ABC Comp

As a previous exercise to the final pass on the project I worked on an ABC comp. It was fun and a great warm up! 

Final Project

For the final project I wanted to have a card with a motivating and inspiring message, so I chose to have "Carpe Diem - Seize the Day" as my text. Here my initial layouts:

Layout 01

Layout 02

Layout 03

I feel Layout 02 was the strongest. I also checked my spacing.

After feedback I considered that in order to have the text as a unit I needed to change the layout and format. The previous layouts separated the message in two parts, so I changed my format to a vertical one. 

Layout 04

I think layout 04 was the most successful at having a smooth flow for the message. So I moved forward with it for the final project. 

I wanted to use warm colors for the card so I used a mix of orange and brown colors. For the medium I used Hot Press Arches watercolor paper.  I wanted to have the letters standing out more than the decorations, so the layout wouldn't get too busy.

Here my final design:

Overall this project has been really fun and challenging. Working on the watercolor paper was a different experience from that of the marker paper. The pen and the ink behaved in a different way over watercolor paper.

It was really useful to have preliminary feedback on the letters. I really can see a difference by making the letters tighter and checking spacing. It looks sleeker and more elegant.

After taking this workshop I think that I improved my lettering and I have more control over the parallel pen; although I still need lots of practice. 

Practice of lower and uppercase "A"

Although it looks simple, it was quite difficult to keep consistent straight lines. I really like the letters A's as shown in the video, so I have to keep on practicing to have them close to the one in the guides.

Practice of lower and uppercase "B"

Like the playful and whimsical letter B. I need to reach the bottom and top guide lines so they all have the same height.

Practice of lower and uppercase "C"

The letter C looked simple but it was difficult to make it look balanced. the decoration on top helps.

Practice of lower and uppercase "D"

Same here and also I need to follow better the lines from the guides in order to have a consistent height and weight.

Practice of lower and uppercase "E"

The challenging part was making the letter "e" look balanced and centered. As it was mentioned in the videos it is important to have the first stroke straight and solid so it will have a balance. My uppercase"E"'s look a little rigid. - I need to practice more on speed - 

Practice of lower and uppercase "F"

I love the simplicity of the elegant letter "f". I need to ahve more control over my flick marks.

Practice of lower and uppercase "G"

In the lowercase "g" I had some issues with the lenght of the tail. It was tempting to make it wavy and big. For the Uppercase "G" it was difficult to get the correct width. 

Practice of lower and uppercase "H"

Easy and fun letter. However it was tricky to set the right lenght for the last stroke and keep it straight.

Practice of lower and uppercase "I"

The more simple the letter the more challenging is to keep it balanced. I struggles with making the tail of the letter "i" to big and wide.

Practice of lower and uppercase "J"

I need to work on making the endings of the letter J consistent and smooth.

Practice of lower and uppercase "K"

It was a fun letter to practice. For the lowercase "k" it is important to have a solid and straight first stroke.

Practice of lower and uppercase "L"

In the case of the lower case "'l" if the stroke is not straight it is really evident. I need to work on making the tail of the lowercase "l" narrower. Uppercase "L" was fun to work on.

Practice of lower and uppercase "M"

Need to practice to make the arc of the uppercase "M" a little flat so it doesn't get too wide. 

Practice of lower and uppercase "N"

I tend to make the uppercase "N' too wide.

Practice of lower and uppercase "O"

Practice of lower and uppercase "P"

Lowercase P is hard to do. It requires the first stroke to be straight and solid. Uppercase P was fun and whimsical.

Practice of lower and uppercase "Q"

I still need more practice on the Uppercase Q.

Practice of lower and uppercase "R"

Practice of lower and uppercase "S"

Practice of lower and uppercase "T"

Practice of lower and uppercase "U"

It was challenging to have both marks straight and parallel in the lowercase U.

Practice of lower and uppercase "V"

Practice of lower and uppercase "W"

W is a fun letter to do, but at the same time it needs a lot of attention in spacing.

Practice of lower and uppercase "X"

As it doesn't require a straight stroke, letter "X" is easier to do than it seems. The last stroke is tricky though as it can change the direction of the letter. 

Practice of lower and uppercase "Y"

I was trying to pay more attention to the counterspace of letter "y" to gett a better shape.

Practice of lower and uppercase "Z"

The strokes of letter "z" are different from any other letter what makes it unique. I need to figure better where is the baseline.