Lettering, despite his novelty (and for many incomprehensibility), surrounds us in everyday life. This word means a beautiful label, and an unusual signboard in a coffee shop, and a menu in a cafe, written in original font on the board. It includes greeting cards, prints, logos and more.
What it is?
Lettering - This drawing, neat and beautiful drawing of letters. Many people compare lettering and calligraphy. In fact, the similarity is - this is the originality of writing letters, reflecting the mood and emotional state of the writing, emphasizing his personality and originality. But lettering is usually called art, more than drawing.
For a long time, lettering was considered a simple direction in creativity. However, in the 2000s, he became independent, in demand and a very well-paid activity.
The need for original fonts and design of text is extremely high, and letters (those people who are engaged in their drawing) are necessary in everyday life.
History
Lettering has a rather long history equal to the history of writing. In the III century. n. NS. After improving the ancient Greeks, the Phoenician alphabet contained vowels and consonant listers. The tendency was traced in writing them - they consisted of clear lines of the same thickness, each element had a simple geometric shape: a round, triangular or cut shape.
In the VI century, a new style appeared in a letter, which was called Unzial. Now the ends of the liter began to perform a little behind the upper and lower boundaries of the series. In the period from the XI century to the XII century, the gothic and roundabout letter is gaining popularity.
In the period from the XIII to the XIV century (the era of the revival), an anti-water font appeared, as well as the first treatise (the author became Luka Pachet) about the structure of a liter based on a square and its diagonals, as well as the circle inscribed in it.
In the future, the development of fonts only gained momentum, because they began to be created for various needs: advertising, books, newspapers. An improved Egyptian font appeared, whose difference from authentic was that the thickness of all lines and sneakers was the same. At the same time, a grotesque font appeared, in which there were no sites at all.
In the 20th century, a whole series of fonts was developed on the basis of Grotesque: Futura, Erbar Grotesque, Gill Grotesque and others. Then lettering began to develop simultaneously in all directions, gradually acquiring those features that can be observed today.
Comparison with calligraphy
A man engaged in lettering is not obliged to possess artistic education, but he must have a desire to do. Also need time for this - About half an hour every day.
Of course, drawing skills that are available in humans will help to succeed much faster, and knowledge of color, compositions, prospects will be a huge advantage in learning letting. But you should not be sad if it is not, because to study them, including on their own, quite possible.
Lettering is suitable for newcomers for several reasons. We will talk about them below.
- No need to wait for decades to achieve visible results.
- No special skills are required to learn. The compilation of beautiful compositions from letters is still easier than the image of flying birds or laying gypsum heads.
- If we learn how to compose compositions from letters, it will be much easier, since these rules are the basis for work.
- If for two months it can be done daily, you can achieve success.
Stephen Kunz and Lauren Hom just from among those who achieved world fame, without having a special education. Their examples can be inspired by those who are tormented by doubts about their own talent.
What is used for?
The fact that lettering is successful, determine the money he brings. Surprisingly, the commercial success of alphabet compositions depends not only on beauty, but also from demand, following new trends.
The main principles of commercially favorable lettering can be called:
- laconic composition;
- the predominance of minimalism;
- Finding in trend.
To adhere to the first two principles, you need experience, permanent work. And the third factor is being studied only in the process of careful study of the most popular works and the analysis of which compositions are most in demand in the market.
To work sold, it is important to know how any market is functioning, including the growth of letters. For this reason, perhaps the advantage of the beginning will be the presence of financial, economic education or education in advertising, and not artistic skills. Knowing how advertising works, the market, how services are sold, much easier to attract customers and sell their work for a higher price.
How to sell work?
You can go in two ways:
- exhibit work on their pages in social networks or on your own website;
- Sell them through microtoki - platforms where every person can lay out the work that created.
Both methods possess their advantages and minuses.
If it was decided to sell work through social network or the site, it is necessary to take into account that it will be necessary to show more active activity in terms of its promotion. This requires a number of requirements.
