I am working on rounding out my Artist’s Toolbox with some Hand Lettering. It’s one of those things that I’ve tried to pick up before. I do one or two projects, nothing serious, just enough to know that I’m not comfortable with hand lettering. Which is too bad. I’m limiting myself by not having this skill. So when Design Cuts came up with these specially curated bundles featuring one on Hand Lettering for only $10, it was kind of a no-brainer. https://www.designcuts.com/product/master-lettering-procreate-collection/ And then I’m a Creative Club Member, so I watched Gia Graham’s Course “Hand Lettering in Procreate: Fundamentals to Finishing Touches.” https://www.designcuts.com/product/hand-lettering-in-procreate-fundamentals-to-finishing-touches/.
Outside My Comfort Zone
I have to say, after weeks of Artist’s Block https://northstarstudio.net/artist’s-block/, it felt really great to dig in to a new project, even if it was a little outside my comfort zone. I went through the class projects easily enough. My letters were actually turning out better than I had anticipated with less frustration than I remembered. I was feeling pretty brave, artistically speaking, when I ran into my Adult Child in the kitchen. So I asked her if there was a quote she’d like me to hand letter for practice. She showed me a quote on her phone that looked like it was written in pixels, “Despite Everything, Its Still You.” She explained that it was from the Video Game “Undertales,” which I knew to be a favorite game with a robust story line. I thought it was particularly poignant because she’s trans, so I thought she chose this quote because it said something about her journey, her experience. I loved the positivity of it, the Surtity of self it bespoke.
It Needed Something
I finished the hand lettering. It took me a couple of hours, but it was well worth the effort. It looked so polished, so professional. Except. Except there was an empty space between some of the words. I had figured I’d draw a flower there as I was lettering or something. So I drew a tropical looking blossom with a few leaves and was playing with placement, not completely happy with what I was seeing. Maybe I could find something more…. meaningful. And then, like a flash of lightning, it occurred to me: a Butterfly! Oh the symbolism! I added this beautiful symbol of her transformation as I imagined the emotional moment when I presented the art to her. Big hug. Maybe even tears,
Boy, did I over-dramatize that one! I showed it to her. She like it well enough, but there’s no deep meaning. It’s just a quote. It’s just the first thing she thought of, a clever moment when the main character looks in a mirror toward the end of the game. She might not see all that I see when I look at the piece, but she really likes that I made something for her. And that’s pretty cool. So I love the way that this one turned out. For all sorts of reasons.
