Mastering Hand-Lettering: Your Practical Guide to Creating and Styling the Alphabet

by Mye De Leon

Creative hand lettering and calligraphy are the newest trends in arts and crafts. Many people across the US are turning to these elegant (and sometimes quirky) art forms as a way to relax and de-stress, while simultaneously nourishing their creativity through a fun new outlet. This comprehensive manual covers the spectrum of what creative letterists and calligraphists need to know, and teaches them how to add their own individual touch to letters, cards, signs, chalkboards, reports, signatures, and much more! This book includes: -An introduction to hand lettering -A glossary of terms -Lettering anatomy -Lettering tools -Composition & hierarchy -Hand lettering process -Chalkboard lettering -Lettering examples -How to draw letters -Practice pages, tutorials, & exercises Start learning how to write and letter beautifully today with Mastering Hand Lettering!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art Design, Crafts

180 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2017

Reviews

[Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author of this book is excellent at lettering but appalling at teaching. The book is useful for seeing different examples of lettering and practising imitating those but the explanation of the skills involved makes little sense and did not assist me in recreating the letters. For example, there is no explanation of why lettering has to be done the way she says, there is no explanation of how you use the eraser in moving from frames to full letters (there is not even reference to using an eraser; you just "add weight"), there is no explanation of how to draw the shapes well or get lines straight or curves proportional, there is no explanation of what "adding weight" is or why you do it. There appears to be no explanation of design principles or any attempt to explain why the rules are what they the author says they are.

This appears to be a book that is the result of a popular artist being given a book deal, not an expert or teacher teaching their craft. The lettering itself is beautiful, which is why I did not give it one star, and it may be that you don't need the kind of teaching/instruction that I was wanting/expecting from the book, in which case it might be great for you. But I would return it if I could.

[Rebekah Giese Witherspoon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is absolutely gorgeous but doesn't teach hand lettering for beginners. It gives lots of space for writing in the book itself to practice hand lettering but, without basic "how to" instructions, it's not helpful to me. I think I'll try an online class for beginners instead.

[Tarsila Krüse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very comprehensive book for people who want to learn hand-lettering, although it is feasible for most people with interest in the topic and some drawing skills, it would be most recommended for those who have a keen eye for detail as a lot of the intricacies of hand-lettering aren’t necessarily covered (like common pitfalls of drawing specific letters).

It is a beautiful book but teaching is not it’s strongest suit. Another thing that disappointed me a little was the fact that the practicing lines for the alphabets are slightly smaller than the reference given, which causes confusion because the letter to be drawn is in a different size (I often struggled with the proportions because I was following the example, which was bigger)

The last part of the book offer quick exercises that give you a taste of many types of hand lettering, which is nice for someone who wants to reproduce the artwork given, but does not necessarily entice the creator to figure things on their own.

Highly recommend as a starter and introduction to hand lettering that is to draw different letters and alphabets (this is not calligraphy) for those who already have some understanding of the graphic arts.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mix of good information, and sections of repetitive content and illustrations that were out of sync with what was being described.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pictorial read mostly; glad I own it.