I received an email the other day from someone asking about the applications of western calligraphy. Essentially, the person wanted to know: why learn calligraphy? It was one of those questions that I initially reacted to with “Ha! How obvious!”, and then I realized: it’s not so obvious. So … I took some time to seriously consider the question and came up with a few reasons that I believe calligraphy is relevant in western society.
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In Part I of Creative Hand-Lettering Tutorials, I showed you how to create three eye-catching styles of hand-lettering. Today, I’ll be showing you a few more styles so you’ll have a veritable artillery when a lettering situation arises. And — make no mistake — a lettering situation is always around the corner! A birthday party {invitation design}, an overdue birthday card {card design, envelope}, a “just because” piece of snail mail, a poster … or perhaps you aspire to be the lettering equivalent of Banksy. Whatever the case may be, a little hand-lettering inspiration can never hurt! I’ll stop blabbering now so you can get to the good stuff. 😉
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In a world where computer-generated type dominates, hand-lettering stands out in a beautiful way. If you want someone to notice something, write it out and embellish it! It doesn’t matter if you’re designing on a professional level {business cards, posters, billboards, etc.}, or if your goal is unique mail art. Either way, your lettering will get noticed! Today, I’ve put together three hand-lettering tutorials to inspire you; and more will follow in the next TPK blog post.
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Artist Gaby Friedman‘s artwork has a beautiful, vibrant quality to it. It’s the kind of art that catches your eye and appeals to your imagination! When I discovered that Gaby was willing to write a tutorial for TPK, I was so glad. Finally — you’ll get a break from my rambling and get to hear from someone else! 😉 I couldn’t be happier with the simple but lovely watercolor art tutorial that Gaby provided me with to share with you, and I know you’ll love it, too. It doesn’t hurt that Gaby has included a free 5″x7″ printable version of this galaxy watercolor artwork {link at the end of this post}. So, without further ado, I’ll turn you over to Gaby:
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The weather has been suspiciously nice lately in Colorado, which has me all exited for the summer {and the nice part of spring}. Because summer can never come fast enough for me, I have decided to surround myself with summery roses … of the illustrated sort. If you’re of a similar mindset, or if you just want to learn how to draw roses, then you’re reading the right blog post!
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As I get older, I value money less and time more. I mean, when you’re a little kid, material things mean more than a letter; I absolutely would have taken a Tomagotchi over a heartfelt note any day as a 10-year-old. But now that I’m an adult{-ish}, I realize that letters are the result of someone sitting down and taking the time, creativity, and effort to make me something. And that, to me, is amazing. The feeling that I get when I receive something in the mail is the motivating factor behind my constant search for fresh snail mail ideas; I want my recipients to feel as excited as I do when I’m on the receiving end!
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There are few family heirlooms better than vintage photographs. Vintage photos have a hauntingly sweet beauty that deserves to be shown; yet, if you’re anything like me, some of your best vintage photos may be tucked away in a box somewhere. For today’s blog post, I resolved to develop a vintage photo project that would showcase old family photos and get them into the light of day. After giving the topic some serious thought, inspiration struck: embellished postcards!
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