- Decide who will be the target audience. To find out, you need to decide on the area in which it is required to create compositions: write lettering on sweatshirts and T-shirts or create logos for brands.
- Create the so-called UTP - a unique trading offer. In the UTP there should be something that the performer is distinguished from competing creators.
- Create image. This may seem unimportant, but it is worth a declare, participating in marathons, events on the chosen topics, master classes, which will have a positive effect on the artist's impression. You can run your online course, conclude an agreement on cooperation with popular instabokers: a person represents a product (for example, a t-shirt with a slogan), and the blogger talks about it. This will attract a huge number of new customers.
- It is necessary to continuously work on the expansion of the portfolio. For potential customers, the opportunity to get acquainted with the works should be simple - no sophisticated links. It is necessary to place your work in any social network where you are. Be sure to make a section with a portfolio on your website, regularly replenish it - customers must see that a person is constantly working.
The advantages of this method of self-confusion is that there are no mediators between the performer and clients - people agree directly. If you correctly configure advertising on social networks, correctly choosing the target audience, the growth of popularity is provided.
Among the disadvantages of the way you can call The need for financial investments in the development of pages in social networks and the site, as well as a certain time of luck - The profile must be decorated stylish and attractive, from the point of view of a potential client. The page must be updated constantly, it is impossible to throw it, it is necessary to conduct it periodically, otherwise coverage will fall, and the person will not be visible in the tape.
As for microstocks, this is an excellent way to sell the results of its creativity, because they cover the entire range of letters: and famous masters, and newcomers of this case.
High requests to how work should look like, microtoks are not installed - it is for this reason that you can sell your work and beginners.
To start, you need to adhere to some recommendations.
- You should register accounts on the most popular online players. It is necessary to explore the rules on the basis of which work is placed.
- Then you need to upload your work and expect buyers.
The main advantage of this method is that a person does not need to be constantly on the site, invest in the promotion of himself, like a brand, buy advertising. In addition, each work can be sold multiple times with different customers. From here, the disadvantage is also clear - the competition is very high, so the portfolio must be updated constantly, to study the trends and work in accordance with them. You will still have to think about your own author's style.
Ideally, you can develop sales at the same time in both directions, then the pros and cons will equilibrate each other and allow you to receive a stable income from letting.
Whatever a person choose, you need to understand that the instantimate result is fantastic. It is necessary to invest, finance, work on the portfolio, and with time the result will definitely appear.
Views
Trees of lettering quite a lot. We will talk about them below.
- Handlettering. Drawing letters with hands (in the literal sense of the word), more precisely, pencils, markers. No gadgets are used.
- Brashlettering. Drawing with brush or brashpen.
- Cretaceous Lettering. It is drawing letters with chalk on a black board.
- IPad Lettering. Drawing on the tablet.
It should be noted and modern calligraphy - in it drawing letters occurs with the help of a pointed pen. This species requires large reserves of patience from who they are engaged in, as well as a calm, balanced nature. Holers wishing to see the result of their work quickly, calligraphy, with a high probability, will be given hard.
To choose your type of lettering, you should see pictures for each of the species and understand which one is closest to the person. It is worth trying each of the technician - it will make it clear what of the tools the person is easier to work, and which is absolutely not given.
Lettering is applied in branding, advertising, printing, wedding services, design of bars and restaurants, design of goods, decoration of interiors, slogans on clothing and in many other areas of life.
Branding and advertising are, first of all, logos, designed original, no one in a similar way. This is a very large market, because, in addition to newly emerging companies, new business players in rebranding and branding are needed.
Bright and unusual packaging of goods - another very large "section" Lettering , After all, the goods are produced, and each of them needs the right decoration that attracts attention to among the analogues.
Wedding Lettering has its own characteristics, because basically it is the design of invitations, although photowons and the formation plan also includes here. For wedding lettering, execution is possible not only on paper - it can be mirrors, glass, wood or a stylist board.
