Lessons
Intro & Sample Projects
09:40 2List of Words & Creating the Map
03:32 3Low Contrast Sans Serif with Width Variation
10:06 4High Contrast Serif
13:56 5High Contrast Script
16:59 6Any Style You Like Using Only Straight Lines
06:06 7Unicase with 3D
12:30 8Serif with Inline Stroke
08:13Chiseled or Beveled Sans Serif
16:49 10Slab Serif with Drop Shade
08:08 11Representational Letters
04:09 12Heavy Weight with Pattern
03:48 13Light Weight Script: Italic or Upright
06:48 14Reverse Stress Lettering
06:49 15Varied Baseline or Cap Height
03:19 16Bifurcated Tuscan With or Without Spurs
08:55 17Varied Weight Strokes
04:17 18Final Embellishments
11:00Lesson Info
Unicase with 3D
Our next prompt is going to be unique case with three d okay so unique cases something that we haven't really talked about yet unique case means all of the upper and lower case letters are the same height there are no a sender's and no d centers um when I say a sender's I mean something that comes up from like the lower case b and d centers would be something like a g or the j so no a sender's and no d senders everything occupies the same height um and I love doing I love doing unique case stuff I find for the most part unique case words um are really really nice toe have um it's a slight break from all upper case which is what I would typically choose uh to work in when doing a piece like this simply because um it leaves you with less holes and spaces to fill in um so unique case you can still throw in a few lower case letter forms s o I'm gonna talk to you about a couple different lower case letter forms uh that might be a little bit different um so first thing shocked about is lower...
case a cz so this might be what you're used to seeing for a lower case a uh but there's also a two storey lower case eh it was called a one story lower case a uh a two storey lower case, eh be like this guy um same thing with aggie lower case g is typically are often like this but super fun is it's a two story lower case cheap so if I were making a unique case off about I might choose to use this to story, eh uh just because it occupies a space differently and if you do a lower case g like this and you're trying to make it all fit in there might be fun to do it right this um cheese or another one a lower case t you can do like this or you can add a little hook on the end um same thing we're showing the difference between um a lower case you and anna capital you sometimes lower case you you'd be more likely to find something like this upper case you, uh be without that down stroke um okay, so unique case it was going to mean you can have a mix of upper and lower case letter forms if that's what you want tohave but nothing is breaking this um baseline or cap pipe um and then, uh get a little crazy and you're going to add a three d to it to so for three d letter forms um I don't see right at the word three d okay, you'll also notice when I sketch um a lot of times I do the full stroke with the overlap so if I'm trying to draw an h like this, I am not going to do thiss that is difficult for me I'm doing an h I start off like this and I'd rather go back in and erase those or, you know, do this much darker afterwards but it's a lot easier for me to get the proper spacing and proportions and make sure that this lines up properly uh then if I'm doing something like this so they'll notice me building up my letters that way that's why okay, so say the's air our letters that were started with and now we're going to go in and out of three d so you're going to want to think first about the direction that the late is coming from ah or the angle that you're you're facing these letters from um because I have a history with sign painting I tend teo do my drop shades or my three d's down and to the left that is simply because that's how sign painters tended to do it if you were doing in e fewer doing a drop shade on an e and you were painting uh if it goes down into the left, you d'oh, I want to stroke down one stroke across and then to underneath their this's your e um whereas if you did it down into the right you would have to do this and this and this and this and this and that so for a sign painter would be more work to have to do that many small strokes rather than this so I tend to always do things down into the left um by default but then I will play around with it from time to time but you'll notice that's how I I tend to do these um so if I'm thinking my light direction is coming from here, I'm gonna want a first sketch out all of these lines in the same direction before I make the full three d just to be sure they're consistent I find that if I do each letter one at a time, sometimes my angle will gradually shift as I go across but if I do this first, it gives me enough of a reminder you know, your hand is making the same movement over and over again it's a little bit easier to keep it consistent you can also take your pencil and see how it's lining up uh and while it's not relevant for this project, you know if you're working on grid paper you can always be looking to see okay, I'm going to boxes over and one box down for this drop shade and or this three d so you would know how to keep it consistent um I find where people have, uh, tend to have a lot of problem is with curves. So so if this is our o and we think about it, if our angle is going like this, we wantto think about what would be the extreme edges of this curve, so holding her, you, khun, like, maybe hold another pencil up to this or something to see, but the extreme points are going to be there, and they're given that we have a forty five degree angle. Uh, and then you want to think about essentially redrawing this exact curve, so the same place where this is hitting here is going to be where you pick up and start that curve again there. So this curve here is going to echo