Even when you try to write properly and make your letters look nice, you eventually go back to your messy handwriting that you don’t really like. You try to write slowly at first, but you can’t really get your ideas on paper fast enough if you’re writing slowly, so you speed up and end up not liking the way you’ve written. If you’re looking for a way to improve your handwriting and get rid of these issues, hand lettering might be something you’ll want to try.
Hand lettering is the art of drawing letters to form words or phrases that look more like artwork than handwriting. You may have seen this style of writing on signs or on arts and crafts websites recently. It’s becoming more and more popular and well-known, which means there are plenty of resources available if you want to give it a try.
While you may not write letters or grocery lists with these lettering styles, learning how to do them does enable you to improve your handwriting overall. You’ll notice you tend to take your time a bit more and focus on what you’re writing when you write normally instead of rushing through.
Take a Class to Learn How to Do Hand Lettering
Lettering takes time to learn. There are many different styles you can try from balloon letters to ornate faux calligraphy. You can choose one style for the project you want to try or pick a few styles that work well together. If you’re ready to start learning lettering to learn how to improve handwriting, taking an online class is the best way to learn.
While you may be able to just copy a style of lettering, this isn’t actually the best way to learn. You may be making mistakes that you don’t realize that could make your lettering turn out a little weird or that will make it more difficult for you to create the letters. This is especially bad if you’re taking the class to improve your penmanship. Instead, you should check out the classes that are available to start from the beginning and learn how to do everything properly.
Lettering classes will teach you everything you need to know about how to do many of the different lettering styles. You’ll learn what basic supplies you might need, how to use some of the more unique supplies, how to create the layout for your project, and how to choose which lettering style or styles you’ll want to use for your first project. Often, you can follow along with a project the instructor chooses to try it out the first time.
Gather the Basic Supplies You Might Need
Before you start a hand lettering class, you’ll want to make sure you have the basic supplies on hand. If any special supplies are needed, the instructor should specify those for you and may give you helpful tips to ensure you purchase the right supplies. Otherwise, you’ll need paper, a pencil and eraser, a ruler, and a pen or brush.
Most of the basic supplies will be items you already have at home, which means it’s not expensive to start practicing. As you improve, you may want to purchase additional supplies to embellish your projects or add a splash of color. Almost any writing utensils can be used for lettering by hand, so you are not limited in what you might want to try.
Practice Along with the Lesson
As mentioned, the instructor will generally create a project while they’re showing you how to do everything. When you first try a hand lettering class, you’ll likely want to copy what the instructor is doing. This helps you focus on how to create the letters and breaks down the process a little bit so you don’t have to focus on learning everything at once. Though the instructor may go over the entire process for designing a hand typography project, start with what they’re doing and learn how to create the letters. When you’re only focused on one part of the project, you’ll be able to master it faster.
Before you know it, you won’t be far from designing a best-selling t-shirt, making a award-winning collage, or writing the grocery list with a little more flare.
Branch Off and Try Something on Your Own
Once you’ve practiced the project used by the instructor, you can take what you’ve learned and add other skills like layouts and embellishments. The instructor may cover these during the lessons, so review what you’ve learned and start working on creating a project on your own.
Hand lettering takes quite a bit of practice to perfect. The more you experiment and see what works or what you don’t really like, the better you will get. As you branch off and try out projects on your own, remember to return to the lessons anytime you have a question. You’ll be able to review the information you’ve learned and make sure you didn’t overlook anything important when you did the class the first time.
As you learn more and try out your own lettering, you may want to look into other supplies you can use. Special markers are available that make it easier for you to make thin, standard, or thick lines with the same marker depending on how hard you press down while you’re writing. Watercolor pencils make it easy for you to color your project or the background and then use water to create a watercolor effect.
Check out the many different unique and fun writing utensils to see what you might prefer to use for each project. They are typically not expensive, so you can try out a bunch of different kinds and find out what you prefer to use for the projects you want to create.
Start to See the Change in Your Handwriting
The main goal of learning hand typography may have been for you to learn how to improve handwriting. While you’re having fun with the lettering lessons and projects you’re trying, you may not have noticed that your handwriting is starting to improve. It’s not going to improve instantly, but the more you do, the bigger of a change you’re going to see.
Every once in a while, you may want to compare your handwriting to what it used to be to see how big of a difference there is. Even though you’re not practicing your normal handwriting very much, you will start to see an improvement. Your handwriting will become cleaner, easier to read, and will look prettier, even when you’re writing in a hurry.
How Does This Work?
Hand lettering involves taking your time and learning to draw the letters instead of writing them. Instead of hurrying to get the words on paper, you’re figuring out the proper way to write them, making sure you get each one right and working to make sure all of the letters and words look good together. Basically, you’re slowing down quite a bit and focusing on what you’re doing.
As you do this, you’re retraining the muscles in your hand to write a tiny bit slower and to work on making the letters properly. Even if you’re learning a lettering style that’s completely different from your normal handwriting, the shape of an “e” is always going to be the shape of an “e.” You may make it longer or wider or add embellishments, but it will still be the same letter. What you learn while you’re drawing letters will translate to what you do when you’re writing letters in your normal handwriting.
Continue Learning and Practicing Your New Skills
If you’re interested in learning how to improve handwriting, lettering by hand can provide the help you need. However, you won’t want to just learn how to do it and then stop. You won’t get the full benefits hand lettering can offer and you’ll start to lose the improvements you’ve gained.
When you write often, your handwriting becomes better because you’re practicing. When you stop practicing, your muscles don’t get the workout they need and you’ll likely go right back to the way you were writing before. Instead, practice regularly to keep your writing skills sharp and to be able to do hand lettering as well as to improve your handwriting all around.
Your handwriting is only going to improve if you practice and learn how to improve it. If you’re looking for a fun way to improve your handwriting, lettering might be the answer you’re looking for. This is a great way to create fantastic artwork you’ll love while still getting in the handwriting practice you need to improve your handwriting and keep it looking great.
If you’re interested in giving this a try, gather the basic supplies you might need and look into taking a hand lettering class today. There is a range of different classes you can try out, so choose one that looks like it might provide the help you need to get started today. Once you give lettering a try, you may discover dozens of ways you can use hand lettering to create something you’re proud of. It’s going to be a great way for you to have fun, create fantastic projects, and work on improving your handwriting – which is even one step closer to learning how to draw.