5 Easy Ways You Can Improve Your Hand Lettering

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I feel like it’s been a long time since I picked up my art journal, tried making some art or practiced my hand lettering. Do you ever get bogged down by kids or life? There are so many things I love about journaling. When you journal, it gives you creative license to practice lettering, play with art supplies, and just let go. There are no rules. Dedicate a short amount of time or hours. Write quotes, heal your sorrows and just creative play. 

One thing I am interested in is getting better at is hand lettering and brush lettering. Not only for my journal art but, for my chalkboard art. Like this easy chalk board project. Do you journal? Or maybe you’d like to get better at lettering for chalk board art? Or for other arts and crafts projects?

Hand Lettering

Here’s a page from my journal. I hand penciled first, then tried brush lettering. Practicing hand lettering is fun if you don’t let yourself get discouraged.

I decided to journal my key takeaways from a book I recently tried, while practicing lettering with the brush pen. Did you know your brain is like a muscle and the more you do something the better you get at it?

• The lettering phrases in the circle are from the book done with a fine tip pen. Creativity takes courage and style are done in the brush lettering style.

Brush Lettering 

Exercise Short-Term Muscle Memory

“You might have heard about muscle memory—if you use your hand in a certain way often, it learns this motion and then it takes less effort for you to repeat it properly. In drawing, it means that if you draw something from a reference, with time it’ll become easier to draw manually, without thinking about it.” (Directly quoted via reference)

I have Pinterest boards filled with chalkboard art, hand lettering and fonts. Inspiration galore but, that doesn’t help me improve on my hand lettering or brush lettering. What will? Practicing and learning techniques and skills. The book I tried out is “Brush Pen Lettering” by Grace Long. I did receive the book for free to try out.

 The book, Brush Pen Lettering covers lettering decorative scripts and creating inspired styles. 

The book covers 4 chapters in 50 pages. It’s filled with how to learn brush pen lettering. 

• Getting Started 
• Getting Technical
• Getting to Know Your ABCs 
• Practice Makes Progress 

Grace mentions, “setting up quality practice time is important.” I agree, my five pages of practicing isn’t enough. Just by fooling around, might not get you the skills your striving for. Give yourself time to make progress to improve on your hand lettering. It’s important not to give up. As Grace says, “Strive for Progress, Not Perfection.”

• Use a pencil to build muscle memory

I agree, it helps you be able to draw out, and erase with pencil first. You will not waste as much paper when practicing. It’s important when starting out not to get discouraged. 

In my journal pages I did this free hand, meaning I didn’t use a ruler to space out guide lines. In the book it teaches you how. There are benefits of creating guidelines or grids. Straight lines, spacing, consistency. Which all make for better chalk board art or lettering layout. Your lettering can be straight, or at a slant. Or a combination of the two on lettering layouts.

Calligraphy and lettering is an art form in itself. Take small steps to getting better. 

5 Easy Ways You Can Improve Your Hand Lettering 

1. Remind yourself, I have license to fail and improve

2. Set aside a space to work in

3. Give yourself time to practice daily or weekly (even if it’s 20 minutes) With time it becomes easier!

4. Don’t give up

5. You might enjoy this book too. To help you improve on your Brush Pen Lettering techniques. 

You’ll learn spacing, straight or slant styles, wrist and whole arm movement, and applying pressure. She covers using guidelines, the basics to how to inject your own personality….

As you can see, I have plenty of practicing to do. But, I promise to share more of my pages as my lettering improves. If you want to try journaling and brush lettering here are some supplies I’ve used. 

Supplies used on my journal page and for hand lettering: 

• Journal
• Copic Pen ( dual sided Copic Pen with chisel side and brush tip side)
• Fine Tip Pens
• Watercolor Crayons
• Angle Paint Brush 
• Washi Tapes
• Glue Stick
• Scrapbook Supplies 
• Preview the, “Brush Pen Lettering Book” 
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Is hand lettering or brush pen lettering something that you’d like to try? 

• Journaling 

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