYS OF TYPE
left Ksusha Miskaryan @ksushamiskaryan
below Studio Blup @studio_blup above Cute & Bizarre @cute_n_bizarre
right Dailos Perez Gonzalez @dailosperezgonzalez
below Francios Tusseki @franciostusseki
above Nase Pop @nasepop
below Sammie Ho @sammie_ho
left Amanda Weiss @avweiss
above Will Holmes @willstuff
below Tanya Bhandari @tanyabhndri
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AN INTRODUCTION TO
Written by Maria Montes for letteringhub.com I am writing this article with the intention of clarifying a few things about calligraphy, and to hopefully shed some light on misunderstandings about this beautiful art form. In my opinion, calligraphy suffers from an image problem. I find that people associate it with older people writing religious texts and with wedding invitations! But calligraphy is much more than that. In recent years, calligraphy is undergoing a revival, which makes me really happy.
direct movement of our hand and the shape of the tool we are using, through observing the letterforms. In addition, calligraphy can serve as the basis for creating new fonts and through the study of negative and positive spaces, balance, composition, rhythm and expression of the line it becomes an art form. However, if we are only drawing letters or building the elements of each letter with several strokes, re-touching and re-drawing them, we are not talking about calligraphy but lettering. Calligraphy vs Lettering vs Typography on the other hand, Typography reproduces handwritten or drawn Calligraphy is the act of writing let- letters, creating a categorised ters with relatively simple strokes, system that allows us to build type looking for a rhythm. When writ- compositions at any time. ing calligraphy, we can see the
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You can read a great article about this topic by Joseph Alessio who says: “Calligraphy is based on penmanship; it’s essentially writing letters. Lettering, on the other hand, is based on draftsmanship, meaning drawing letters. Typography was, and has continued to be, primarily the skill of setting type.” Back to the future The origin of our Latin alphabet is the Roman Empire. Around 1 AD, the most formal and elevated letterforms were the Roman Capitals (Capitalis Monumentalis). These letters are an expression of the Roman Classical beauty of the time. In the past, as it is today, knowledge is power. Two thousand years ago not many people could read or write, which means that the vast majority of the population saw the Roman inscriptions as an aesthetic form of art, but could not necessarily read the message. Much like political campaigns today, Roman inscriptions represented the power of Rome and promoted the message of the Emperor in charge. For the last twenty centuries, letterforms have been intrinsically linked to all other forms of art. Roman Classic Beauty is reflected in the Romanesque cathedrals, Roman sculpture and painting as well as writing. When the Gothic spirit appeared a few centuries later, this new trend influenced architecture, sculpture, fashion, painting and of course writing. Apart from trends, the other game changer in any significant cultural development is technology. From the Roman period through the Renaissance and into the Internet era, technology has shaped art
and culture, changing the tools we work with. David Gates summarises this idea very well on his must-read Lettering for Reproduction: “From the beginning, our Latin alphabet has been defined by alternating thick and thin strokes. This is the natural result of the western writing tool: the flat brush or broad pen made of reed or quill. This tool produces, with a minimum of strokes, letters that have good legibility and a pleasant distribution of thick-and-thin forms. By altering letter proportions and pen positions, the scribes were capable of producing a great variety of styles, each of which contributed to the evolutional development of the alphabet. It is important to recognize that during fifteen centuries of development (from the Roman period to the Renaissance) every style of writing was a reflection of the concurrent cultural atmosphere and technology, and also, that the least successful of styles often provided unique ideas for later significant developments.” As Oriol Miró explains below: “Roman Capitals, and all letters in general, are not isolated forms. When they form words inside a text and when their counter forms (white spaces) are defined, then letters take their full value and function. We can appreciate why letters have a specific shape (black), and not any other, when white spaces are defined. Like architects define physical spaces and musicians distribute silences, we set white spaces.” In Calligraphy, thick and thin strokes flow naturally from a broad-edged pen. We define white
spaces while writing letters, and we must see these spaces before executing the black strokes. These few basic concepts, thick/ thin and black/white, are the foundations of our script and with experience, they become intuitive. I woke up today feeling like Copperplate “In the late 16th century, the Italic hand, written with a broad-edged pen, drifted towards a more decorative and fancy style. The script that was born to achieve speed [Italic] turned into a slower script, because calligraphers gave more importance to the aesthetics and decorative effects than to the structure and legibility. To reach even more decorative effects they used a drawing pointed pen instead of the broad-edged one. The script
sion to your letterforms. In general terms, the faster the writing the higher control you will need. Calligraphy has a long and rich history and we are experiencing a revival of this beautiful art form in the hands of young people pushing boundaries and taking calligraphy back to the streets again two thousand years later. I will leave you with this paragraph from my teacher and great calligrapher Oriol Miró: “Calligraphy is not only writing beautiful letters. It is not about clean strokes and decorated letters. Calligraphy distinguishes itself and becomes an art because is made of rhythmic and irregular strokes, a sequence of lively spaces and unconscious strokes that are the result of hundreds of hours of practice and full attention.”
