One of the latest resolution trends is to pick a word or phrase at the beginning of the New Year to guide your actions and intentions for the year. I’ve reinforced my guiding word by creating a doodled version of my word or phrase that can be framed or sit on my desk in a journal as a constant reminder of my intentions.
Today I wanted to share a hand lettering tutorial with you, so you can follow these simple steps to create your own illustrated word of the year.
Hand Lettering Tutorial
1. Using watercolor or mixed-media paper, sketch out your word using a pencil. (figure 1)
2. Using a pen, trace your pencil lines in a boxy or bubble lettering style. (figure 2)
3. Draw shadows on the top of each letter and to the right of each letter. (figure 3)
4. Darken the shadows with a Stabilo Marks all Pencil in black. (figure 3)
5. Using a water brush, activate the Stabilo pencil to create intense shadows. (figure 3)
6. Next, color in your letters with watercolor pencil (example), markers, watercolors, or paints. (figure 4)
7. Add additional doodles and shading as you see fit. I added shading to the bottoms of the letters and drop shadows to the left just because I thought it looked better). (figure 4)
8. Finish by adding additional colors to indicate highlights or shading. (figure 5)
So what’s your word of the year? Share it with me in the comments section below!
Have fun and Happy New Year,
Jodi
www.jodiohl.com
www.sweetrepeats.blogspot.com
Learn more with Jodi’s mixed-media art workshop DVDs: