Brush lettering
Want to write? This is how the beginning succeeds
© rawiwano / Shutterstock
How does brush lettering work? What material is needed and how to start? All answers here!
Lettering is the art of beautiful letters – and once you’ve been captivated by it, you won’t let go. Here you can find out what is important and what material you need.
Difference between brush lettering and hand lettering
- hand lettering: The letters and numbers are drawn in hand lettering, a wide variety of pens (e.g. fineliners) can be used for this. This results in countless possibilities for fonts and design options.
- Brush lettering: This type uses a brush or a brush pen! This is characterized by a flexible tip and is available in different widths. You can use them to create strokes of different widths.
Brush lettering: basics for beginners
In order for you to succeed in creating beautiful letters with the brush pen, you should master the up and down strokes:
- smear: from top to bottom with (more) pressure
- spread: from bottom to top with little pressure
If you are still in the initial phase and have just discovered brush lettering for yourself, it is advisable to start practicing the two stroke variants and gradually combine them into letters.
material to start with
paper
Paper is not just paper. For your letterings, those with a smooth surface are particularly recommended. Special paper for brush lettering has a closed and smooth surface, so a good choice for your artwork.
pencils
For the brush lettering you should use the appropriate brush pens to lay. These are commercially available from a variety of manufacturers, find out which ones work best for you. You might try a medium tip at first, as wider ones are harder to trade.
Brush Lettering: The right way to hold your pen
Why is the pen position important with the brush pen? With the right handling, you simply get more out of your pen! Otherwise, the tip may fray unsightly and mess up your brush lettering.
Tips for holding a pen
- Do not put on from above
- Don’t hold the pen too far forward, rather a little further back
- Try to hold the brush pen at a 45 degree angle so it’s on the bottom of your index finger
- The brush tip should then be as parallel as possible to the edge of the sheet
To see if you’re holding the pen correctly, you can use the drop test do:
- Draw dots on the paper with your brush pen
- These should look like small drops
- If they look like dots, the pen isn’t quite in your hand yet
Brush lettering templates
With the fonts you can play with the line widths. Here are some examples of fonts:
© karakotsya / Shutterstock
© Anna Kutukova / Shutterstock
© Ana Babii / Shutterstock
Do your fingers itch and you want to start right away? To do this, you can draw guidelines on paper and look for a template with the desired font. Or you browse z. B. blogs and social media, where you will find, for example, exercise sheets.
Would like more? How about hand lettering numbers, kawaii, drawing doodles or painting watercolors? You can find even more great DIY ideas here!