How to Hand Letter: the Basics [DIY]

The first installment in this how to hand letter guide goes over our foundational skills of hand lettering: upstrokes and downstrokes! Once these basics are mastered, your creative lettering possibilities become endless. Let's get started!

You will need:
-A brush tip pen (I prefer the Pentel Fude Tip or Tombow Fude Tip: see my reviews here)
-Smooth paper -- I love Rhodia Pads! (or eco-friendly alternative)
-Printable worksheets -- I recommend printing these either onto cardstock or another smooth surface. Regular printer paper will be too rough on your felt tip pen.
     *note: You can print out the worksheet onto paper from your Rhodia pad! Check the size (mine is A4), adjust your printer settings, and select "scale to fit printer", and you're all set!

 Print out your worksheet and let's get started! You can print out as many as you would like, if you feel like you need more practice. These worksheets are designed to have you trace a few times before trying it on your own. Again, I recommend printing this on the smoothest paper you can find (See above for details on printing onto Rhodia paper). If you use regular printer paper, it will be rougher on your felt tip pen and it will wear out sooner.

Downstrokes and upstrokes are the building blocks of hand lettering. These simple lines can be combined to create beautiful letters, so it is important to recognize the difference and really get them down. The biggest mistake I see new letterers make is confusing which part of their letters should be downstrokes or upstrokes.

Here I am demonstrating a downstroke. Notice how the felt tip of my pen is pushed against the paper, creating that nice thick line.

And here is the thin upstroke. When drawing an upstroke, the pen should barely touch the paper--much different than the thick downstroke that presses the tip against the page. I like to think of my upstrokes as lightly skating across the paper!

*A note on holding your pen: as you can see in the picture above, I hold my pen by putting two fingers on top and then loosely supporting with my thumb. I find that the two fingers on top aide in creating nice pressure for downstrokes, and the loose thumb is important for flexibility in your hand and wrist.

*If you find that your hand is cramping, you are grasping too hard. Shake out your hand, take a break, and come back to it. Really loosen up your thumb, and just relax! Remember, we're having fun!

On your worksheet I have included some helpful warm up drills to get you started. Get comfortable with the way the pen feels in your hand, and work on really differentiating between thick down strokes and thin upstrokes. This is especially important in curved transitions between thick and thin or vice versa.

Let me know in the comments below what questions you still have about downstrokes and upstrokes. Also feel free to let me know if there is something I could adjust to make this experience even more beneficial to you. I appreciate feedback!

Alright, that's it for now. Practice, practice, practice. Our next installment will teach you all about using these foundational skills to create printed letters. Look for that on Wednesday morning, 10 am MST.

View all lovely little lettering tutorials here