Handwriting Tips & Tricks
Okay, let me start with a disclaimer: I have the WORST handwriting in the world. It is so messy and uneven. And I see all these great Bible J-ers whose hand-lettering looks PRO! I admit I'm a teensy bit jealous, not to mention dumbfounded. I mean, even after reading posts and books about how to do hand-lettering, I still just can't quite seem to make mine as nice. But that's okay. I can make it better. And so can you! Here's how....
First, Materials:
I use a Micron Pen because they are thin and awesome and generally don't bleed through--even thin Bible pages. For color, I'm using Tanmit Brush Markers.
Mix It Up
Start by mixing it up. When you're entering words into your Bible, try mixing your cursive handwriting with print. Or add bubble letters if you can. You can see in the example, I wrote "handwriting" in cursive, "tips" in bubbles, and "tricks" in a tall, straight print. If you have trouble keeping straight lines (like me), use printed lines BEHIND your Bible page as a guide. You can make writing even more interesting by adding flowers. Learn How To Draw 7 Simple Flowers here.
Let's start with how to enhance your cursive writing. And if you're one of the newfangled generation that never learned cursive, just try handwriting that is a little flouncy-er and curly-er than your usual print. Begin by adding an extra stroke to each of your downstrokes. (These are where your pen naturally moves down toward the bottom of the page when you write.) Then, fill in each of these extra strokes. You can scribble them, or fill them in solid, whichever. If it looks a little uneven, try retracing your letters.
Enhancing Print Letters
To make your printed letters more interesting, try adding serifs. These are the extra little lines on the ends of your letters. You could also add round dots instead of lines. To enhance your printed letters even more, add an extra stroke--kind of like you did with your cursive--only just to the left of the main downstroke in your letter. (For instance, I only added it to the left-side line on the "R" and just to the center of the "S".) Fill in your extra lines with stripes or solid if you prefer.
Adding A Shadow
To make your writing even more interesting, add a shadow to each letter. You can do this by using a light gray marker and adding an extra stroke to the right of each of your original strokes. You can also add a shadow to the bottom of each letter. This makes your words appear to float on the page.
Finally, add some color and you're done! Your boring old writing is now fabulous!