Calligraphy is the act of writing letters with relatively simple strokes, looking for a rhythm. that appeared then is what we call Copperplate.” by Oriol Miró. Copperplate is characterised by high contrast between the thickand thin strokes, elegant curves and slow writing. If you woke up today feeling like Copperplate, you can use a range of tools from traditional English pointed nibs to contemporary brushes.
Special thanks to my teachers Keith Adams, Amanda Adams and Oriol Miró for sharing their time and knowledge with me.
Another tool that I love using is the ruling pen. This tool, contrary to the traditional pointed nib, is much faster and brings a greater expres-
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2 6 L E T T E R S 2 6 , 0 0 0 M I L E S Inspired
by
Lauren
Homâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey around the globe, funded on the 26 letters; create 26 travel themed posters, with on
a
large
focus
typography.
Once
posters are completed, create a web page to sell the posters, to fund travelling
adventures.
Examples of Laurenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work are to the right. 28 | A Lesson in Type
Lauren Ho Posters sourced from 26letters26000miles.com
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Dominique Falla is a woman known for many talents. You might know her because she is the founder of the Typism conference, or you might have seen some of her string art pieces on Pinterest or maybe you have even seen her speak at TED talks. Whatever you’ve heard, there’s a lot more to discover about her. Dominique has published some books and worked for clients like Google, Penguin Books, and Woolworths. She has given me an insight into her process, inspiration and what she’ll be working on for the rest of the year below. You have such a wealth of experience – how do you even explain what you do to people who ask? Haha, that depends on who asks. My day job is Deputy Director of the Queensland College of Art at Griffith on the Gold Coast. I manage the design and digital media programs offered on the coast, as well as teaching into the Graphic Design, Typography and Creative Entrepreneurship courses. My research focus is on Tactile Typography, and I have a doctorate on that topic, believe it or not? The study and work I completed for my doctorate have afforded me the opportunity to travel the world and make pieces of tactile typography for clients including Google, Woolworths, Penguin Books and Frost*Design. I’m also planning 40 | A Lesson in Type
piece of advice for people who want to get started in the design industry? I went to Swinburne University for four years, pre-computer and learnt how to mark-up type, use bromide machines and generally create a design and finished art by hand. The transition to the computer came quickly after that, but I am always grateful for the years spent designing “by hand”. My advice would be to learn those traditional skills because pretty soon a robot with a computer can “design” a page layout or a website, but handcrafted typography and images will be much harder to outsource. The design industry is always undergoing massive changes. Find a way to stay on top of these How did you get started, and changes, but don’t be at the mercy what’s your most important of them. a tactile typography book next year which showcases the work of the top 20 tactile typography practitioners around the world. I am also the founder of the Typism book and conference here on the Gold Coast. I’m passionate about helping to inspire and educate people about the craft of lettering and typography. In recent years, Typism has grown into a global community of letter lovers from all over the planet. We have had book submissions from Siberia, Nepal, the Middle East, Europe and all over the Americas. Lettering is huge in South America. I would love to do a tour there one day. We are all united by our love of letterforms.
Can you describe your process when creating a piece of tactile typography? I work with the client to come up with a concept, and the materials can sometimes suggest a direction. I am a huge advocate of journaling, and I write and draw in my journal every single day. Using the pen and hand makes a different connection with my subconscious than working on a computer, so I always start there. I will write down and sketch ideas for a few hours and let my subconscious do all the work. Once the client approves, I usually vectorise the lettering in Adobe Illustrator, buy all the materials and make a start. My methods are quite slow and laborious, so it is very meditative when I’m making a piece. I watch a lot of movies on my laptop while I hammer nails or wind string. Then I photograph the piece, clean it up in Photoshop and send it to the client. I don’t suggest digital is better or worse than analogue methods; I am fairly
fluent in both and I go between What are you working on this digital and analogue all the time. year? At the moment, Typism is ramping How do you find inspiration up to take over the next two and stay creative? years of my time. I am building My students keep me in touch with a membership site where I hope the latest and greatest trends, and to share lots of resources and I am addicted to Instagram and lettering courses. The conference Pinterest. I also like to travel, and is great, but only 300 Australians so I take a lot of photographs for can attend. Typism is much bigger inspiration as well. I love walking than that now, so I am developing round art materials and craft shops ways to connect with the 35,000 on my regular “artist dates”. I am people who love the work we share often inspired by the materials with the books all over the world. themselves. If I see something Over 500 people completed a I can use I might buy a lot of it survey recently telling me all their and make something from there. I creative struggles and frustrations once took thousands of free Dulux so the membership site will swatches from hardware stores, hopefully solve those frustrations just because I liked them and for a lot of people and help move ended up making a pixel portrait them from confused beginner all which was shortlisted in a Dulux the way through to professional colour prize. creative. I’m working on launching the site You have many side projects and a hand lettering challenge – which are your favourite? Is in the middle of the year, so if there one that takes priority people want to get in the door over everything? now, foundation memberships Typism is taking priority at the are available right up until the moment, but I also love making site launches. I’m keeping it very Tactile Typography and working affordable because I know a lot of with really interesting clients. people at the beginner stage are I am also writing a book called usually students, so if they sign Creativity Fitness which explains up now, they can get two-years how to juggle all these creative access from launch day for only $1 projects, build your creativity a week. fitness and get major things done while being “too busy” for Written by Eva Schafroth anything. I have taught myself how for letteringhub.com to be extremely productive and time efficient, so I felt it was time to write down how I do it because people are always asking me “how do you find the time to get some much done?”. Creativity Fitness will be published at the end of the year by Balboa Press.
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S P E W B A G C H A L L E N G E
Inspired by Gemma Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien, taking inspiration from the ordinary, transform the mundane into works of art and comical genius using only pens, pencils and cheesy puns.
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Written by Eva Schafroth for letteringhub.com What is Lettering? Let’s start with the basics – what is lettering actually? In the broadest sense, lettering is the practice, craft, and art of drawing letters. Often, lettering is contrasted with (or mistaken for) typography. Whereas typography is based on the placement or arrangement of pre-created letters using movable typesets or digital manipulation, the term “lettering” can refer to a variety of expressive, artful means of creating and presenting letters. And while typography typically refers to arranging pre-drawn letters in a document or interface, lettering can be performed one letter at a time, using digital technologies, brushes, chalk, pens, or drawing by hand. Lettering Styles Lettering is a broad and varied art. There are many different methods that can be used to craft exquisite, beautiful letters, using numerous differing materials and tools. Some of the most popular artistic lettering methods used today include Hand Lettering, Brush Lettering, Chalk Lettering, Calligraphy, and Vector Lettering. There are many advantages and unique features to each lettering type, and choosing the proper lettering method is essential to creating a polished, appropriate final product. So how do you decide which lettering method to pursue? Below is a short introduction to each of these five methods. Click on any of them for more specific detail.
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wide range of styles, including numerous serif and sans-serif styles, thick and thin letters, curved and angular letters; and formal, staid lettering types as well as more fanciful styles such as bubble letters or comic-book styles. Finding, creating, and learning new lettering techniques is part of what hand lettering artists love most about the art. As a result there are as many styles of hand lettering in existence as there are hand lettering artists, if not more.
Hand Lettering Hand lettering is the art of drawing letter forms using a pencil or pen, often with the use of other tools such as rules to maintain a consistent size and alignment across the page. A variety of inks or graphite types can be used to craft hand lettered items, and hand lettering may be applied to all manner of types of paper, card stock, and other materials. Styles of hand lettering are also many and varied; the average hand lettering artist practices a
has been vectorized. The possible uses for good hand lettering are nearly limitless. One of the great advantages of hand lettering is its individuality. By working with a hand lettering artist or developing your own hand lettering style, you can create a means of expression that is utterly unique and personalized. No typeset or pre-existing font can be as carefully tailored to your desired tone, mood, or message the way that one-of-a-kind, hand crafted letters can be.
