A few of my Eyelet Outlet Monster Brad friends have stopped by to see if you have any extra candy? They also have a few tips for getting started in handlettering.
There are two crucial factors for lettering: you need the right tools and ...sorry, there's no getting past this... to achieve really steady lines, it'll help if you practice a bit. Luckily it's FUN! Tools are easy, because The Ink Pad's got your back with pens, notebooks and how-to books. The pens I've used for today's samples are some of my faves: a black Zig Fudebiyori, Clean Color Real Brush Pens in some monster-matching colors and a Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen with an S (.3mm) nib. Here are a couple of tricks that will even work on your ordinary handwriting:
- Write any word with a nice bold brush pen; it can be cursive or print, don't worry too much about style, just leave a little extra space between your letters.
- Use a fine-nibbed black pen to outline your letters, this will neaten up any mistakes.
- Choose a contrasting brush pen and add a shadow to one side of each vertical line.
- Add dots, dashes, hash marks or faux stitches... on the letter or the shadow or both!
Finally I've got a couple more "secret" tips: Lined or graphed patterned paper gives you built-in structure to keep your letters straight and evenly spaced; A whimsical font makes any inconsistencies look intentional; and embellishments... like Monster Brads, sequins or bling... cover up anything that needs covering up, lol!
I hope you'll be inspired to try handlettering. Stop by The Ink Pad and test drive a few pens until you find your favorite!
is a tiny bit of a pen junkie.