Hello! Today I’m going to do a handlettering for beginners tutorial. For this tutorial, I will not be using brush pens, but colored pencils, which, with a bit of practice, can make awesome handlettering. I sometimes prefer pencils since they are easier to control.
handlettering vs calligraphy
Handlettering is simply the art of writing. It does not have to be cursive, but most famously it is cursive. Calligraphy is specifically writing with a fountain or dip pen. I believe usually it’s cursive or gothic calligraphy (the kind of writing that the New York Times uses for their logo), but don’t quote me on that. I’ve tried it before, but it’s really hard. (I bet calligraphers are mad at people calling handlettering calligraphy 😂)
the basics
Handlettering is basically cursive, except for the fact that the upstrokes are thin, and the downstrokes are fat. You can practice this with faux calligraphy, which is a cheating way of doing handlettering but very fun. Below you can see the steps to faux calligraphy.
Write something in cursive 
Create small gaps on the downstrokes of the letters 
Fill in the gaps
now for “real” handlettering
Handlettering is all about pressure. On the upstrokes, lightly make a stroke, and on the downs, press down harder. Try practicing waves (shown below).
If you have a pressure sensitive drawing tablet, you can also practice with that, but in my opinion it is easier to control the pressure if it’s more tactile. I would also recommend doing this with a traditional pencil, instead of a pen or mechanical pencil.
extra stuff
Lift up your pencil/pen often. Cursive is often characterized with “you can’t lift your pen,” but handlettering is much easier if you lift up your pen often.
Try doing faux calligraphy with different fonts (see below).
I hope you enjoyed my guide to handlettering! If you have any questions or tips for me, I’d love to hear them. I also am also sorta running out of ideas, so it’d be awesome if you had any ideas for future posts. Thanks! Good-bye!
Whimsical Watercolor 