Hand Lettering Specialization: From Basics to Creative Storytelling

In this lesson, I will walk you through the different types of materials you will be using. I’ll show you different ways to spark inspiration, what you can do with the blank page, and where to get ideas for designs.

Module 2

Bring your imagination to life with Grace Frösén as she guides you through the art of doodling and hand lettering. You’ll learn how to transform everyday thoughts into illustrated postcards, blending detail and creativity into pieces you’ll love to share.

14 lessons (3h 7m)

How to Use the Materials

Getting the Creative Juices Flowing

Now, I will show you some of my favourite techniques to spark ideas when I start any project. It’s about playing around, warming up and finding those ideas within you that might be hiding in the corners of your mind.

Conquering the Blank Page

I’ll expand on the warm-ups by starting to conquer the blank page. I’ll show you how to use mind-mapping as a technique, and how mood boards are a great way to define your ideas.

When you’re lettering and doodling it’s nice to add some colour! In this lesson, I’ll explain some colour theories to you as well as some colouring techniques.

Colour Theory

I'll talk you through different lettering styles. There are a lot of different categories for typefaces, and most of them fall into 4 basic groups: serif, sans serif, script, and decorative.

Lettering 1

20m

Lettering 2

Here I will start working on the postcard. I'll show you how to write it, and how to change little elements to create your own unique style.

14m

Lettering 3

Now that you have practised, I will show you how you can add some extra elements to the letterforms. You can create a decorative alphabet this way.

Doodling and Illustration 1

Here you will learn how to create doodles from simple shapes and how to fill a page with different doodles to create a pattern.

20m

Doodling and Illustration 2

I'll be showing you some of my techniques for working on my doodles like picking a topic, working with simple shapes, taking some real-life images from the mood board and see how I can turn them into doodles.

14m

Combining Elements, Style, and Composition 1

In this lesson, you will learn how to combine both letterings and doodling to create your artwork.

20m

Combining Elements, Style, and Composition 2

Now that you know how to create letters and make doodles. In this lesson let’s see how to combine both of those elements to create a beautiful postcard.

How to Address an Envelope Creatively

I’ll show you how to address your envelopes beautifully and also how to fold and create your own simple envelope.

How to Share on Social Media

I’ll show you how I use Instagram, where to find inspiration, ways you could get your work seen by a wider audience, and something you can do to take care of your mental health online.

How to Sell Your Postcard

I’ll walk you through how you can sell your designs online quickly and easily using websites that offer printing and shipping services.

The universe of lettering and the visual culture of the letter

Module 3

From first sketch to shareable artwork, Stephane Lopes walks you through the core techniques of hand-lettering. Learn to structure letterforms, layer color, and add texture that amplifies meaning. Develop a personal quote through practical exercises, refine composition step by step, and finish by digitizing your piece for a vibrant, professional presence online.

13 lessons (1h 58m)

What is lettering? I will tell you its definition, its differences with calligraphy and typography, what it is used for and where it is found.

Discover the tools

I will show you the tools that you will use for the realization of your project.

Typographic styles

Do you know the different typographic styles? I'll explain which ones are, then I'll give you an idea of the freedom and creative possibilities that you can have with lettering.

Focus on the script

The composition of the lettering will be very important! I will show you how to do composition and how to write in script lettering. You will learn how to use the rules seen above to write words in the best possible way.

The inspiration and the message

Creating lettering begins with finding a phrase or message to convey. I'll show you how and where you can find inspiration and a relevant sentence.

First sketches

This lesson is the first concrete step in creating your lettering. You will give free rein to your imagination and creativity to make different composition drawings to find the best option for your project.

Composition and final choice

In this lesson, I'll show you how to make your drafts more precise, reproduce them in the desired format for the final version, and finally, how to improve them to find the right choice.

In this lesson, I will show you how to choose the decoration for your final composition by working out the details of the lettering designs and finishes.

Decorative elements 1

You will learn how to more precisely define the outlines of your lettering, to specify each shape and each line. At the end, you will have your sketch ready.

Decorative elements 2

The color, the palette and the gradients

Here, I will explain everything about colors and the effects of matter and texture. You'll learn how to find the right color palette and how to give relief and depth to your project.

You are going to finalize your lettering! You will be working on a new sheet, in color, and thanks to your final sketch and a light tablet you will bring your artwork .

