WEEK 39 - This lettering tip was a game-changer for me
Woah, it's Week 39 of HOMwork 2019!
(If this is your first time joining us, take a peek at our Challenge Archive for all previous assignments.)
Have you ever come across a small tip that made a big impact on your creative skills? Regardless of your creative discipline, most of us have had a moment (or twenty) where someone casually explains something to us like, ‘Oh yeah it’s simple, just think of it as _____’
...and it’s a total game-changer for us. MIND. BLOWN.
For me, it was learning about letter spacing. When I first started lettering, spacing confused the heck out of me. At first, I thought I could simplify letter spacing by placing the same sized rectangle between every letter as my guide. Turns out, I was terribly wrong!
It wasn’t until I randomly came across a small diagram in the Speedball Text Book that letter spacing became clear to me. This ‘A HA’ moment helped me become confident with my letter spacing and eventually led me to translate it through my own lens and teach it to other lettering artists in my workshops.
And this week, I’m sharing these letter spacing tips with you, my HOMwork community. Why? Because I believe that if it was helpful to me, it can be helpful to you. Artists sharing what they know with other artists is the ultimate form of creative community. It just so happens to be a great way to grow your audience + business too!
Scared to “teach” something because you don’t think you know enough? Worried about other artists knowing all of your tricks? Not to fear!
My advice to you is to start small and see how it feels. I bet the results will surprise you. Every single one of us is capable of sharing one tiny tip that was helpful to us at one point in time, and I designed this week’s challenge to help you take the leap!
FREE PHOTOSHOP BRUSHES!
We're mixing things up to give you a variety of creative freebies. This week, we've got two FREE Photoshop brushes for you to experiment with, courtesy of DesignCuts.
<< Click here to download them!
Your Assignment: Think back to one small tip you learned that improved your skills, and then design something that teaches it to your audience!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
The middle stroke of an N is thick, not the outer strokes.
If you’re lettering within a finite shape, draw the first and last letter of the word to avoid crowded letters towards the end of the word.
When drawing, start with the large shapes and then work your way down to the details.
Caption idea: Tell us about your ‘a-ha’ moment when you first learned this tip! Try to think back to the time & place & person/resource you learned it from. Tell us how it improved your work.
Post your assignment on Instagram using the hashtag #HOMwork and don't forget to tag me @homsweethom because I'll be sharing my faves in my Story all week.
Can't wait to see what lessons you share! Little tips really can go a long way.
Love,
Lauren
P.S. Q&A time! Reply to this email with your number one question about teaching and sharing what you know! I'll pick a few to answer on IGTV in the upcoming weeks. You can watch all past Q&A videos here.
P.P.S. Have you listened to the latest episode of my new podcast. The Striving Artist? My co-host Stefan Kunz and I had a straight up JUICY conversation about freelancing and pricing. Click here to listen!
