How to start with brush lettering

Are you someone who always wanted to start brushlettering but just didn't know where to start? Are you overwhelmed by the amount of information and different kind of materials? Can't find where to buy the proper materials to start? No worries! I've got you covered! After reading this post, you will feel relieved and ready to start your brushlettering journey! Let's get into it!

Brushlettering, what is it actually ? Let me help you out! Brushlettering is lettering with a brush (or a brush pen in this case). Lettering is the art of drawing letters. It's completely different than actual handwriting. If you thought my handwriting looks nice because of my brushlettering, then.. you're wrong. When my friend saw my handwriting for the first time after I showed her all my lettering pictures, she asked with a disappointing tone : "Is THAT your handwriting?!". That made me laugh and I replied "You didn't expect that, did you?".

1) MINDSET

So first things first! Get rid of this thought : If I have bad handwriting, I can't do lettering (of any sort). Because that's false, it's completely WRONG. And I am living proof of that!

I want you to read the following out loud:

I will never let an excuse stand in my way of trying something new. I am perfectly capable of learning ANYTHING, as long as I'm willing to put in the effort and time. And I will enjoy the process by doing so.

2) MATERIALS

You've surely seen A LOT of brush pens online, or on Instagram but I'm here to recommend you my favorite brush pens that are also available in any art supply store near you! These are the Ecoline Brush Pens. I have found them in different local (Belgian) stores like : CLUB, Atita, Schleiper, AVA, Lucas Creative, and online on Bol.com too. And of course you can always find them on amazon! But what I prefer most, is to support small businesses, so I advise you to check out this webshop https://splendith.nl/?ref=UmEELD3CA8kfF2 !

It doesn't matter what color set you buy, just make sure to buy a small set as you're just starting. Now, you can finally learn the technique behind using a brush pen!

Another thing you have to remember is that, the brush pen ink is really moist. So if you're going to use print paper, it will get ruined because your paper won't stay flat like you want it. So, the best tip I can give you is to use thicker paper. I like to use watercolor paper (which you can find everywhere), and I can also blend my letters on watercolor paper when making a beautiful project. But that technique is for next time! You can also buy Rhodia paper with dots. But that's a little more pricy and you can't find it everywhere. I bought mine from Schleiper. I also use it for practicing my calligraphy.

3) TECHNIQUE

Bare with me, it's always a little difficult in the beginning. But once you have your brush pen under control, things will get much easier!

Upstroke & Downstroke

There are tons of ways to help you practice this technique, but I will keep it short and simple.

A downstroke is the stroke that goes down, it looks thicker because we add more pressure going down. So press a little when going down, you will hear a sound coming from your pen. That's completely normal.

An upstroke is the stroke that goes up, this one looks thinner because here we don't add pressure. You should go light with your pen, and slow down. If you do this too fast, it won't look like it should.

So I strongly advice you to practice those two strokes, feel free to fill an entire page. Take your time and remember the stroke movements.

The wave (as I like to call it) that you see on this paper, is called a (continued) compound curve. To get that result you connect your upstroke with your downstroke gently and make sure the lines are going parallel, in the same direction. Keep practicing this technique until all your waves look like this.

4) PRACTICE

That's all I got for you now! Keep practicing these strokes, and soon I'll have a download ready to help you practice even more! There's so much yet to come! Thank you for reading, and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. See you next time!