The final composition

Bring your composition to life in a photograph

In this lesson, you will use your composition, and you will integrate it into a photo. You will be able to work an overlay in white and also in color. I'll be using Photoshop, but you can use whatever software you want.

How to share your work on Instagram

I'll show you how to stage your lettering by creating the perfect backdrop.

Module 4

With Scott Biersack as your guide, discover the joy of transforming words into artwork full of personality. You’ll learn to study letterform details, experiment with styles, and build strong compositions enhanced by color and texture. By the end, you’ll design a poster that reflects your creativity while mastering the fundamentals of hand-lettering.

10 lessons (1h 53m)

Typography Classifications

I'll start by talking about all things typography! This will include brief anatomy terminology and discussing different styles of type (differences between serif, reverse contract, etc.). There's no right or wrong here, only fun to be had.

Composition and Hierarchy

Now I'll talk about ways to improve your compositions by simplifying everything using simple shapes. Furthermore, I’ll build upon that by exploring concepts like emphasis, scale, weight, color, and more. The possibilities are truly endless!

Spacing, the Most Important Lesson

To finish this unit, I'll talk about one thing and one thing only, spacing! It’s an essential concept to pay attention to as you draw your type. I’ll cover every aspect of spacing, from kerning and tracking to leading and word spacing and everything in between. Are you stoked? Because I sure am.

Your Best Friend, Observation

Let's start by referencing and photographing the world around us! This will consist of us taking a walk around our city, visiting vintage shops or markets, perusing your local library, etc. We shall visit all sorts of places to find quality inspiration to be a north star for your projects. At the end of this lesson, I'll gather inspiration and a list of potential quotes or phrases for drawing.

Exploring Endless Compositions

You'll learn to explore drawing various possible compositions for a phrase. This is the concepting stage. The more ideas, the better! Next, I'll briefly flesh out the overall letterform styles while exploring possible shapes, arcs, bouncing baselines, etc., to create a cohesive composition/type lockup.

Packing and Cleaning It Up

Now you'll see how to further push and finesse your overall letterform characteristics as well as perfect your spacing and the overall composition. I'll focus on teaching you how to correct widths, weights, proportions, and so much more to create a balanced and pleasing piece.

Lastly, I'll teach you how to take a final pass at the entire lettering piece and perfect every detail. This is the stage to have clean and perfect curves, spot-on spacing, and just the right amount of visual interest. It’s a short and sweet lesson that will have you pushing your final projects to perfection…even though perfection is impossible.

Finesse to Death

In this lesson, you'll see how to explore proper vectoring techniques to ensure smooth lines, and no noticeable anchor points. Additionally, I'll share some tips to speed up your Pen Tool workflow and methods to make your life a little easier.

Vectoring Techniques

One Step Further: Coloring and Texturing

You'll learn to select a color palette to fit the piece's mood. Additionally, I'll show you how to add texture and other illustrative elements to bring more visual interest to the final artwork.

Presenting and Sharing Your Masterpiece

To finish this unit, I'll talk about how to present your work and mock up the lettering in an environment that makes the most sense. After all, the best way to get a client's approval on your work is to share how and what the artwork will look like in its final state.

Module 5

Discover how letters can become art with David Leutert as your guide. Exploring the basics of hand-lettering, you’ll experiment with shapes, styles, and illustrations to craft a typographic poster. Along the way, you’ll gain insight into how influences and creativity can shape your own design approach, building a style that feels uniquely yours.

16 lessons (3h 25m)

What Is Hand-Lettering and What Will You Need for the Course?

In this lesson, I'll give you a quick overview of lettering and an introduction to the basics of hand-drawn typography.

The Lettering Styles We Will Focus On

Now let's look at different lettering styles from different art historical eras to find inspiration for the typography of our poster.

Lettering Styles in Practice

In this lesson, I'll show you a little exercise to internalize the shapes and spelling of different lettering styles. For this I sketch different versions of a logo for a fictitious shop.

How to Find a Good Saying and Concept

With the help of research, notes and some brainstorming we try to find a suitable quote or a funny saying that we can use for our poster. Here I show you which one I chose.

To get a better idea of the aesthetic of my poster, I put together a collection of various vintage design artifacts: from stickers and signs, to pennants, to old beer cans.

Analog Mood Board

In this lesson, I'll show you how to use Pinterest to create a suitable digital mood board that you can use as a template for your poster design. I also do more research on the chosen topic.

