The Art of Whimsical Lettering (7 page)

Who doesn’t love to write, draw, and color with markers? Make whimsical, colorful shapes to fill with words and letters using assorted markers and several techniques. Gather any brand of markers you have. When lettering, I prefer a dual-tip alcohol-based marker that is waterproof and has good color integrity, such as Copic, Prismacolor, or Faber-Castell.

Experiment with unusual tools and assorted inks to create authentic hand-drawn letters.

1. Load an eyedropper with ink and squeeze out the liquid as you write words with the tip.
   
2. Use the end of a paintbrush, a wooden kabob skewer, or a cuticle stick dipped in India or acrylic ink to write out a phrase or inspirational message.
   
3. Use cut-up pieces of cardboard dipped in inks to create freeform letters.
   

Experiment with adding sparkle and shine to your hand-drawn fonts.

1. Use dimensional glaze pens to letter words in a journal or on a scrapbook page.
   
2. Add shiny glitter highlights to letters and artwork using the many glitter glues that are on the market.
   

Dimensional paint pens create raised lettering that pops off a page.

Play with the organic, freeform look of a hand-cut stencil made in your own lettering style.

Use the scraps left behind from your handmade stencils, or the stencils themselves, as collage elements in other artwork.

1. Use cardstock, Mylar, or any heavy paper for your stencil.
   
2. Design your words or letters with a marker or pencil on the surface. Carefully cut out the shapes with scissors or a craft knife to reveal the image.
   
3. Use spray inks or paints to stencil your words on any artwork or journal pages.
   

Make hand-cut letters and word embellishments from your own colorful painted papers. These are much more personal and one of a kind when using preprinted papers. Master this process and you’ll never have to buy another commercial embellishment again!

1. Make some colorful background papers with stencils, inks, or paints on cardstock paper.
   
2. With a pencil, lightly sketch some block or script words on the papers.
   
3. Cut out the words with scissors or a craft knife to create a dimensional paper embellishment.
   
4. Add the letters to your journal or scrapbook page with a glue stick or your favorite adhesive.
   

Having explored my go-to artful lettering techniques, are you impressed with the incredible artwork that came from your very own beautiful handwriting? Do you have a nice thick journal filled with your practice and learning pages? You can grow with these techniques and elaborate on the concepts to make art that is uniquely yours. Don’t be concerned with imitating my samples exactly; be empowered by your own abilities. By being true to yourself, your potential for an exquisite personal lettering style is limitless. Be confident with your own writing as the foundation for stretching and growing artistically. Embrace the techniques and methods that inspire you!

Be free and loose with your creative lettering, letting it flow from your heart and soul. Embrace your perfectly imperfect artful expressions. If you want perfect, flawless, even, smooth, straight letters, you can go print everything out on your computer. Take your time and try all of these techniques and see what speaks to your personal style. Just as you learned handwriting basics as a child, you have now learned the “whimsical lettering basics.” You have the power; now make your own lettered magic.

Mix and match your favorite techniques to create your own whimsical lettering art.

Throughout this book I’ve talked about creating lettering art using your own personal handwriting, rather than just copying prescribed fonts. My approach to lettering is based on the idea of transforming a familiar practice with design principles for endless creative possibilities. In this chapter, I’ll share fifteen alphabets to illustrate how I create them and to show how you can use them as a starting point for your own artistic alphabets.