Brush Lettering Brush letting is one of the oldest and most classical known lettering styles. Across a variety of cultures and countries, letter drawing by brush has been used at least since the invention of paper, with notable early examples found in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, and Feudal China and Japan. However, brush lettering is by no means an antiquated or outmoded style. Brush lettering artists continue to use a variety of tools and techniques to create beautiful, elegant lettering designs on all manner of materials, including For all of these reasons, hand paper, card stock, wood, and many lettering is an incredibly versatile others. and flexible form of lettering, and can be tailored to all kinds Continued on next page > of projects. While hand lettering is a practice as old as the invention of paper and ink pens, it has many modern applications including the design of company logos, advertisements, and web illustrations. Hand lettering can also be used in poster or t-shirt design, graphic novel or comic book lettering, infographics, or website banners after the artwork A Lesson in Type | 55
< Continued from previous page Brush lettering is typically performed using paint or ink and a lettering brush. Lettering brushes are composed of long hairs, often originating from natural fibers. However, brushes comprised of synthetic fibers are also available, and can be significantly cheaper, making them a practical alternative for people new to brush lettering. The long, delicate hairs of lettering brushes gives them the ability to absorb a great deal of paint or ink, making it possible to craft thick, bold block letters or highly saturated color fills. Natural fibers such as squirrel or sable fur are ideal when lettering on surfaces such as glass, vinyl, plastic, or metal. When brush lettering wood, ceramic, rough paper, or canvas surfaces, a more bristly or synthetic lettering brush will prove more durable. Brush lettering is beloved for its painterly, hand-crafted design.
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Many brush lettering techniques produce gorgeous, swooping letter shapes with clear variation in paint or ink thickness. Brush strokes can sometimes be seen, as well as irregularities in the amount of pressure or paint applied to the surface. This gives the work a unique and artisanal look. However, brush lettering can also be used to produce angular, serif letters, as well as bold and declarative styles. The wide array of brushes, styles, and paint colors available also contribute to the versatility of brush lettering as an art form. Brush lettering can be used in signage, house or professional dĂŠcor, posters and illustrations, as part of a craft project, or on paper documents. Chalk Lettering Chalk lettering is known for its playful, approachable appearance. Depending on the style, technique,
and color utilized, a work of chalk lettering can evoke youthful memories of the playground or classroom, the languid pleasure of summer days, or even the exciting discovery of a piece of DIY street art. However, it is a misconception that all chalk lettering is frivolous or lacking in seriousness; when chalk lettering is highly saturated, pointed, or thickly drawn it can become quite businesslike and practical. Chalk lettering is created using the application of chalk (calcium carbonate, also known as limestone) to a rough or highly textured surface such as stone, slate, a chalkboard, or a roughsurfaced paper. The use of chalk in drawing letters dates back to prehistoric times, when early humans used white rock to create images and shape letters on the surfaces of rocks and cave walls. Painters, drafters, and lettering artists have continued to rely upon chalk for centuries, appreciating both its fine-grained texture and the unique, delicately dusted effect that it creates on numerous surfaces. As a material, chalk provides lettering artists a variety of options and style choices that ink or paint would make difficult. The faint, dusty application of color provided by chalk makes layering and smudging effects easy, and chalk lettering can be removed from erasable surfaces and replaced without any difficulty. Chalk also comes in a variety of light or pastel colors, which makes it appropriate for a number of casual, fun purposes and settings. Higher-end varieties of drawing chalk contain small binding agents that increase
the material’s adhesive quality, for longer-lasting and more saturated colors and shapes. Because of its fun, expressive appearance and its easy customizability, chalk lettering can be used on temporary or adaptable signage, personal and professional décor, as an organizational tool, or in educational settings. Chalk lettering is also popular in casual dining establishments such as cafes or gastropubs because of its approachable, cute appearance and flexibility. Chalk lettering experienced a boom in popularity in 2014, and chalk illustration as well as a variety of chalk lettering styles have continued to be common in independent shops and restaurants, as well as in home and events décor.
