Challenge - Week 09

One of the things in hands-on art journaling I usually have the most trouble with is hand-writing (sometimes referred to as hand-printing or lettering). My hand-writing has always been poor, but when I started art journaling I thought for sure I could learn. At least some techniques to make it look artsy. But I am still trying and I don't feel it has gotten much better.

This week I want you to explore hand-writing. Make a couple of pages with hand-written titles, and/or journaling.

I really can not teach you how to do art journal writing, because
   1: I suck at it LOL
   2: You have to create your own style

but, I can point you in the direction of videos, pages, etc that I like so you can get a few ideas how to get started.

The first I want to share is a few pages from someone who I believe has the whole art journal handwriting down. AND she is one of our very own members. Say 'Hi' to  Erin! If you check out her Flickr: Mimisgirl51901 She does both digital and hybrid art journaling.
A few of her pages with hand-writing:
Home
Be Me
Lightsaber

Links to pages with hand-writing I like:

Page by apartmentcat - it is definitely not neat, but I like the way she did the journaling in a spiral.

Page by iHanna - this is probably one of the most common techniques, but that doesn't make it bad. I love how she got such clean lines with the white and black together.

Page by miscellaneaarts - this is just so pretty. I would call this a doodle script, and I dream of learning this one. What I find to be the hardest is to make the lines flow.

Page by TMcFayden - the lines in this are so clean. Love the look of this one.

Want to see more? Go to Flickr and run a search for 'art journal hand lettering'.

YouTube:

Doodle Titles and Letter Art - this is a quick run through of different techniques and ideas using Sakura pens.

How to draw type and letters - a list of several videos on how to draw cool type and letters. I think this is more advanced than just regular art journal lettering. Might work for just single words etc. When I work in my journals I usually dont have time to sit down and making things this complicated. But I thought I would share anyway, maybe you find something that you like and want to use.

Cool Writing - this one I could see used in art journals. Would take a little practice, but it is very nice. I might actually try learning this one.

How to draw grafitti letters - this one is not just for grafitti lettering. I think what he says about making the letters looks just a little more artistic than usual, and that there is no right or wrong way is exactly how we should do our art journal lettering.

Artful Lettering - this is the kinda lettering I would love to do. People make it look so easy, but when I do it, it never turn out so great. Will keep trying.

There are many more videos, websites etc dedicated to hand lettering, so if you want more, check out Google. Or maybe make up your own style.

When making digital pages I also feel it is important to make the lettering look as 'real' as possible. You can do that by adding color and texture to bold letterings. If anyone are interested in seeing how I like to do that in my digital pages, just let me know. I do use a mix of PSP and PSE6, but if you use PS or newer versions of PSE I am sure you can do similar things in your programs. At least you can get some form of ideas for how to use fonts in your art. Just let me know if you are interested.

I would love to see some of your pages made with your own hand lettering. I am going to go practice right now to see if maybe I can make something worthy of sharing ;)

REMEMBER: Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process.

Have Fun!

And if you do feel up to it, please share pages at our Flickr gallery HERE