Amy Latta - Hand Lettering for Relaxation

AMY LATTA

FOUNDER & DESIGNER OF ONE ARTSY MAMA

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

This book contains exercises that readers are encouraged to practice on separate sheets of paper.

You can also download templates from the authors website. Please go to http://www.oneartsymama.com/hand-lettering-relaxation-border-pages and enter the password HLFR71117.

To Noah, the light of my life and the most wonderful thing I have ever played a role in creating. I love you the most.

And to you, reader. May these workshops inspire you and show that you are capable of more creativity than you ever thought possible.

Hello, friend!

Are you ready to begin a creative journey with me? Im Amy, and I am so excited that you want to develop your lettering skills. While I share a variety of craft and DIY projects on my blog, oneartsymama.com, my absolute favorite art form is hand lettering, and I cant wait to share it with you. Hand lettering has become an increasingly popular art form over the last few years, and its something that anyone can do. Maybe youre already artistic and just want to learn a new skill. Or perhaps you feel limited in the creativity department and have serious doubts about how successful youll be. Let me promise you right now that by the end of this book, you will be creating beautiful designs. Its easier than you think. Honestly. Perhaps youre already skilled at hand lettering and are looking for inspiration. Youll find that here too, with more than 45 new designs to create. Theres something in this workbook for everyone.

Hand lettering is an incredibly useful hobby. Once you master some basic skills, youll want to use lettering to decorate everything from cards to wall art. Its also quite portable; youll be able to create designs just about anywhere you go. I always travel with a brush pen in my purse, and Ive been known to letter on whatever was available, including coffee cups and napkins. The best part, though, is that it can be a great way to relax and relieve stress as you go through the motions of forming a design. My hope is that you will find yourself enjoying every step of the process as you go.

Now, lets get started! I cant wait to show you some of my favorite lettering tips and tricks as you explore this fun and relaxing hobby.

This workbook is divided into step-by-step workshops, each designed to teach you a new skill related to hand lettering. Theres no experience required; well be starting together with the basics of faux calligraphy and youll be getting increasingly advanced as you move through the skills. You can focus on one workshop each week, one each day or go at whatever pace you like. Throughout the lessons, well explore a variety of different font styles and embellishments, as well as the basics of brush lettering technique. Each workshop has a featured design you can create at the end and step-by-step instructions for the new skill. You can practice in the provided space right here in the book or in a sketchbook. Theres also a special page at the end of each chapter where you can create your finished piece, or you can use it for more inspired practice.

In addition to lettering instruction, each workshop also has a themed paragraph that will act as a springboard for the quote youll be lettering in the featured design. My hope is that reading and thinking about the theme will be one more way you can relax and engage with this hobby. I also hope it will give you an extra connection to the quotes youre lettering, making them meaningful art in addition to practice for your skills.

Are you ready to begin? As long as you have this workbook and a writing instrument, you can get started. Any pen, marker, or even a pencil will do at first, but there are definitely some materials youll want to think about purchasing as you progress. Take a look at the supply list so youll be prepared for the upcoming workshops.

One of the great things about hand lettering is that you can create amazing art with very few supplies. If you have a good pen and a scrap of paper, you can letter just about anywhere. As you complete the designs in this book, here are the supplies youll want to have on hand.

These are the supplies youll consistently need for every workshop.

Soft Tip Brush PenI use the Tombow Fudenosuke

Fine Tip Black PensI like the Sakura Pigma Micron Pens 01, 03, and/or 05

Pencil

Block Eraser

Straightedge

These pens allow you to create colored, shadowed and highlighted designs.

Colored MarkersI highly recommend Tombow Dual Brush Pens

Gray Marker

White Gel PenI like the Sakura Gelly Roll

Masking Fluid (available in a bottle or pen)I have the Molotow Grafx Masking Fluid Marker (refillable) 4mm

Water Brush (optional)Mine is the Pentel Aquash

Paintbrush, Script Liner Style, Size 10/0

Watercolor Paints

Heat Tool for Embossing

Embossing Pen, Black or Clear

Embossing Powder, your choice of color

Hand lettering encompasses a huge variety of styles and techniques, many of which were going to look at together in the coming workshops! The most common style associated with it, though, is brush calligraphy. The actual technique of brush lettering takes a good bit of time and practice to master, and I promise well do just that a little later on in our time together. For now, though, to get started quickly, were going to learn some very simple faux calligraphy. This will give you the look of brush lettering in just a few basic steps. Honestly, anyone can do it, and youll be creating beautiful lettered art in no time.

If your life is anything like mine, you spend so much of your time and energy taking care of the people around you that at the end of the day, theres very little left. Some of you have children at home who demand all of your time and attention. Some of you are caring for aging parents or sick relatives. All of us have responsibilities managing our homes, doing laundry, preparing meals and looking out for the interests of whomever is in our care. In the end, the many hats we wear can leave us feeling just plain worn out. The truth is, we need to make sure that in the midst of taking care of everyone else, we intentionally carve out time to care for ourselves too. If we keep on giving without ever recharging, well quickly find ourselves with nothing left to give. I know lots of women who feel guilty about taking time just for themselves, but the reality is that when we do, it makes us better wives, moms, daughters, sisters and friends. There are tons of different ways to take some me time. The key is to intentionally plan it into our schedule. If we keep waiting for a free moment, it will never come. Instead, plan a certain time of day or a certain hour each week when you get uninterrupted time to do whatever energizes you. One great way to do this is by setting aside a specific time each week to reflect and allow yourself to be creative while following along with the prompts in this book. As we walk through a variety of hand-lettering techniques, dont focus on being perfectenjoy the journey and let it be a relaxing experience thats just for you.