Sketchbook Assignment:

Lettering Practice
Today’s essential question: How can the style of lettering add meaning to a word or phrase?

Today we will:
 Research many different styles of lettering. Examples of terms you may want to search
for: “hand lettering,” “chalkboard lettering,” “typography”
 Create a new blog post with the following:
 photos of your favorite 20 lettering styles
 the quote or excerpt from a song or poem that you plan to use for your visual poetry
project
 Practice many different types of lettering in our sketchbooks. For this sketchbook
assignment, you should try 20 different lettering styles. You should write a full word or
phrase in each style. You will have today and Monday to finish this sketchbook
assignment. If you do not have at least 5 lettering examples completed by the end of this
class, you will need to work on it over the weekend.

Visual Poetry finished project example:

Examples of hand lettering (feel free to find your own inspiration and post it to your
blog):
Lettering Sketchbook
Assignment: Modified
Please follow these modified guidelines for your sketchbook assignment. After
completing each of the required components of this sketchbook assignment, you will
have a solid understanding of the hand lettering techniques needed to complete your
final poster. For this sketchbook assignment, you will test out a total of 12 distinctly
different lettering examples, broken down into the following categories:

1 example of a sans serif typeface. Sans serif typefaces are simple typefaces. The letter
forms do not have serifs:

2 examples of serif typefaces. (The letter forms in a serif typeface have serifs, or “feet”):
2 examples of script, cursive, or calligraphy typefaces:

3 examples juxtaposing two dramatically different text styles:

4 examples of banners, swirls, arrows, or other graphic elements that can be used as text
dividers:

This means that you will have a total of 12 distinctly different lettering examples in your
sketchbook upon completion of this assignment. DO NOT work on illustrating your
quote until you have completed these 12 unique examples. (It is ok to test out 2-3 words
from your quote at a time, but you will want to “try on” multiple lettering styles to see
which lettering style looks best with each phrase.)
You can use my examples as a guideline:

Sans Serif

Serif

Script

Juxtaposition of two different styles

Banners, swirls, arrows, or other graphic elements

Today we will:
 work on the lettering sketchbook assignment described above, completing the following
12 lettering examples:
 1 example of a sans serif typeface
 2 examples of serif typefaces
 2 examples of script or calligraphy typefaces
 3 examples juxtaposing two dramatically different text styles
 4 examples of banners, swirls, arrows, or other graphic elements
Quote Lettering Project Guidelines
Today we will:
 sketch out ideas for our final quote poster design
 begin drawing our final poster design on good paper
Project requirements:
 final size – 12×15″ or 12×18″ (pick the dimensions that work best with your quote)
 choice of black ink on white paper or white charcoal on black paper
 no imagery – you may only use the words in your quote, and decorative elements such as
banners, lines, swirls, and arrows
 design should display an understanding of the following art principles: unity, contrast,
emphasis, movement, and balance

Examples that fulfill the requirements:

Today’s Tasks

Part 1: In your sketchbook

Section off the approximate space you would like each part of the quote to take up, then
add the basic letter forms. (Your sketch should show a clear distinction between serif,
sans serif, and scrip typefaces, but you do not need to perfectly form each letter.) Here
is an example of an acceptable sketchbook planning page:

Part 2: On good paper

1. Section off the space you would like each part of the quote to take up.
2. Draw in the basic letter forms.
3. Add details to each letter, as well as any graphic elements.
4. Carefully color in your design with a black ink marker or charcoal pencil.
Integrating Text & Image
Today’s essential question: How can I integrate the text into the design on the poster?
Joniah has done a great job incorporating interesting lettering into her poster design.
Notice how much more boring her poster would be if she had just written the words on
the paper instead of creating custom lettering and working it into the picture:

Here are some other examples of posters that have successful integrated type and
image:
For ideas on how to create interesting text, search dafont.com for interesting typefaces.
Click on the typeface you want to preview, type in the words you plan to use on your
poster, and hit submit.
You can then use the snipping tool to take a screen shot of each heading written in that
typeface:

You can use these screen shots as references when sketching your poster design.

Today we will:
 Finish our sketches (colored in with marker) of our vector poster project design
 Photograph our sketch
 Create a new blog post with the following:
 a photograph of our vector poster project design
 a few sentences describing the concept
Next Project: Propaganda Posters
Essential Question: What makes an effective propaganda poster?
Learning Objectives (What you will learn by doing this project):
 I can use visual hierarchy and the rule of thirds to create an interesting composition with
a prominent focal point
 I can create art as a means of communication and persuasion
For our next project, we will create a propaganda poster. We will begin by examining
posters from World War II, but will spend most of our time looking at modern day
propaganda posters. These posters should look familiar. What are some techniques the
artists have used to persuade the viewer?
Featured Artist: Shepard Fairey

from artsy.net

“Expanding on the legacies of artists such as Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, Shepard
Fairey’s practice disrupts the distinction between fine and commercial art. A major artist
of the street art movement, Fairey rose to prominence in the early 1990s through the
dispersion of posters, stickers, and murals, related to his Obey Giant campaign, which
yielded an international cultural phenomenon. Fairey’s iconic poster of President Barack
Obama was adopted as the official emblem associated with the presidential campaign
and encapsulates a number of recurring concerns in the artist’s work, including
propaganda, portraiture, and political power.”

You can learn more about Shepard Fairey on his official website.
Examples of Shepard Fairey’s work
Things to think about:
 Abstraction vs. realism
 How will you establish a clear focal point?
 Flat design vs. shading
 Mood
 Color Scheme

Creating a Final Sketch to Vectorize

Today you will sketch your final layout larger, with all details and text on a piece of 6×9″
paper. (The small size will force you to create a design that is simple enough to trace
over in Illustrator.) Everything should look exactly as you want it, as you will be
photographing this piece and tracing over it in Illustrator.

Here is an example of an acceptable final sketch that is ready to be vectorized in

Illustrator:

Today we will:
 Discuss the work of Shepard Fairey
 Begin sketching our final design on properly proportioned paper
 Post a photo of our work to our blogs (you must post a photo even if you have not
finished your sketch!)
Color, Unity, Contrast
Today’s essential question: How can I use a color scheme to create unity and/or contrast?
How have the students below created unity through color? How have they created
contrast? What ideas do these posters give you for your own project?