also be layered over existing images or documents, filled in with textures, or filtered in numerous ways to construct novel and striking visual effects. To understand the vector lettering process beyond these facts, it is important to define what exactly a “vector” is. In the world of visual graphics, vectors are small geometrical details such as lines, points, curves, or minute shapes, which build together to create larger shapes or images. Each point or line in a vector is based on a specific mathematical equation, which allows the graphical software to graph or plot the vector in space. Each vector in an image file can be altered in terms of its thickness, shape, size, color, texture, and fill, which allows for maximum customization. Any work Vector Lettering of hand, brush, or chalk lettering Vector lettering is the practice may be converted to a vector of using visual software (such as Adobe Illustrator) to either create letters in a digital image format, or to convert existing, hand-lettered items to a digital format for editing and further use. As such, vector lettering can be applied to virtually any lettering other lettering style, from hand and brush lettering to chalk lettering or even calligraphy. Vector lettering simply allows all of these unique styles to be used in a digital interface.
graphic format, as can works of calligraphy. Hand-crafted lettering must simply be photographed or scanned and then converted into a vector file format (Adobe Illustrator is most commonly used for this). While this conversion process can sometimes be difficult, the result is a lasting electronic record of your lettering, which can be remixed, edited, shared, and used for countless illustration projects. Vector graphic technology also allows vector lettering to be incredibly precise, detailed, and high quality without increasing an image’s file size, which makes it practical for web design, printing, merchandizing, and all manner of other digital projects. If you would like to re-use any lettering, recolor it, edit it, or apply it to new projects in any way, vector lettering is the ideal choice.
Creating works of vector lettering (or converting pre-existing lettering into a vector form) allows for easy and exact reproduction, as well as resizing, file sharing, and in-depth editing. A vector image file can be taken into Photoshop and edited to alter color, hue, or saturation; vector lettering can
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DAILY DROP-CAP
J
essica Hische started Daily
Drop-Cap
to
inspire creativity and to keep her busy. You will
do the same. Create a new and different drop-cap every day and select a typeface to accompany it. Once you have 100, creatively display them.
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USE THIS SPACE TO SKETCH YOUR DROP-CAPS
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INTERVIEW WITH MARIA MONTES Maria originally comes from Barcelona, where she studied design and typography. Today she is a graphic and textile print designer, letterer and illustrator based in Melbourne, and I am pleased to say that she is the first contributor to Lettering Hub! Read on for a big bunch of helpful tips and resources from her. WRITTEN BY EVA SCHAFROTH FOR L ETTERINGHUB.COM
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Tell us a bit about yourself. What and where did you study, and how did you get to where you are today? I am originally from Barcelona where I studied a BA (Hons) in Graphic Design. While doing my Honours degree, I was offered a junior position with my teacher and renowned designer Josep Bagà. After 3 years working with Josep I went back to study a MA in User Interface Design (UXD) in Barcelona. Right after my master’s degree I found a job as a senior graphic designer in a small agency. I worked with two German designers, one Italian, one French and my art director was from Argentina. All of them spoke their native languages, plus English and Spanish. This made me want to travel, learn English and work in another country as a graphic designer. A designer friend of mine had spent one year in Sydney and she was really happy with the experience, so I thought “Australia… why not?” I landed in Brisbane in September 2006 and after 3 months learning English I was lucky enough to be sponsored by a small studio as a lead graphic designer. While working in Brisbane I did small weekend trips to Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne. My daily routine in Brisbane was pretty quiet. I didn’t have a dynamic social life and the house I was living in was very affordable which gave me the opportunity to save up money, so I started to dream about taking one year off and travel around the world. By the end of 2008 I had enough savings to make my travel dreams come true. I was planning to visit several countries in Asia and Europe and finish my trip in New York City where I wanted to live and work as a graphic designer.
Just a few months before I left for my trip I met someone that seemed too good to be true. I decided to follow my plans and take a year off anyway, but once I arrived in New York I had many second thoughts about staying. Rob (who is still my partner after 7 years) and I kept in touch while I was moving around and I decided to come back to Australia and give it a try. By the end of 2010 we relocated to Melbourne where we currently reside. Which came first – Illustration or lettering? And what sparked your interest in lettering specifically? First of all came calligraphy, then typeface design. Through textile design came illustration and finally lettering as the sum of all!
