Lettering for Absolute Beginners Workbook: Complete Faux Calligraphy How-to Guide with Simple Projects (Fox Chapel Publishing) Learn How to Create Gorgeous Alphabets with Any Pen on Any Surface
An absolute must-have guide for beginners, this is an interactive workbook designed to teach you how to create gorgeous lettering with any pen on any surface, no brush pen or calligraphy nib necessary! You'll learn how to draw letters, words, inspirational phrases, and bible verses in multiple alphabet styles by practicing outlining letters and thickening downstrokes. Perforated traceable phrases and backgrounds allow you to make your own art, pull it out, then frame it. Simple, approachable, and fun, this method is versatile for any surface so you can create stunning faux calligraphy on paper, chalkboards, wood, glass, and more! Author Danielle Stringer is the owner and artist behind Imperfect Dust and shares her secret to hand lettering; that it doesn't have to be daunting! With the hope of encouraging readers to pick up a pen and go for it, Stringer will teach you how to achieve the calligraphy look with simple key lines.
”... this book will focus on how to create the look of calligraphy without all the “pressure.””
If you’re looking for a very basic guide/tips on how to hand draw faux calligraphy letters, then this book is a decent first step. The author does a good job of giving instructions on how she creates a more decorative look to her letters by writing them out, and then going back and drawing in additional shape. She also includes the tools and materials she prefers to use. Throughout there are some project suggestions and even practice pages at the end.
I personally am not a religious person, so most of the examples given aren’t ones I would directly want to recreate, but the projects they were written on were appealing to me.
I recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning a way to letter that is alternative to actual calligraphy, and enjoys bible verses and prayer promotion quotes on their decor.
I will say that this book is VERY short. I’m not sure if this is just because I received it in early e-book form and that the final version will have more space to practice or if it really is this short. If that’s the case it reads more like an informational packet and less like a book.
This is a very Christian book on learning one very specific type of hand lettering for one very specific type of font style (faux calligraphy). The author shows you how to draw (not write) letters as words and then go back and fill in one side of every single letter to give a fake calligraphy look. She then gives you about 6 fonts to learn but they all look very similar -- really flouncy, hard to read cursive with lots of squiggles and swirls. Along the way you practice writing some big signs of sayings, mostly psalms and other biblical inspiration. At the end there are a handful of projects (I liked the giving plate) and lined pages to practice your writing.
I like my handwriting and I like doing lettering projects but I'm always looking for new fonts, projects and tips. I don't really care for the type of lettering where you have to hand draw each letter and fill in one side, as it is just so much work and I don't think it's necessarily nicer looking than other font styles. I do it occasionally but I wouldn't choose it as my only technique for hand lettering as this book does. If you want to make signs like those you see at Hobby Lobby ("But first, pray!" and FAMILY) and such, this will show you how to make those and to make that sort of generic script for name tags, signs, etc. Don't expect a lot of variation. I had a hard time even reading some of the words with her fonts.
Goodreads says that two stars means "it was okay," which is how I viewed this book. Interesting, helpful for some, not really for me.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.
This book focuses more on ‘faux lettering’, aka writing out what you want to say and adding in the bits that make it look pretty after! I really like this technique, and I feel like this is much more accessible than trying to learn the ‘proper’ way to do it! There is lots of advice on how to get started, what equipment to use and even some project ideas and tutorials to get you started! There are LOTS of pages for you to practice on, some quite similar to what you get when you starting school where you can trace and then try it yourself. And there are some where you can try out whole phrases and designs! My only problem with this book was how religion heavy it was! I imagine it would put slot of people off, as if I had know how many bible quotes and talk of Jesus and God they was, I probably wouldn’t have read it myself! But if that doesn’t bother you, or it is something you like, then this book is perfect for a beginner lettered!
