A while back I posted my progress on my first official Hand Lettering class on Skillshare. I thought it might be valuable to share an update on the final steps. My application is a deck of cards design based on the quote I picked.
I finally took the time to redraw my sketch and clean it up, and I was pretty happy with it. I have a hard time moving on when I can just pick it apart. This is something that I am learning is holding me up from practicing as much as I need to be! I often feel like I can't move forward until it's perfect. I feel like that is part of deliberate practice. It is, but I need to draw a line when it keeps me from being paralyzed in finishing projects. If you'd like to read more about the positive side of being hard on yourself, check out my post on my design career blog.
Final Sketch
The inking process was a learning experiment as well. I had originally tried to trace with microns but I used tracing paper by mixing up a few techniques I studied in my head, and quickly realized that the microns did not like eraser on that paper.
So, I asked around and got some help from Mary Kate McDevitt herself via Twitter to Skillshare discussion, and she suggested that I re-trace fresh on regular paper. That worked well, and gave me the opportunity to do it a few times and learn the weights of the microns I'd like to use for each part better. I was able to do some intentional practice for the pieces I really struggled with (block lettering, hello!). If you would like to learn more about the tool I used to trace this with, read my review on the Crayola Light Up Tracing Pad.
Here is the final drawing. I wasn't completely happy with it, but decided to move on to learn more in the digitizing phase.
Final inked drawing as scanned in Photoshop.
I cleaned it up here and went into Image Trace in Illustrator. I found I had the best results for this drawing when I didn't play too much with the advanced settings at all. I cleaned some parts up but left the hand drawn effect highly in tact, and opened it up a bit to breath and for the application I'm envisioning. Here is where it stands as a finished class project.
I am really excited to explore many more styles in the upcoming weeks!