July 26, 2012
Creative Lifecycle Lettering
Over the past year or so, hand-lettering has become a definite passion of mine. It combines two things I absolutely love, drawing and design. I've been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil, and fell in love with graphic design and typography in college. So having an outlet that lets me combine the two is so relaxing and inspiring for me.
I have an ever-growing list of things I want to letter, but usually it's just whatever inspires me at the moment. My latest work is an homage to the obsessive nature of creative people like myself. When I'm in the zone, whatever I'm working on is the only thing I want to do. Hence the three C's of the creative lifecycle.
My usual process for creating my lettering work is to start with a few sketches. From there I rough out the layout/design in pencil in my ever-present Moleskine sketchbook.
Once I'm happy with the layout, I pencil in the details.
Finally, I break out my pens (a combo of Micron and fine-tip Sharpie pens) and ink in the line work, adding detail as I go and inspiration strikes.
I try not to be too rigid with these pieces, which can be a challenge for the perfectionist in me who is used to computer generated fonts. But, I really love that they look hand drawn, mistakes and all. Once the piece is all inked, I scan it into my computer, where I clean up any stray marks or things that are really bothering me from the drawing. At this point I also add color if it works, however in this case I really loved just the b/w version as is.
Once I'm happy with the finished digitized artwork, the real fun starts as I transform what started out as pencil sketches in my notebook into finished products in the shop. It is so rewarding to see your work in real life applications.
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