Lettering Lessons – “Still”

Exodus
Font Name: “Still”

Debbie’s Lettering Tips

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Debbie Dodd creates all of the CBJ Lettering Lessons and Drawing Lessons. She has wonderful teaching methods that sets her tutorials apart from all the rest. Even if you have tried to learn a lettering style in the past, only to stop around F or G in the alphabet, you have to try the CBJ Way! Whether you are a beginner or experienced, you will be amazed at your results when you follow Debbie’s Methods!

"P-I-E"

One of the most important concept in our lettering program is “P-I-E”.  “Pencil-Ink-Erase”.

Start lettering with a PENCIL. Take your time and ‘draw’ your letters rather than ‘writing’ them. Practice each letter multiple times until you are comfortable with the form.

Next, INK over the pencil marks of your best efforts. A good black fineliner is perfect for this. (Prismacolor .03mm pen is my favorite).

And lastly, ERASE the pencil marks, but only after the ink is totally dry. You will be happy with how clean your handlettering looks after you brush away the eraser crumbs.

Why Use Speciality Paper? and How To Count?

Why use Speciality Paper?  – Debbie has demonstrated most of the lettering lessons using dot grid paper. She is able to direct you in the size, placement and slant or curve of lines. Generally, it is much more accurate than ‘go up a little bit’! You may find using dot paper, graph paper, lined paper, plain paper or ruled paper to be your preference. Try them all by clicking on the download buttons below, and see what you think.

How to count – Some directions will refer to numbers of “units”. A unit is the space ‘between’ two vertical or horizontal dots. So that is to say, a line of 3 units will cover 4 dots.

Each Step... Read, See, Draw

Reading each step – It is equally important to read each step “AS YOU GO” to catch all the instructions. Sometimes people are tempted to just “look at the pictures” and start off on thier own. Because of this, I encourage everyone to read each step.

Seeing the “new” step – Occasionally, you will see lessons that shows the ‘new’ part of the drawing in red or pink over the prior steps, which are shown in gray or black. We have done this to clarify the details.

Drawing each step – Use pencil as you draw and do it lightly. Drawing too dark or pressing too hard will undoubtedly make it difficult to erase after you have inked your work. It is usually easier to get accurate lines when using a ‘sketching’ style rather than trying to draw a solid line in one stroke.

Lettering In Your Bible... Transfer, Tracing, Free-Hand

When you have a finished lettering, in ink, the size and spacing that you like, it is easy to trace into your bible using one of these methods:

1) the “Graphite Method” using graphite paper or #2 pencil to scribble on the back of your lettering paper, lay it on your bible page with a firm surface behind the page, trace over your letters to transfer the lines to the bible page.

2) display a bright screen on your tablet or iPad and slip it behind the bible page, insert the lettering between them and use a pencil to trace the art.

3) use an artist’s light tracing pad, in place of the tablet, to trace your lettering.

4) if you have drawn the letters several times for practice you can try following the same steps in pencil, directly into your bible.

By clicking on the BLACK/YELLOW BUTTONS, you will receive this 5-page PDF file to print out on your own printer. The files will print out nice and sharp, even if they may look a bit fuzzy in their small screen size, here on this website.

Now it’s your turn… Create & Share

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