Continued on next page >
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< Continued from previous page I learnt calligraphy for the first time in 1996 under the tuition of Keith Adams. During my first year at university we had to study 9 months of formal calligraphy as a compulsory subject. After working as a graphic designer for over 10 years I felt that I needed to go back to the foundations. I consider typography the main tool for a graphic designer and I felt that I needed to up-skill my knowledge. In 2011 I enrolled for a postgraduate course of advanced typography in Barcelona. During the course I studied formal calligraphy again with Keith Adams and Oriol Miró. I was shocked by how something you love so much can be forgotten for so many years. I grabbed my calligraphy nibs again and since then I haven’t let them go. I learnt the foundations of typeface design with Laura Meseguer, Iñigo Jerez and Josep Manuel Urós. After my postgraduate course in Barcelona I came back to Melbourne and started a collaborative project on textile design. I learnt how to illustrate, create patterns and all things related to CAD from my bedroom. I re-discovered that drawing was another of my big passions. My collaborative textile project was going really well: I was illustrating all day, every day and learning a great deal of new stuff. The experience of learning type design in Barcelona was so good that a year later I decided to enrol for
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a condensed program in typeface design at Cooper Union in New York City. Type@Cooper was a turning point in my career. By that time I was illustrating full time and writing calligraphy every morning as a personal development. At Cooper Union I learnt a method to draw type by hand under the tuition of Jean François Porchez. This approach to typeface design was a revelation for me and I started to apply the same methodology to illustrating for textiles. 1 year after studying at Type@ Cooper I was still designing textiles full time. In 2013 one of my typography teachers at university passed away and I received
First, I use my own calligraphy as a base to start off. Then, I redraw the letterforms and reinterpret the shapes using the same system that I learnt at Type@Cooper and that I use when illustrating textiles. I work with a bunch of ballpoint pens and a very thin one for tiny details (Pentel Hybrid Technica 0.3mm). I always use tracing paper and I add and remove weight several times using a scalpel. I place one tracing paper on top of the other one as if they were layers in Illustrator. I always create my own grids where I decide the x-height and the angle of each lettering piece. Once the sketch is advanced enough, I jump onto the computer
“I was illustrating all day, every day and learning a great deal of new stuff.” an email asking for submissions to pay homage to Josep Maria Pujol, a great typographer, teacher and type historian. This gave the motivation to send my first lettering submission to a group show. Lettering made so much sense to me. I see it like the result of my daily interests and practices. What is your typical process when creating a piece of lettering? How much happens by hand VS on the computer?
and I vectorise the letterforms, using exactly the same approach I used when I studied typeface design. I feel like lettering is the sum of all my passions. In terms of time, maybe I would spend 30% of my time on the sketch level and the rest fighting with my Bezier curves. Although this is slightly changing nowadays as I am experimenting a lot more with hand sketches without vectorising them afterwards.
Which tools do you use and where do you buy them? How important do you think it is to have the right tools? For me there are three very important game changers: pen, ink and paper. You can change one or the three of them and the outcome of the piece will change dramatically. I encourage everyone to experiment with these three elements as much as possible. Pens I have on my desk traditional calligraphy nibs from Germany and England. I also have contemporary nibs – a take away version of the traditional ones called Pilot Parallel pens–. I buy empty Pentel brushes and experiment with ink colours. I use sharpies, bamboo pens that I cut myself, nibs made out of beer cans, flat brushes, Rotring Rapidograph, Artline pens, Daiso and Muji brush pens, ruling pens, Pentel Hybrid Technica 03 for tiny details, liquid chalk pens, Pentel Touch pens and a very important scalpel for my lettering and illustration work. I buy most of my pens in Melbourne at Deans Art, Eckerleys, Pen City and Officeworks. Paper For warming up I use regular copy paper. Then I jump between tracing paper, Canson Basik watercolour paper 370gsm, bleedproof paper and anything in between. I experiment with every single paper that I find around. You can find beautiful handmade paper at Magnani and Neils Art stores in Melbourne. Inks I use liquid watercolour inks from Spain but you can find a similar quality ink called Talens Ecoline in many art stores in Australia. I nor-
mally go to Deans Art or Eckerleys art stores. I use walnut ink that I prepare myself. You can find liquid walnut ink at Senior Art supplies in Melbourne CBD. I also use gouache, Chinese ink and instant coffee. I have used liquid acrylic once for illustrating a skateboard deck. There is a great shop in Fitzroy called St Luke Artist on Smith Street.