I have always loved when people have beautiful handwriting, and this artistic style of lettering is something I am very interested in. This book was simple and straightforward and I feel that it really is for beginners which was perfect for me. Sometimes crafters create books for beginners that are not simple enough. But this book made me believe that I could actually learn! Now if I can start practicing, and convince myself to forget perfectionism. I will be buying this book to use going forward.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This is truly the book for absolute beginners. I was left feeling a little unsatisfied by this book unfortunately. I was really eager to learn from this book being an avid bullet journal user I hoped to gain a better grasp on lettering, but this book sort of fell flat for me. It really felt like one, maybe two tips and that was it. In addition to that you get space to practice and some ideas for places to letter on. I also found this book to be heavily religious for a book to teach lettering.
Great if you really have never attempted lettering in your life but if you have, you likely know the tricks already (but I guess that also makes you not an absolute beginner!).
I think like everyone else you always find something about your writing you don’t like. Well insert this fun way of learning how to write beautifully!
This was a ton of fun to learn and was even more fun with friends! I loved how well the lettering was taught which made it easier to learn and love the end result!
I received an electronic review copy from the publishers and it must have been faulty.
The book gives information on what materials to use, but sadly I was missing some guidance in how to actually draw/paint the letters. The project ideas provided showed how to get the bones of the letters done and then flesh them out, but I was missing the "calligraphy" part (which might have been what was hidden in the faulty copy). Furthermore, most of the project ideas are based on Bible quotes, going so far as to actually draw letters into a Bible. I''m not a religious person, but defacing a book - even to enhance it - is not my cup of tea.
This short book shows a kind of 'painting' letters to make them look like calligraphy along with a number of projects you can do, such as painting on a plate or on wood or in your bible. I really like this idea as I'm not all that interested in learning calligraphy but would like to add pretty lettering to various projects. However, I wish the author had shown more projects that were more practice-ish (maybe bullet journal-ish?) and less some fancy item that you could only hang on your wall. Additionally, although the examples looked very pretty, I did not feel like I would ever do any of them. And there is definitely a Christian slant for those who want that or are bothered by it.
I received a copy of Lettering for Absolute Beginngers through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Lettering for Absolute Beginners is the latest lettering book to capture my attention. But before I deep dive into the review, I should draw your attention to the full title of this book: Lettering for Absolute Beginners: Using Faux Calligraphy to Create Simple Versatile Projects. This book is perfect if you’ve been struggling to learn calligraphy, or even if you simply want a shortcut or two to work with. However, if you’re looking for a complex guide on calligraphy, then this is not the book for you. Lettering for Absolute Beginners contains a lot of the basics I’ve come to expect from art books. There’s the introduction, some basic theory and explanations, and then plenty of space to practice the projects supplied. And of course, at the end there’s a sampling of works for inspiration. I found Lettering for Absolute Beginners to be an interesting read, though I really do want to stress the whole faux calligraphy part of this book. It’s still an interesting and informative read, as long as it fits with what you’re looking for. If I was to suggest some improvement for Lettering for Absolute Beginners, I’d recommend some additional variety in fonts and styles. A lot of the examples shown felt very similar and repetitive, and thus I’m concerned about how much learning was provided here.
Thanks to Fox Chapel Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.
As mentioned by the author this book doesn’t have pages dedicated to practice, which I missed, I wish there were. The entire book for me is ok, that is why I gave 2 stars. There are few things that I wished were a bit different. I liked how she explained the supplies to use. What I also liked is the fact that the book is divided in projects and the author explains the steps for each specific projects. What I feel are missing are some sections where is better explained the singled letters, and the different handwriting styles. But, even if some more practical pages are missing, I could see an improvement throughout the book while practicing on a paper using her tips. I think as the title says that this book is perfect for very beginners. What I understood since the beginning is that we do not need to copy a style but mostly we have to create our own and while practicing, from our mistakes we can find out what is better for us.
Lettering is something I am not naturally skilled at, and with the huge trend of artistic bullet journaling (which I've jumped on the bandwagon on), I'm always on the lookout for simple lettering to learn.
I really liked the graphics and clean look and layout of the pages. I thought the book did a great job of explaining how to create faux calligraphy, and tips such as hiding transitions to make your work more natural.