Digital Mood Board

Illustration and Storytelling

Now I'm going to talk about the importance of storytelling in the context of illustration. A really good illustration is not only beautiful to look at, but also tells a story to the viewer.

Free Sketches and Composition

In the next step, I create the first rough drafts in the sketchbook and talk about the topic of composition. We deal with the golden section and other division ratios in order to achieve a meaningful image hierarchy. As soon as we have found a suitable sketch, we photograph it with the iPad for further digital processing.

22m

Introduction to Procreate

In this lesson I will introduce you to the Procreate iPad app and its various tools: I will tell you about the interface, operation, brushes and shortcuts. The main focus will be on a clean layer structure.

15m

Refining the Sketch 1

Now let's flesh out our thumbnail sketch in a little more detail. For this we will use the 6B pencil in Procreate.

19m

Refining the Sketch 2

Here I show you how I work out the letters of the quote and hide the first finished sketch to get a little insight into the result.

The Final Design

The refined sketch can now be drawn in using digital ink. For this I use brushes with a light texture to make the result look a little more like a traditional ink drawing.

17m

Colour

Then I'll show you how I add the colors using the drag and drop function in Procreate. It is important that the level with the outlines is set as a "reference".

Finally I will give my design the finishing touches with the help of textures, highlights and halftone screens.

Details and Shading

Presentation Options and Export

Here I show you how best to present your poster on social media and have it printed to share with your friends.

Finding Your Style

As a little bonus, I will explain to you how important a routine is in order to be able to develop a personal and unique drawing style through free work.

Module 6

Step into the calming practice of small-format lettering with Chris Bravo, also known as Little Hannah. She’ll guide you through the basics of drawing letters, showing you how to infuse charm and individuality into every word. Explore creative applications for your designs, from cards and notebooks to labels and bullet journals.

13 lessons (3h 0m)

What is lettering?

In this lesson I will explain the concept of lettering, emphasizing that we are not going to write, but draw, and what that entails. We will talk about lettering in small format.

Materials

Next, we are going to talk about the materials used for lettering, delving into the types of markers and the best papers.

First strokes and pressure

Finally, we are going to take our markers and we are going to start practicing with them, starting with the basic strokes, which will always serve as a guide.

After having familiarized ourselves with the basic strokes of lettering, in this lesson we are going to draw the letters of the alphabet, grouping them according to the strokes that form them. Let's start with lowercase.

Lower case 1

We continue practicing the drawing of lowercase letters. We are going to see how to make letters from other groups.

Lowercase 2

Now it's time for capital letters. We are going to write each of the capital letters using basic strokes.

Uppercase 1

We continue advancing in the alphabet, practicing the drawing of the capital letters. As we are seeing throughout the course, practicing and more practice is the best way to learn and gain confidence. you can!

Uppercase 2

After learning uppercase and lowercase letters, we are going to see how we put letters together to form simple words.

Unions

17m

Numbers and symbols

In this lesson we are going to draw numbers and symbols that can help us in our daily lives, following the basic rules of lettering. In this way, you can include them in projects such as your agenda or bullet journal.

After learning uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols, in this lesson we turn up the volume of the music and we are going to make the letters dance. We get into the world of bounce lettering and we are going to print personality and movement on our letters. I recommend that you have practiced all the concepts learned in the previous lessons well beforehand. If they are well established, bounce lettering will seem like a real wonder and a beautiful way to start creating your own style of lettering.

Bounce lettering

Digitization of your lettering

In this lesson, we are going to go one step further and you will learn how to digitize your lettering in order to adapt it to the creation of different products. It is a perfect tool if we want to create our own corporate image or give our stationery a personal touch. All this on a blank sheet, where we will write what we want to digitize. Scan the document (remember to give it quality, a minimum of 72 dpi, if you can do it at 300 dpi, the better). In the explanations, we will start from the already scanned image and begin to deal with it in simple steps. You don't need great knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, because I'm going to give you the keys to do it quickly but very effectively, with professional results.

14m

Creating a stationery set 1

As lovers of analog, in this lesson we are going to see all the benefits that we can get out of our lettering, creating cards, labels: our own stationery set. We will use techniques such as gradients or watercolor backgrounds.

Creating a stationery set 2

We continue working on the stationery set. We will add an ornament to the envelope and work on the gradient.