1 Pencil Sketch

I always start with the pencil sketch. I usually do multiple variations and layouts until I find one that flows right. This stage I’m definitely not worried about perfection especially since it’s so easy to start over with a new sketch or quickly erase a line or letter and re draw. I love coming up with ideas and trying out fun compositions for quote lettering designs.

*Side note: I find quotes, sayings, etc a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s a commissioned piece so I use the quote that is requested. Other times I google search a theme and find something that inspires me and would be a good fit in my shop. Also depending on the time of year I’ll find sayings that go with the season or holiday!

2 Outline Type & 3 Fill In Strokes

Once I have the layout I want to use I go ahead and draw over the letters with my black marker. I have tried countless brands of markers and am still testing for my favorites. For this sketch I used my Sharpie ultra fine point and my Paper Mate flair markers.

After I go over the basic letters I go back over and create the down strokes and fill in areas to give it a dynamic feel + some faux calligraphy since I’m not actually using my pointed pen in this design. The last thing I do before I move on to scanning is once the ink is 100% dry I’ll use my awesome eraser and get rid of all of the pencil markings! This really helps with the digitizing step.

4 Scan In & 5 Digitize + Clean Up

Scanning in my quote lettering designs is pretty self explanatory and I don’t have anything fancy other than a desktop printer with a flatbed scanner. I usually scan in using B&W mode, 600 ppi, and as a JPG to be able to get all the detail I need.

The real magic happens once I have it on my computer and start digitizing it. This is really a multi step process and can be tedious so I will go over the basics today and try to do an in depth look at this process another time:

• Start in Photoshop where I increase the contrast between black & white, clean up stray marks, and delete any background color
• Move the file into Illustrator where I live trace the typography (I have specific settings that I use to clean up the edges enough to look good but not loose the overall shape)
• Manually clean up the letters using my Bamboo Wacom tablet with the smooth and pencil tools – this can be pretty tedious and may not look a whole lot different to most people but the smoother lines really do give the design a finished & polished look
• *Someday I hope to move to a tablet like the iPad Pro to be able to create these designs and have even more fun & control with the digitizing part!