What is Lettering?
Pretty writing is now called lettering and is one of the DIY trends par excellence. This is not surprising, because lettering is a calming activity in which you paint more than write and thus skillfully set individual letters or words in scene. Embellished with frames, flourishes and matching mini motifs, the result is word art that can be used in a variety of ways: Invitations, menus, place cards, recipes or murals - there are few limits to the lettering imagination. And the best thing is: with a little practice, everyone becomes a lettering pro!
Practice makes perfect
The good news is: anyone can learn to letter. Of course, those who have a nice, neat handwriting by nature will find it a little easier to develop and embellish it. But as I said, lettering is more painting than writing, and with a little practice, anyone can put small works of word art on paper. At the beginning, individual letters are practiced again and again until their execution fits well. In the next step, the letters are put together to form words and fluid transitions are created. A special feature of lettering is to combine different writing styles or to illustrate individual words in the appropriate writing style. Thus, font sizes as well as angular and soft fonts alternate and together create a pretty overall picture. Small design elements such as frames, squiggles, shadows, arrows, flowers, etc. can also be incorporated. Meanwhile, there are numerous exercise and inspiration books on the subject of lettering and also on the net you can find videos with instructions for first steps and quite a few lettering projects for inspiration.
What do I need for lettering?
Since lettering has become an absolute creative trend, there are now numerous suppliers of lettering supplies. But especially in the beginning you don't need much: elementary are pen and paper - and a little patience. At the beginning, you work mainly with pencil and eraser, squared paper can also be helpful. Once you've got the basics down and you're enjoying lettering, it's worth investing in a few brush pens (special pens with a brush tip) and some nice paper. When choosing supplies, it all comes down to your own lettering style: From edgy chalk pen lettering on dark paper to romantic squiggly lettering on colorful watercolor backgrounds, the range is wide.
Lettering as wall decoration
Anyone who has put a lot of effort into writing and illustrating words naturally doesn't want the finished works of art to disappear in a drawer. In addition to gift wrapping and postcards or invitation cards, wall murals in particular are a nice way to showcase your own lettering project.
Do you have a life motto that you would like to have in front of your eyes much more often? Perfect, then think about how it can be illustrated most beautifully and then hang it in a suitable picture frame in a place where you will encounter it again and again. A self-designed song line in a high-quality frame can also be a great wall decoration, as well as a very personal, high-quality gift. Even an existing collection of pictures can be enhanced by lettering: to do this, simply set the scene for a word that is meant to convey a certain mood and arrange it in a separate picture frame with the other pictures. To avoid distracting from the artistic lettering, plain picture frames in black or white are best suited. These emphasize the high quality of the graphic implementation, without themselves too much in the foreground to step.
Trick for beginners
A special decoration highlight, which is also perfect for lettering beginners, are picture frames in which you write directly on the glass: either according to your own template or with a printed inspiration, which is attached behind the glass and then only needs to be traced. The template is then removed and the picture frame is attached without a back panel, creating a particularly delicate impression. Especially on colored walls it's an absolute eye-catcher!