Art Series: Hand Lettering A to Z

You know how some people have a skill that amazes you?   I have a friend on the crew that regularly hand letters bible verses and her skill amazes me.  It really does!  And later I'll be sharing some of her work with you because I have this oh so lovely book to share with you today.   Hand Lettering from A to Z.  It's a book that is designed to give people who hand letter, creative ideas that they might want to try (or for people like me .. at least give me a clue about how to do it!)  (grin)

Abbey Ly has put together a book where she talks about three styles of lettering, why they are called that, and the different forms those letters can take.  Serif (6), Sans Serif (4) and Script (4).

She calls in four different artists to help illustrate these different ways to hand letter.

BUT before she gets to that, she has an introduction to the book where she teaches about different papers, different utensils, and different places to find creative ideas. I learned so much in this section.

Like...did you know that watercolour paper comes is three different styles?   Did you know that different paints work better for doing lettering or that pencil crayons can bring a vibrancy to your work?   Read and find out more eh?  :)

So let's say you want to do hand lettering...what should you do first?
Start with simple.  Seriously.  Write out a simple alphabet, learn a basic lettering of the alphabet.. make the letters smaller, bigger, squishy or wider, play around with just the basic lettering.

Then.. once you are comfortable with that...add a bit of width to it.  Draw a letter and just change one side of it. Maybe angle it a bit or make it wider all around.  Just slowly keep changing it, then as you go.. play around with it a bit, add some colour and pizzazz.  Just take it step by step and make a font that is all your own.  Who knows... perhaps your style might look like this: 

I love the bright colours found throughout this book.  Careful illustrations to show how you might replicate a style.

As you see different styles, learn the names of them.  Replicate them, become more confident in your own abilities.  Learn to create your own style all the more.  :)

As you get more confident, consider adding some embellishment to your work.

At the close of book, Abbey Ly showcases the work of her guest artists.   It was so interesting seeing the different styles.  This one is a serif style (see!   I learned something eh!).   Good to do that you know?

I thought I would share some hand lettering that I just adore from people mostly on the crew.   Don't they do a great job?

This one is by Lisa.

These are by Carol, aren't her verses lovely? 

and this one by her daughter.  You can find a post here. 

And if you go to the bottom of Deann's post here, you can see a lovely one she did.  :)   If you find that this book intrigues the socks off you, you might find The Postman's Knock a good blog to follow.

Title: Hand Lettering A to Z: a world of creative ideas for drawing and designing alphabets
Author: Abbey Ly
Publisher: Rockport
Pages: 128
Type: art book
Form: trade paperback
Reviewed for: Quarto Group



Where can you find this lovely book?
 Amazon.ca - Hand Lettering A to Z: A World of Creative Ideas for Drawing and Designing Alphabets

Amazon.com - Hand Lettering A to Z: A World of Creative Ideas for Drawing and Designing Alphabets

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Net in Time helps fuel this blog and our homeschool - thank you! ©2006-2017 A Net In Time. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. A Net In Time/