Hand lettering guidelines and I have a love/hate relationship. Of course, guidelines help when you want to write neat, orderly letters. On the other hand, guidelines take a chunk of time to draw, and then you have to carefully erase them! With the erasing step comes the possibility of smearing ink, wrinkling the page, or changing your paper’s sheen. To solve that problem, I made myself a printable guidelines template — and today, I’m sharing it with you!
How to Make the Hand Lettering Guidelines Template
First, print out the Hand Lettering Guidelines Template, which you can find for free here. You can print it off on any paper, but if you have cardstock on hand, that would be preferable!
Now, cut the template around the outside guideline.
Next, use an X-Acto knife to cut out the gray strips.
Once you’ve cut out the strips, you’ve got your template!
How to Use the Hand Lettering Guidelines Template
Once you’ve cut out the hand lettering guidelines template, you center it over an A7 envelope and start writing!
I didn’t design the template with any particular style in mind, so it will work well with several different styles. Out of all the styles here on TPK, I’d recommend pairing the template with:
- Stitches Style Lettering (what I used to make today’s tutorial)
- George Style Lettering
- Anything in the Premium Hand Lettering Worksheet
Lettering styles that won’t work well with this template include:
- Circus Lettering (the letters are too big for the 1/2″ openings)
- Lasso Lettering (Lasso flourishes need the freedom to go outside the template)
Finishing Up
Once you’re finished writing, lift the template off of your envelope, and voilà!
I hope that you can use this printable template to make your hand lettering life easier. When you make something cool with it, I’d love to see! Tag me on Instagram (@thepostmansknock) or, if the project requires some privacy, email me at [email protected] It’s always such a treat to get to see what you’re creating!
Thanks very much for reading, and be on the lookout later this week for summer 2020 in-person workshop announcements!
Warmly,
