How can I better share brush lettering with the world?
It’s not a surprise that I love brush lettering. I’m sharing lettering constantly on my blog, on Instagram, and on Periscope. And I’m super excited to share lettering with you (either by creating printable art for your walls or by helping you practice your own lettering).
But how do I find more people like you? (you know, people who also share your appreciation for brush lettering). How can I make it easier for those people to find me? And how do I consistently share awesome information with you?
My goal is to inject brightness, color, fun, and awesome lettering into your everyday life. There are others in the world who are just like you who could benefit!
With all of these questions swirling around my brain, I’m heading up to San Francisco next week (!) to be in the studio audience of April Bowles-Olin’s newest class on CreativeLive, Double Your Followers with Creative Marketing. I’m hoping to learn how to level up on sharing lettering awesomeness with you and with others.
This post is a part of the Double Your Followers blog tour to spread the word about April Bowles-Olin’s upcoming CreativeLive course. Does hearing the word ‘marketing’ make your armpits start to drip with anxiety? Are you terrified of sounding salesy or like you have the personality of a dead blowfish? If so, come join me and 2,500+ entrepreneurs who’re taking April’s latest CreativeLive course, Double Your Followers with Creative Marketing. You can RSVP and watch for FREE. Yep, free. High fives, wildflowers, wine samples. Who doesn’t love free?
Water Brushes for Brush Lettering
Another tool that I like to use is a water brush plus watercolor paint pans. A water brush comes with an empty barrel that you can fill with water (or ink) and it flows through the bristles of the brush.
I’ve gathered up my small collection of water brushes to show you the different sizes of letters you can achieve with them.
(Pictured: Niji Water Brush, Pentel Aquash)
What else would you like to learn about brush lettering? Comment below!!
Brush Markers for Lettering
If you’re looking to break into brush lettering, using brush markers is a great way to get started.
With the huge variety of tools available, it can be tough to decide which one to buy. I’ve rounded up all of the markers I currently own to show you what you can do.
At the inexpensive end of the spectrum is the good old Crayola marker. With the pointy tip and a broad side, you can achieve some awesome thick and thin lines in your letters.
(The same goes for the generic Target brand markers too).
Crayola SuperTips give you a thinner line than the classic size, but the marker still comes to a fine point.
Sharpie has also jumped in on the brush marker game with the permanent ink brush pen and the fabric markers.
In terms of art supplies for grown-ups, Tombow Dual Brush Markers are the best. Lots of flexibility in the tip and a huge rainbow of colors. There’s even a fine point on one end for regular writing and drawing.
There are tons of other brush markers out there in the world, but these are the ones I’ve tried and that live in my collection.
What brush markers do you love?
Random Love Letter Recap
Can you believe it has been almost a month since our June Random Love Letter Challenge? If you missed the fun, the challenge was explained here.
Thank you to everyone who joined in and participated all around the world! It was amazing to see all the notes being left in public places and seeing them get discovered and posted online.
I’ve highlighted a few of the awesome notes from June, but if you want to see more, check out the hashtag #randomloveletter on Instagram.
Sad to say that we didn’t reach our big goal of a million notes left in the wild, but I think we did succeed in spreading a little joy.
What’s next? Go ahead and keep leaving those notes when the moment strikes you and continue using the hashtag. Sarah and I might plan another month-long challenge again someday, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Coloring Books for Grown-Ups
Coloring books aren’t just for kids. These detailed books are picking up steam as a relaxing activity for grown-ups. With fine details to keep your motor skills in check, coloring books of this caliber are made of high-quality paper. I’ve filled out a few of the pages from one of the books I own, and it’s definitely a soothing way to spend an afternoon (or while you’re on a conference call). With the plethora of detail found in these books, the pages will definitely last you awhile.
Links:
Coloring Pages by Alisa Burke
Just Add Color: Botanicals by Lisa Congdon
Just Add Color: Geometric Patterns by Lisa Congdon
Just Add Color: Folk Art by Lisa Congdon
Flower Designs Coloring Book (Volume 1) by Jenean Morrison
Pattern and Design Coloring Book (Volume 1) by Jenean Morrison
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Brasford
Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest & Coloring Book by Johanna Brasford
COLORTWIST — Pink Coloring Book (Dover Coloring Books)
COLORTWIST — Pink Coloring Book (Dover Coloring Books)
Library Find: The Perfection of the Paper Clip
Are you a stationery addict? How do you feel about history? The Perfection of the Paper Clip by James Ward
If this sounds interesting to you, it might be worth a read for you!
The Brush Letter Practice Guide
With all the lettering that I share on Instagram, people have asked me how to get started in brush lettering.
So I’ve developed a practice guide to help you structure your process for improving your brush lettering technique.
Get the whole scoop on my information page here.
Better Lettering Course Review
If you’re looking for a course to help you improve your lettering, I highly recommend taking the Better Lettering Course from Caroline Winegeart. Her class goes over all the essentials like terminology and tools. The best part is the video demonstrations of the a variety of fun lettering styles from A to Z.
Caroline emphasizes the importance of practice and has a list of 30 prompts to get your pens and pencils moving. In addition to that, Caroline hosts a monthly giveaway for her students. Every month, Caroline posts a new list of lettering prompts and a chance for you to win a lettering prize pack if you post a picture of your practice on Instagram.
If you’ve been wanting to try out letting for awhile and don’t know where to get started, this course is a great one for beginners. (and really, the monthly prompts and personal encouragement from Caroline is totally worth the price of admission).
I paid for this course with my own money. Not sponsored. Not affiliated.
Resource Round-Up: Art Journaling
Art journaling has always been intimidating for me. Even though I’m artistic, I didn’t feel like I was good at drawing or doodling. But! There are tons of resources out there that help make art journaling so much more approachable and less intimidating.
- Get Messy Art Journal – Tutorials, Prompts, and Community Membership
- Get Messy on Big Picture Classes
- Alisa Burke – How to Make an Art Journal for $5
- Alisa Burke – Handmade Art Journals
- Create Share Love – Art journal page in progress
Any other awesome art journaling resources? Share them in the comments!
Shop Update: Abstract Art for Commercial Use
If you’ve followed me on Instagram, you might have seen my daily abstract art project. I post a colorful abstract paint splattery art piece on Instagram (nearly) every day.
There’s tons of uses for these digital art pieces. I’ve converted them into products for my Society6 shop, used them in backgrounds for my word and name art prints, and used them as digital papers in art journaling.
But what could you use them for? How can you use a brightly colored and abstract pattern digital paper in your own products or scrapbooks? I’d love to see how you get creative with my designs. So I’m releasing these patterns out into the wild to see what awesome stuff you come up with.
Are you a digital scrapbooker? Do you create digital scrapbooking products? Are you an art journaler? Are you a stationery designer?
The designs I have available at my CreativeMarket shop are below (and you can click to get to that specific product page).