While I would never write in a book like this, I thought the template pages were well laid out and let you practice a variety of techniques, including writing letters from scratch and adding the body. The pages are clean and would be great for tracing with other paper - which is a method I do use!
The five fonts were cute and had options to practice both upper and lower case lettering. Even better there was word practice so you could practice transitioning between letters correctly.
My favourite sections were 'trace & try' and 'trace and frame', which mean you can create your own framed art straight from the book! A clever addition that I've never seen in a lettering book before.
I will start off by saying that I approve of the honesty of the author. This is for absolute beginners and that is wonderful. I approve of the practice sheets and the simplicity, however it is extremely repetitive and a good part of the drawn letters are bound to Christianity and even the Bible. I am glad that the author has found something to believe in but I feel as though the books should be rebranded as Christian Lettering for Absolute Beginners. Even so, I feel as though it is poor judgement to draw in books, Bible or other, unless the book is designed for it (such as this one).
I got this book off of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, and this is just that - an honest review.
The work would be great but it requires plentiful polishing and additions. Religious beliefs should, in this case, be either kept separate from faux calligraphy or be focused just on that. Themed calligraphy teaching book would work, this unfortunately does not.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G Stringer was a beginner at lettering not too long ago herself, and she’s never taken a class in lettering. Her love for and success with lettering drives her desire to teach others who may want to learn how to write more creatively. I love how encouraging and upbeat Stringer is throughout her instructions. However, I feel that Stringer was very repetitive, going over the same tips and processes with each project she suggested. Furthermore, teaching a skill takes a lot of practice, and I appreciate examples to see what I’m supposed to be practicing; Stringer did more telling than showing as she directed readers in the art of lettering, making it more difficult for me to follow along and want to practice. Reviewed for https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/
I liked this book, especially the practicing sheets, but I think there are some flaws... As the title mention, this is a book for faux calligraphy, drawing letters and then filling in the downstrokes. I always wanted to know how this works because a lot of times you have no idea where you need to thicken it, on which side, but this is never really specified. There are 5 alphabet examples and while they are cute, they are very similar in style. There is enough room for practicing, which I really like, but I didn’t feel like I really learned anything... the examples in the back are great though, and very handy to imitate for beginners. What also bothered me, this book is very Christian, there are Bible verses, quotes and even a bit on Bible journalling. I feel like this should have been specified on the cover.
I received an e-arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Lettering for Absolute Beginners by Danielle Stringer is a lettering book for those who are interested in learning a new technique for home décor, Bible journaling or gift giving. While the technique can be used in many ways the examples are positive and some are Bible verses. While this may not be what some readers were looking for, it was perfect for me.
They are five faux calligraphy alphabets shown that are similar in style with practice areas for you to use. Then words, phrases and sayings are also shown. I liked especially the chalkboard suggestion. I also liked that the descriptions were detailed, truly for beginners. Since this is a workbook, it is sold as workbook paperback not as a digital copy as I received to review.
The publisher through Net Galley provided a digital ARC. I have voluntarily decided to read and review, giving my personal opinions and thoughts.
I really. Enjoyed this book it is a very simple basic practice book for simple and fairly specific lettering. I did notice a few people were disappointed it wasn’t more expansive. However, the title in and of itself states it is specifically for beginner level lettering and I feel it hits the mark. It takes a great deal of practice to get good at lettering and this book will help build confidence and give you the stepping stones to move on to more complex lettering books. I personally feel that as a beginner it will help me master basic consistent results. I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. I recommend it for those that have little to no experience and I believe you will be pleased.
I am an avid hobbyist in mixed media, and I'd love to add hand lettering. Even though I have extensive knowledge about typography, I am terrible at calligraphy, and that's where this book comes in! With simple exercises, the author taught me how to create great-looking fonts with, what she calls, faux calligraphy. To be honest, I don't mind that I now write my sentences not in a proper way; they look a lot better, and if I can do it, anyone can. The only critique I have: The five fonts used in the exercises are all very similar. More diverse types would have made it a much more valuable book.