When I moved to Melbourne I discovered the work of Luke Lucas and his great technical skills. While studying in New York I learned about Jessica Hische who I have a huge respect for. Her website is not only filled with amazing work but also with incredible resources. My first lettering piece was inspired by Gemma O’Brien’s work. And last but not least, an instruWhat advice do you have for mental person for me who has someone who wants to get guided me locally along the way started with lettering? in the past 3 years is Bobby HaiIn my case calligraphy has been qalsyah. instrumental to understand the structure of letterforms and its What’s your favourite piece of rhythm and contrast. The ductus work you produced so far? (order of the strokes) and the type In general, my level of satisfacof nib –broad edge or pointed– in- tion lasts 6 months. After that, I form where the thin and thicks are start looking at my latest piece of and why. work and I can only spot mistakes Calligraphy, lettering and typeface or things I could have done betdesign have many aspects in com- ter. This is a good thing (I think!) mon but all three are very differ- as it means that I am growing as a ent disciplines. Understanding the designer and 6 months later I see differences and learning about the things that I couldn’t see before. three of them, gave me the knowl- My professional approach is that edge to get started with lettering. “the best thing is yet to come” so I guess my favourite piece of work Where do you draw inspiration has not been done yet! from? Are there other lettering artists that inspire What are you working on at you? the moment, and what’s next? My inspiration comes from my day At the moment I am designing bed a day life. The people I am sur- linen (which I have never done berounded by, my neighbourhood, my fore). I am slowly working on an uppartner and specially the nature in percase typeface design. I am also Australia. experimenting with a calligraphic Nowadays you can find so much alphabet and teaching calligraphy talent out there! I keep in my heart workshops in Melbourne, Brisbane a few of people that have inspired and maybe Sydney this year. me to move forward in key mo- I would love to visit my parents in ments of my life. A few years ago Catalonia later on in the year and I discovered Alex Trochut and his attend a calligraphy retreat in work blew my mind. He is a design- France if possible! er that I have always looked up to.
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BARREL OF AMPERSANDS
Remember those little barrels of ampersand joy you made all those years ago? Time to do it again. Create a plethora of ampersands with different styles. Learning from the short comings of the original batch, refine and perfect your product. Once your happy with them, start selling!
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USE THIS SPACE TO SKETCH YOUR AMPERSANDS
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AN INTERVIEW WITH JASMINE DOWLING JASMINE IS A GRAPHIC DESIGNER AND LETTERER BASED IN BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA. SHE’S ALSO QUITE ACTIVE ON HER BLOG AND FROM TIME TO TIME ANSWERS A LOT MORE QUESTIONS THERE. EVA SCHAFROTH FROM LETTERING.COM EXCHANGED A FEW EMAILS WITH HER. ENJOY!
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You studied design – what sparked your interest in lettering specifically? It was actually the lack of lettering typefaces around that got me doing it myself. I really wanted one for one of my design assignments and when I couldn’t find one that’s when I started doing my own and realised I had a huge crush on it. In classes we were never taught hand lettering so I just practised most days for years. Do you have any side projects, and if yes, any for us to look at? How important do you think it is to have side projects? My prints and typographic experimentation is a side project of mine that gets me out of the restrictions of clients and allows me to explore other techniques without any com-
Which other lettering artists inspire you? Where else do you draw inspiration from? I really don’t like to look at other letters because I find I can get stuck comparing myself to others which never helps creativity. I really like to look at artists that use brush like Christopher Wool & James Victore. They are witty and less focused on the perfection of hand lettering and more focused on content and the flaws. I would
mercial pressure. I also love photographic documentation of flowers. Most days I will spend an hour photographing the flowers as they die and documenting their changes each day. You will have seen a snippet of this in one of my newer prints Large Floral 1 which is dead poppies scanned at a high res. Another side project that I have been experimenting with lately is the Japanese art of marbling with inks. All of my side projects are really to get myself out of my comfort zone and “work zone” and back into play. It is also important because often side projects can lead to new commercial projects because you have pushed yourself and your skill.
