Everybody
60 min
What you need:
Recommended sets: Creative Studio 4-ct hand-lettering set (red, black), Creative Studio 6-ct hand-lettering set (wallet green)
First Tutorial
With a little patience, you will be able use the Creative Studio - Pitt Artist Pen 4-pc set (red, black) to create a cool-looking Christmas card with red and black accents of different stroke widths; varying stroke widths always play an important part in hand lettering.
Step 1
Use the Fineliner to draw a small corner border with tiny black circles. This is where the first word will be drawn in 3D-effect.
Step 2
The different stroke widths of the Pitt Artist Pens allow words to be drawn in various thicknesses - from fine hair-liked lines to thick prominent strokes. Feel free to try out different variations.
Step 3
Lines drawn using a Fineliner dry up very quickly and become waterproof, allowing you to then accentuate your letters using the red brush pen. Now it's time to add lively, red lettering. Draw fine lines upwards to create the upstrokes. For the downstrokes, feel free to push the Pitt Artist Pen firmly against the paper. This not only makes the resulting stroke twice as wide, but also causes the heavily pigmented India ink to leave more colour on the paper. With a bit of practice, you will be able to draw both up- and downstrokes.
Step 4
The effects used in the hand-drawn letters and words really turn a quote or saying into a piece of hand-lettering art. The combination of brush pens and Fineliners is best suited for this purpose. Fine flourishing gives the picture a finishing touch. Add a few more highlights with the black Fineliner (S) to make the letters more three-dimensional looking, draw more attention to the calligraphic effect, and your Christmas card is done.
A personal gift drawn with love.
Second Tutorial
Step 1
Start your Christmas illustration by drawing three small cherries. The leaves can be easily drawn using the brush pen.
Step 2
The soft tip of the Pitt Artist Pen can be used to draw both fine lines and bold strokes. As with the letters in the example, draw fine line upwards, and push down the pen firmly when drawing downward strokes. Start by using the bright green colour. With a bit of practice, you will be able to draw both up- and downstrokes.
Step 3
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Vary the colours used, and occasionally the size and shape of the letters.
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The effects used in the hand-drawn letters and words really turn a quote or saying into a personal piece of hand-lettering art. Fineliners are best suited for this purpose.
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Here, the word "little" was given a dramatic 3D shadow by adding fine, oblique light-green lines, and the flourishing gave the picture a finishing touch.
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The effect created with the black Fineliner (S) is a highlight on this piece of hand-lettering. Small dots make the letters look three-dimensional, and highlights created by a line in the downstrokes draw more attention to the calligraphic effects
Step 4
Last but not least, make "Christmas" the central word using fine oblique lines and your Christmas card is done.
If you are still not confident enough to draw the card freehand, there is also the option of downloading a greyscale PDF file as a template for private use.
Idea and design ©Vanessa Otto, Vienna – vanportrait.at
About the Artist
Vanessa Otto - Lettering Artist
After her studies in advertising art, typeface design and screen printing the artist worked in the field of print graphics and catalogue production for two decades. After that she specialised in hand-drawn typography with focus on calligraphy, handlettering and signpainting. She lives in Vienna.