In bars and restaurants with beautifully written letters, the walls and bar zone are most often drawn up. It is still very common to design a menu written in chalk on a black board.
As for the interior, Lettering is popular both in the design of apartments and offices. Most often black letters are used on a white wall, but they can be multi-colored.
As soon as a person decided on, in what area he wishes to develop in lettering, he immediately understands his target audience, and where he look for potential customers.
Tools and materials
Choosing tools and materials, it is necessary to think about what the lettering is needed. If a person just wants to draw fonts for himself, for friends, then immediately buy expensive tools for professional artists to nothing. If he plans to earn it, that is, it makes sense to fork.
However, those who at least once worked as professional instruments, noted how comfortable they are. The result is better.
What a newcomer needs to work is described below.
- Simple high softness pencil, for example, 2B. If a person is accustomed to putting a pencil strongly, then you should take HB.
- Soft eraser which needs to be chosen so that it is high qualityly erased pencil lines, without smearing them.
- Album or paper for drawing - taste.
- Feltolsters, color pencils or a set of pens. They need to be denoted by the contour or color letters.
If a person set the goal to monetize the blog, it is better to get a professional set. It includes the positions described below.
- Soft pencils.
- Soft and not leaving the rods of an eraser-klyachka.
- Set of liners to circuit circuits. They are chosen depending on preferences. You can draw thick or thin lines.
- Brashpen. This tool has two tips: on one side there is a marker, and on the other - a brush. The first is suitable for the contouring or painting the letters, and the second is for drawing a brush.
- Brashpen only with one brush, without a marker. Its much more difficult to master it, it does not fit beginners. However, it is with its help that the most trend fonts are created with various lines.
- Ordinary paper for office printing, but not thinner.
To begin it, there is enough, and with experience, the person himself will understand which tools he needs in addition to existing, and will gather the kit that is suitable for him.
How to learn?
The difference of lettering from calligraphy is that in the first case the design of letters is created, invented and draws, and in the second - it is just gently and carefully written. To create a font design, you need to come up with not only the alphabet, but also numbers, and other signs. Lettering is an exceptionally creative and time consuming.
Experienced Letteriers are recommended to study the theory not before the start of practice, but to it: you need to study some concept or acceptance, after which it is immediately consolidated by the picture.
The theoretical base for self-study looks as described below.
- History of writing development, the foundations of calligraphy, the history of fonts. Within the framework of this section, Villa Totus, Leonid Prienko, Vladimir Favorsky, Alberta Capra are being studied. As an additional reading - work on paleography.
- Studying the structure of letters. On this topic, the work of Alexandra Korolkova, Yuri Gordon will be suitable.
- Studying forms and typography - Johannes of Yeten, Emil Ruder.
- Fundamentals of the composition - The work of Galina Logvinenko "Decorative composition".
Many mistakenly believe that in the absence of 3-4 hours a day for lessons, not worth it and start. Regular classes even for half an hour every day will definitely benefit. But the lesson once a week will not be effectively, even if it lasts a few hours.
For the start of practice, propisi will be suitable - they are ideal for "packing" hands. But these are not the propaci for first grades who have seen everything in school, and special for letting - they are quite a lot on the Internet. In the lettering methods and types of writing letters very often differ from the classic, each of them should be compositely attractive. It is necessary to prepare for the fact that a person freezes a lot of notebooks before something becomes good.
An independent study is not bad, but to obtain feedback, the exchange of experience and, of course, improving the quality of work is better to sign up for courses. If there are no them in the city or there is no time to visit them, then you can sign up for online learning courses. It is necessary to choose a practitioner teacher having a solid experience of selling their works and an excellent reputation among Letteriers.
In addition to learning directly art of lettering, it makes sense to listen or see lectures, seminars, webinars in composition, color, form, typography, as well as sales and advertising.
Developing your own unique style is a matter of time and practice. The more the person is practiced, the more interesting and the work becomes better.
How to learn how to draw lettering, look next.