Getting Intimate With Typography: Hand Lettering

Hello Students,

Your next assignment will help you become familiar with letterforms. Your assignment is to hand letter your own name. You will sketch each letter and then scan the sketch and trace with Adobe Illustrator, add color and final touches before turning in.

Experimental "A" created by AJ

Hand Lettering Assignment:

Use all the skills you have learned regarding color theory, typography and the principals and elements of design to create your own illustrated hand-lettering.

• Start by examining how your name looks in different fonts. Use Illustrator to make a few versions and think of an original way to modify or design your own letters
• Start sketching with pencil and paper, start with some small versions then try sketching each letter almost as big as the piece of paper
• Sketch out each letter and scan/photograph them, copy the images to your computer and use the File Menu>Place function to bring them into Adobe Illustrator
• Trace the letters shapes and other illustrative elements with the pen or pencil tools. Remember to close your paths to fill with color correctly, avoid using strokes on your objects... strive to use fill-only for best results
• Assemble your final letters in order to spell out your name
• Apply color and backgrounds
• Post to your blog when complete
• For inspiration check out Letter Cult or these examples of illustrative lettering

Student Showcase: Hand Lettering Examples