What lettering brush to use with Havighorst's exercises?

[Mike Jackson]

Hand Lettering Tutorials


I received this question through an email this morning from William K. Solberg

I'm always amazed that simple tutorials, like the excellent one by
Havighorst, never profide guidance on the type of brush to use. I have some
quills but still can't seem to make the chisel end they show with the basic
stroke. Is ther an explicit brush to use when learning basic show card
technique?

Maybe people here can supply some additional information.
Mike Jackson


My response:
William, most of those old showcard exercises were related to show card paint and showcard brushes. Most of the old show card brushes were made with sabel hair and normally could be brushed on a palette to get a chisel edge. With that said, most of the strokes are similar when using a good lettering quill. Grey quills are stiffer than browns and are usually used with enamels.

MJ

[Raymond Chapman]

Like Mike has stated, almost any good lettering brush that has a sharp, chisel edge can be used. The "artist" brushes that come to a point are almost useless for this type of practice.

Lettering brushes come in a wide variety of styles, but the "quill" and "flat" are the most common. A quill will give you more snap and a better control over what is produced.

In the illustration there is a slight angle at the top of each stroke. I prefer to have that angle in the opposite direction for the left side of the stroke and then make the right side of the stroke with the top at the angle shown. Of course, these illustrations are for single strokes and would need some type of "dress up" at the top and bottom to make them complete...at least to make them more useful for an actual letter.

Also, how you hold the brush is important. Most begin with trying to hold the brush like a pencil and there is a tendency to grip it too tightly. This is fine with straight strokes but presents a problem with curves because you have to rotate your entire hand to keep the chisel edge going in the direction of the stroke, which is what you need to do. I would prefer to hold the brush between my thumb and middle finger so that I can turn the brush in any direction without having to move my hand. It feels awkward at first, but really is a much more relaxed way to letter and will not cause your hand and arm to cramp over long periods of lettering.

The hard, chisel edge is achieved by paletting the brush out on a card or old magazine to work the paint into the hair and form the chisel edge. Some do this process by dragging the brush hair over the edge of the paint cup.

This is hard to explain in words. It's much easier to watch someone. Most experienced sign painters had an individual method of lettering. I've always said that if you can hold the brush with your toes and do a good job, then that's the way you should letter.

[John Lennig]

William, Greetings!

Like Raymond said, the "pencil grip"...(i call it the Death Grip) restricts brush movement, avoid the death grip! lol Also as stated, brush lettering, like so many things, is very individual...Raymnd used thumb and middle finger, i use thumb and finger next to it (whatever that's called..pointer??) also, i'm left handed, and no,I don't letter from right to left!!

Where are you located?? the suggestion to "see it done Live", is the best bet! If you can dig up a signwriter in your area, hey, there's still lots out there!!, i'll bet that he/she would be more than happy to demo, tell you stories, and generally enjoy themselves, you included! and remember, all you're really doing is pushing paint around with a hairy stick, albeit in a legible manner!

John

[Mike Jackson]

The curved strokes shown in the illustration at the top of the page require the brush to be spun as the stroke is being performed. This spin keeps the chiseled edge square with the direction of the stroke and maintains basically a single thickness throughout.

Besides those basic set of strokes, many people also use a curved stroke in which the tip of the brush is lightly pressed to the surface, then slid slightly in one direction as more pressure is added to make the stroke thicker, then less pressure to bring the stroke thinner as it is being slid off the other side. You can see the concept in the italic stokes used in the illustration just above. There is minimal "spin" in most of these strokes. Most of the old dudes I ever saw lettering with a gray quill did it more like the lower example.

M. Jackson

[Raymond Chapman]

Mike...I hate to be the one to break the news to you, but you are now one of those "old dudes".