Handlettering Archives - Design Assembly

Join Australian Type Foundry‘s Wayne Thompson in this two-day workshop exploring both the hand-rendered and digital world of expressive lettering.

Day 1: With an emphasis on doing rather than watching, we will introduce you to the world of expressive handlettering. After starting with an examination of different styles, we will explore ways to fit words together, make creative joins between letters, learn how to do flourishing and look at examples of various handlettering styles. You will also get the opportunity to test out various types of handlettering tools including ruling pens, broad-nib pens and brushes. You will work on your own handlettered piece and Wayne will show you through his process of sketching and refining using tracing paper. You will get personal guidance from Wayne, and you’ll learn new techniques, inspiration and enthusiasm for expressive lettering.

Day 2: Bring your computer and Adobe Illustrator software to learn how to digitise your sketches from the previous day. We’ll cover basic vectoring techniques — including some simple stuff which, surprisingly, most professionals don’t know — and methods for getting your vectors smooth, sweet and economical. There will also be instruction on adding embellishments and shadowing, lots of real-life examples, and demos on how to make your digital work sing.

WHAT TO BRING:

Wayne says, “Bring whatever pens/pencils you would normally draw with, a ruler, a rubber, scissors, and a sketchbook if you like, and also:

– A brush pen. There are lots of kinds, I find the Tombow ABT’s to be very good.

– Greaseproof paper or tracing paper (NOT baking paper, because it doesn’t take the brushpens well).

– Computer with Illustrator installed for the Sunday (only).

WHAT TO AVOID: 

It’s best NOT to buy Copic Ciao markers, which look like this: www.eckersleys.com.au/products/copic-ciao-markers  because the brush tip bends in a particular way which makes learning the techniques difficult.

Please don’t spend a lot of time hunting down specific pens, these are just recommendations and it doesn’t matter too much what kind of pen you buy. It’s the technique and practice that makes the difference.”