If you’re looking for a creative touch to enhance your lettering, try adding an arrow! Today, I’ve got a “cheat sheet” that teaches you how to make eight different artistic designs.
With the Hand Lettering 101 eCourse in full swing, students are steadily gaining confidence with letterforms and layouts. Today, I want to share something fun to add to your lettering pieces: hand-drawn arrows. These little details can bring movement and personality to your work while helping guide the viewer’s eye.
Today, I’ve got eight unique hand-drawn arrow designs for you. Each design will lend a different feel to your projects, from fancy to playful to minimalist. Whether you’re working on a bullet journal, mail art, or a hand-lettered quote, these arrows will add movement and interest. I’ve compiled all eight designs into a handy PDF cheat sheet for you to download and use whenever you need a creative nudge!
I created this printable with the hope that you will feel inspired to draw and experiment! Even if you don’t have a lot of confidence in your artistic abilities, you will find that many of the arrows are simple to create.
Next time you have an envelope to decorate or you want to do some doodling, grab a pen and try out one of the arrow mini-tutorials on the printable! You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much artistic personality the arrow adds to your project.
In our Hand Lettering 101 Lesson 2 class discussion, we chatted about a piece of hand-lettered mail art that caught everyone’s eye. A few well-placed arrows can really enhance that style, so today I’m showing you how to create the look step-by-step!
To make mail art like the piece shown, you’ll need:
Every great arrow starts with a pencil draft line. You’ll begin any arrow with a faint pencil line, which will give you a good foundation to work off of. (It’s easiest to draw straight lines with the help of a ruler.) Then, draw the rest of the elements. If you have a circle stencil, that will come in handy for the Universe Arrow and the Steampunk Arrow designs.
Next, begin writing your hand-lettered address beside the arrow. Consider adding instructions like “SEND TO:” (or, in this case, “ENTREGAR A:”).
As you continue to write the address, consider whether you have some blank space that could benefit from another arrow. I decided to add a diagonally oriented Universe Arrow underneath my Steampunk Arrow to flesh things out a bit more.
To finish up, add some details that tie the arrow designs into the hand lettering. Consider drawing circle elements on elongated strokes and/or drawing arrowhead shapes by circular letters. Sneaking in another tiny arrow can’t hurt, either!
Next, use a Nikko G nib to trace over elements in your piece that require a thin stroke. These include arrows and small text.
Then, switch to your Brause Rose nib to add the thicker strokes. Remember, you’re not doing pointed pen calligraphy here. Instead, think of your nib as a tiny paintbrush that lets you “paint” precise, bold lines with total control.
Continue to use your pens and Bleed Proof White ink until you’ve traced over all of the lettering.
Once your ink has dried, carefully erase your pencil guidelines. Next, sharpen your colored pencil to a fine point. Look for all the vertical strokes in your lettering, and draw a colored pencil line just to the right of each one to reinforce it.
Continue to add colored pencil reinforcements until all vertical strokes have red beside them. Then, add postage stamps (preferably with a red element), protect your work with MicroGlaze, and send!
I’ve used these arrows to make a couple of other projects, too. The mail art below, for example, has a totally different look than the mail art that I just demonstrated. It features Steampunk Arrows and a wavy Flapper Triangle Arrow.
I also snuck these arrows into the Circus Lettering Exemplar, where they serve as dividers.
These little arrows are a fun way to bring movement, energy, and your own personal touch to whatever you create. I hope you have fun trying out these designs on your mail art, sketchbook pages, or any piece that could use a playful spark. And remember: your art doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. Enjoy the process, and let these arrows guide your creativity wherever it wants to go!
Warmly,
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