love my work to have that same depending on the brush you pick quality. up. I also just use really cheap reflex printer paper as it works really What is your typical process well with ink. when creating a piece of I would invest in a scanner that will lettering? How much happens scan high resolution so you have by hand VS on the computer? good files of your lettering to work I would say majority of the time is with. spent by hand. Sometimes I can spend a day writing a sentence Who did you learn from? Did over and over then look back at you ever have any ‘mentors’? the first draft and go with that one I really didn’t learn from anyone or because I have just butchered it have any mentors along the way. by the end of the day. I really like I have been creating for nearly 3 to keep the lettering as organic years now so it was just a matter as possible so I may only spend a of practicing daily and experimentcouple of hours max working on it ing with different brushes, styles on the computer. etc. In terms of getting the right mindset for work I love listening to Which tools do you use and James Victore’s Youtube channel where do you buy them? How though, it is pure gold. important do you think it is to have the right tools?
“All of my side projects are really to get myself out of my comfort zone and “work zone” and back into play.” I think tools are probably the least important. I have brushes from everywhere and anywhere and where I have got them has really made no difference to the work that comes from them. I use a lot of different round tipped brushes, Japanese brushes, watercolour refillable pens. I think it helps to just pick some cheap brushes up when you go out and have a play around and see what comes from them. It is so interesting to see how differently you write
What advice do you have for someone who wants to get started with lettering? Turn off your computer, stop looking at other’s work and make mistakes. I find lettering that has no knowledge of lettering is sometimes the most perfect because of their flaws.
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USE THIS SPACE TO BRAINSTORM YOUR WEEKLY WORD IDEAS
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I L L U S T R AT E D W O R D OF THE WEEK
Each week, choose a word from the dictionary to illustrate. Go through all the stages of creativity including brainstorming and sketching. Draw your Illustrated word on paper only. No computers. A Lesson in Type | 91
28 monday
2 9 tu e s d a y
30 we dn e s day
01 th urs day
02 friday
0 3 s a turd a y
04 sunday
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N O V/ D E C ' 1 6
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05 monday
0 6 tu e s d a y
07 we dn e s day
08 th urs day
09 friday
1 0 s a turd a y
11
sunday
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DEC'16
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12 monday
1 3 tu e s d a y
14 we dn e s day
15 th urs day
16 friday
1 7 s a turd a y
18 sunday
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DEC'16
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19 monday
2 0 tu e s d a y
21 we dn e s day
22 th urs day
23 friday
2 4 s a turd a y
25 sunday
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DEC'16
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26 monday
2 7 tu e s d a y
28 we dn e s day
29 th urs day
30 friday
3 1 s a turd a y
01 sunday
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DEC'16/ JAN'17
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REFERENCING Schafroth, E 2015, Interview with Matt Vergotis, weblog, 29 June, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.letteringhub.com/matt-vergotisinterview/> Montes, M 2016, Introduction to Calligraphy, weblog, 11 April, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.letteringhub.com/calligraphy-intro/> Schafroth, E 2016, Interview with Dominique Falla, weblog, 19 April, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.letteringhub.com/interviewdominique-falla/> Schafroth, E 2015, Lettering, weblog, 19 April, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.letteringhub.com/styles/> Schafroth, E 2016, Interview with Maria Montes, weblog, 14 April, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.letteringhub.com/interview-mariamontes/> Schafroth, E 2015, Interview with Jasmine Dowling, weblog, 4 June, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.letteringhub.com/jasmine-dowlinginterview/> Hom, L 2016, 26 Letters 26000 Miles, weblog, 1 January, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.26letters26000miles.com/> Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien, G 2013, Spew Bag Challenge, weblog, 1 January, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://spewbagchallenge.tumblr.com> Hische, J 2009, Daily Drop Cap, weblog, 1 January, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.dailydropcap.com> Sans, N & Goicoechea, R 2015, 36 Days of Type, weblog, 29 March, viewed 8 May 2016, <http://www.36daysoftype.com/>
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