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More Hand Lettering Tools and Apps
Hand Lettering: Are you loving this trend?
When I first wrote the Hand Lettering Tools and Apps blog post in 2013, I didn't realise that the whole hand lettering practice would become a design trend. Now, you can find hand lettering everywhere on blogs, Pinterest, Instagram, and more. And, I'm thrilled because I've always loved it.
How about you? Do you love hand lettering too?
If you're just as crazy about hand lettering as I am, then this follow-up post on this trend is just the thing for you.
On Hand Lettering Tools
Over the last year or so, I've become more obsessed with modern calligraphy and hand lettering in analogue format. So, I've consumed blogs, tutorials, online courses, and more whenever I got the chance. I also started collecting pen holders, pen nibs, and inks. And, of course, I've been practicing my upstrokes and downstrokes.
Now, here are some useful hand lettering courses I found online:
- Waterbrush Lettering Essentials - This is an analogue hand lettering class on Skillshare by Teela Cunningham. Its focus is using waterbrushes instead of the traditional pen and nib for hand lettering. I really enjoyed this class. I'm still able to use some of the techniques I've learnt here.
- Hand Lettering Workshop - While I have yet to improve my hand lettering in the style of what you'll learn from Mary Kate McDevitt's Skillshare classes, I really enjoyed learning from her. I knew I wanted to know more about her process ever since I came across her work. In fact, I love her work so much, I ended up purchasing her book (see below).
- Learn Calligraphy for a Latte - Lindsey Bugbee's series of worksheets and courses on modern calligraphy are great value and very helpful. I've bought two of her calligraphy lessons and used the worksheets as part of my practice. I've definitely seen improvement in my own hand lettering since I came across this website.
You can also check Skillshare's other Courses on Hand Lettering as well as CreativeBug's Hand Lettering Classes.
And, here are some cool books on hand lettering (affiliate links):
- Creative Lettering and Beyond: Inspiring tips, techniques, and ideas for hand lettering your way to beautiful works of art by Gabri Joy Kirkendall, Laura Lavender, Julie Manwaring, and Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn. Really enjoyed borrowing this book from our local library. It has a great collection of tips and lessons on creative lettering. One of these days, I hope to get my own copy.
- Hand-Lettering Ledger: A Practical Guide to Creating Serif, Script, Illustrated, Ornate, and Other Totally Original Hand-Drawn Styles by Mary Kate McDevitt. As I mentioned earlier, I'm a fan of Mary Kate's work, so I ended up buying her book. While it doesn't have a lot of "lessons" per se, just seeing her work can be quite inspiring. This book is mostly a workbook, and a pretty one at that.
- The ABCs of Hand Lettering by Abbey Sy. When I first came across Abbey's work on Instagram, I fell in love immediately. Her IG stream is so drool-worthy and envy-inducing. So, when I learnt that she had a book out, I wanted a copy. Unfortunately, the hard copy was only available in the Philippines. Thankfully, I just found out that it is now available on Kindle.
Also, here are some interesting collections of hand lettering tutorials:
- 7 Tutorials To Help Embrace The Hand Lettering Trend
- Awesome Hand Lettering Tutorials
- 50+ Top Resources For Learning Hand Lettering
One of the hand lettering projects I completed after taking the Waterbrush Lettering Essentials class.
On Hand Lettering Apps
Out of all the apps I've mentioned in my last blog post, the one that I am still quite in love with are Paper by 53 and ArtRage . Unfortunately, Paper by 53 remains to be an iPhone/iPad only app. However, while ArtRage was available only on Windows and Mac before, it is now also available on Android, iPad, and iPhone. Hopefully, it would one day be available on Windows Phones too.
Since then, I have added two new favourite digital hand lettering apps:
- Procreate - This is an iPad only app. But, it's so robust as an art app on a mobile device, it can't be ignored. It supports layers and various types of 'pens' and 'brushes'. It can even use textures. It's incredible. Definitely a great app for hand lettering, though it may take a while to learn.
- Adobe Draw - This one is available both on iOS devices and Android. As a both an Adobe Creative Suite user and a Windows user, I definitely hope to see this on Windows phones too. I have hope because their Adobe Photoshop Express (another favourite app, for photography) is available across all mobile devices, including Windows.
If you know of other hand lettering tools and apps that you'd like to share here, please leave a comment below and tell us all about it.
About the Author Shai Coggins
Shai has been managing and blogging here at ShaiCoggins.com for 17 years. Here, she writes about creativity, productivity, and how to recharge for a better, happier lifestyle. She is the author of Today: Life Journal, Colour Bliss: Kaleidoscopes, and a little known children's book. A serial entrepreneur, Shai also currently runs Vervely.com, a boutique digital media agency offering online content, community, and conversion marketing services. Her blogging experience and digital work have been featured in various media, including being listed in Fast Company's "Most Influential Women in Technology" list. Originally from Manila, Shai lived in Singapore and the USA before moving to Australia with her British husband. They have two children, a pet bunny, and a rambunctious rescue Labrador.