exactly from this point to this point, it's going to be the same curve there, um, and then you won't even see this. Okay, so pick your next word. Um, and you're going to do unique case lettering, uh, with, uh, three d to it? Yeah, they're part. So I did my unique case word with three d, and you'll see I have lower case farms for the n and the e and then an uppercase from for the l and the I and the sort of could go either way, I'm finding myself with a few awkward spaces in here. But I'm not really going to worry about that yet. Because later, I'm going to go through and do one full pass, um, of adding in mohr embellishments on flourishes and various things like that to fill in any spaces that aren't really working for me. So I'm more concerned now with making sure that the letter forms there, looking the way that I want and that they're in vaguely the place that I want them to be.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
DOlores RUsso
I like the way Annica tells you what you are going to do, then she demonstrates it and then you do it yourself. She knows her subject well and her lesson objectives are clear and to the point. How do I know.?..I'm a teaching mentor also an art teacher and sign painting/lettering artist. I watched this hand lettering class in order to review and to learn how someone else approaches this "not very interesting subject" as some previous reviewers have suggested . I happen to find it most interesting. I love being able to write and communicate using my art and teaching skills. One reviewer criticized the way Annica instructed with "um" and a clicking noise. But the one criticism that really stood out was the F-word which unfortunately seemed to take precedence over all else for some. Granted you wouldn't want to illustrate a word that children or parents might interpret as being acceptable. A good teacher would not demonstrate that but observing Annica I can see she is a beginning teacher who might need a little guidance. So consider this "guidance" Annica - you are a teacher and you represent all of us teachers. We aren't in our 20's or even 40's - we've been in the trenches and we know that beginning teaching is very challenging. But you must remember that you are a model for children that we hope you expect to grow up to be good decent human beings. Some adults need that guidance as well. And yes, children will already know these words (pay attention parents) but it is not up to you to teach it to them. You, the teacher, are to teach to the highest professional level. As for the "um" and the clicking noise at the end of a sentence - that is something you can correct easily - try to record your lessons and listen. Remember - you represent the most respected of professions, your language must be accurate, acceptable and reflect the knowledge of your subject area, You did a good lesson in hand lettering and covered the most important concepts for a beginner to know. It's a shame that some of the reviewers refused to watch the rest of your lessons and some of them even complained about your silence as you did the letters. Perhaps a little more understanding on their part could have been more beneficial, particularly since one of them was a gifted educator (my Masters also), and did not recognize the cognitive mind working and literally submerged in your lettering skills. This is a fine class and I hope you continue to do more. You are organized, give a lot of information and demonstrate impeccably. Good luck...from your Mentor Teacher.
Heidi
This class was exactly what I needed to re-gain confidence in hand lettering. I majored in illustration 10+ years ago and while I did take a typography class in school, it's been many years and I was feeling rusty and nervous about hand lettering. This class refreshed my memory on various typography principles and gave me ideas on various styles I can reference to create my own lettering. I love the format where I can watch her example and then try it for myself - it's like training wheels and works perfectly for me as a visual learner. Annica is obviously a pro at what she does and she's also really good at explaining what she's doing and why. I am really happy with this class and thankful to Annica for sharing her knowledge and experience.
a Creativelive Student
Rating this is difficult because there are positives and negatives. I watched the course and enjoyed it, but there isn't enough information and education to validate purchasing it. For a graphic designer or someone who knows typography and wants to have a fun challenge around hand drawn lettering, it's fine. However, it's not a course for absolute beginners because the presenter speaks about typographic principles and assumes the audience knows the names of the parts of type when giving directions and doesn't provide enough explanations. There is no history given as to why letterforms are drawn the way they are, whether as traditional hand lettering, calligraphy or even in sign painting, other than the passing recommendation for viewers to research this. All of the comments here are correct. I too was surprised to see the F-word in a featured piece and the lack of contrast when watching her draw was a problem. CreativeLive needs to vet new presenters and perhaps have them do a dry-run of the lessons to critique them. Additionally, her"umms", "super" and "super fun" fillers are tiresome. I think the presenter is talented and has a lot to offer but this felt more like a design challenge rather than an educational course. It would have been useful to primarily show professional applications rather than so many self-directed projects. There is another hand lettering /calligraphy course I watched part of previously that was a better "101" course, to which this course would be an appropriate follow-up.
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