The lettering projects in this book are great and the author is very talented. I was looking for a little more information about getting started, however, and found that this book didn't tell me anything a basic Pinterest post or blog post on the internet has. That was rather disappointing to me, because I still don't feel like I'm ready to give this type of lettering a try. If you are looking for inspiration - this book might be a good pick for you. If you have ever read anything about lettering on the internet, you won't find anything new here.
This book was provided to me through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to Fox Chapel Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a bit of a disappointment. Not only was it really top-heavy with evangelical Christian content and orientation, but the lettering which was at the center of the book was not calligraphy, but adding bits to lettering, to make it *look* like calligraphy. The styles the author showed all looked very similar, and I found none of them particularly attractive, nor did I find the instructions given particularly helpful.
I'm sure this book will be just the right thing for some, for me it wasn't right at all.
This is a great resource for learning a new skills while being stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
This book shows how to make beautiful letters, then offers instructions on making different projects. My favorite is the giving plate. You can also find a chalkboard project, gift bags and more. The section of Bible journaling is interesting and informative. Knowing how to make beautiful lettering for drawing a quote in the margin of a Bible is invaluable.
I received an ARC from Fox Chapel Publishing through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.
Thank you Netgalley and publishers for an ARC. All thoughts are my own.
I really enjoyed the layout of this book. It breaks down lettering for those who are new to calligraphy. There are a few practice pages, but also great techniques and ways to create fonts.
I really enjoyed the information given and the breakdown of calligraphy. I appreciate when authors share what mediums or pens to use and Stringer does this. She also provides some phrases to copy, is where I struggle the most, how to format and pair fonts together.
Fake it 'til you make it! Or just keep on faking it because it comes out awesome! Danielle Stringer shows how to use "faux calligraphy" to make some really neat hand-lettering. You don't need any special materials - whatever you usually write with will work for this, too. And can I just say how wonderful it is to have a "book for beginners" that is actually written for absolute newbies? With lots of practice pages and a handful of project ideas to put your new skills to good use.
A great and informative quick read about hand lettering without learning traditional calligraphy. The author offers great direction in how to do the lettering as well as some really crafty and creative uses for your new found lettering skills, such as gift plates. I did find the religious content a little misplaced in a book about hand lettering, but overall enjoyed learning some new skills relatively quickly with actionable tasks throughout the book.
I got a copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions are my own
I'm really into calligraphy and lettering so when I saw this book in NetGalley I decided to request it. This book focuses on teaching you how to use faux calligraphy. The author teaches you different alphabets/styles of letters to practice. And showcases some projects you can do using this type of calligraphy. Overall it was a good book, I was expecting more variety in the styles of lettering she showed.
I really enjoyed this book and its technique. I am just starting out in lettering and find the faux calligraphy style to be one that I enjoy. I felt the tips and techniques were helpful, and the projects looked interesting but none of them really fit my personal style. I do wish the books had a few more styles and a few less practice pages, since I can always grab a piece of paper. Overall though I think its a good book for beginners to check out.
Got a copy of the book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And I absolutely regret it.
There is only one font showed and I wouldn't call it calligraphy at all because it explains to you you need to write once and then fill the space next to the letters.
I was expecting way more than one fonts and display on how to write it on every possible display.
Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to review a sampler of Lettering for Absolute Beginners. I am a hand lettering lover and I know the basics. I really believe this book will be very helpful for beginners and even for people like me, who already knows but is willing to learn new tips. This book is very educational and will teach you the basics; love the projects that are presented.
Good basic lettering book. I liked the easy to understand instructions and the projects in it especially the Bible journaling and gift giving ideas This little book has inspired me to give lettering a try!
This book has some great tips to help prefect the lettering craft. I think all beginners could find this book useful. I love the craft ideas as well. What a great addition!
Thank you NetGalley and Chapel Publishing for this advanced readers copy.