Join my Happy Email List to get free practice sheets every month! Join now→

Home
About
Blog
Portfolio
Shop
Email Me

Nav Social Menu

Lettering
Calligraphy
iPad Lettering
Color Palettes
Creative Goodies
Portfolio + Hire Me
Shop

DreamBox

DreamBox Update + Coupon Code!

DreamBox + DreamCart = One Dreamy Workspace!

How I Organized My DreamBox

The DreamBox: DIY vs Pre-Built

Create Room DreamBox Review

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

I’m a full-time lettering artist based in Charleston, SC. You can usually find me with a coffee in one hand and Apple Pencil in the other.

READ MORE→

NEW IN THE SHOP!

Top Seller!

NEW PROCREATE SERIES!

In this year-long series, I'll be sharing a new Procreate Tutorial each month of 2021!

Join the Happy Email Club!

Get exclusive FREE practice sheets each month!

The Happy Email Club®

Get FREE practice sheets and lettering tips in your inbox every month!

View My Portfolio + Hire Me for Custom Lettering Work

Dawn Nicole Designs | Hand-Lettering & Modern Calligraphy

Jan 25

Lyrical lettering work-in-progress.⁣
⁣
This is my second, more refined sketch. First, I did a sketch on paper, then I brought that into Procreate and traced it. Next, I refined that sketch by doing three things:⁣
⁣
1️⃣ Adjusting letters so the thick/thin parts are all the same(ish) widths.⁣
⁣
2️⃣ Adjusting line height spacing and letter kerning (the space better letters). I mostly do this by the fine art of “eyeballing-it” and going with what looks the most optically appealing. 👀⁣
⁣
3️⃣ Playing with the flourishes. This takes the longest and there’s a lot of erasing that goes on, but I’m pretty darn happy with it at this point.⁣
⁣
✏️ So far, I’ve put about five hours of work into this piece and it will likely take me another 2-3 hours to create the final version. I’ll post it when it’s fully complete. ⁣
⁣
I’d love to keep working on it right now, but this momma has to get in the kitchen and cook my kiddos some dinner. 😜 It’s also good to take a break and look at it the next day with a pair of fresh eyes. If I wait a day, things I need to fix will stand out to me that wouldn’t if I kept working on it right now.⁣
⁣
⭐️ These are lyrics from the song “Treat You Better” by Rüfüs Du Sol. When I do the final version, I’ll a byline in the actual artwork for credit. I get SO much inspiration from music!⁣
⁣
LEARN LETTERING WITH ME⁣
⁣
💻 Blog: bydawnnicole.com⁣
🛍 Shop: shop.bydawnnicole.com

Jan 24

I’m an unapologetic overuser of hearts in my art and lettering work. 💖⁣
⁣
This is a just-for-fun Doodled Hearts repeating pattern I did as a portfolio piece. I did the line work months ago but finally got around to coloring it all in. ⁣
⁣
🙌🏻 Swipe for the process vid, and some mockups that show what this design might look like on wrapping paper or a gift bag. ⁣
⁣
⭐️ I use Photoshop to create the mockups and purchase the mockup PSD files via Creative Market. For example, I bought the wrapping paper mockup file. With a few clicks, I can add my design to it and bring it to life to show clients without actually having to create a product! You can create mockups for all kinds of things: shirts, mugs, posters, book covers, etc. I often use them to create graphics for blog and social media posts as well.⁣
⁣
✏️ Are you interested in a full tutorial on creating repeating patterns in Procreate? Let me know in the comments! If there’s enough interest, I’ll work on writing it up and getting it on the blog.⁣
⁣
LEARN LETTERING WITH ME⁣
⁣
💻 Blog: bydawnnicole.com⁣
🛍 Shop: shop.bydawnnicole.com⁣

Jan 23

It’s been a long while since I’ve shown my face around here, so I thought I’d share a few things…⁣
⁣
✏️ I’ve been doing hand lettering and calligraphy for 8 years. I still second-guess my work allll the time and am always working to grow my skills.⁣
⁣
💖 My hubby is active duty an Air Force Pilot. We’ve been married for almost 14 years, and we have 3 kids (ages 9, 11, and 12) and 2 dogs.⁣
⁣
✌🏻I’m an Enneagram 1w9. AKA “The Reformer” + “The Peacemaker” = “The Optimist.”⁣
⁣
🍽 I love food. Thai is my fave followed by Cuban and Greek. I detest cilantro and raw tomatoes. Cilantro tastes like soap, and the gooey parts of raw tomatoes make me gag!⁣
⁣
🥃 I don’t drink often, but the Hubby and I usually do “Old Fashioned Fridays” at home Happy Hour. It’s my favorite cocktail, and I’m currently partial to Basil Hayden’s Bourbon.⁣
⁣
📚 I always have my nose in a book. I read 64 books last year, and I’m hoping to read at least that many again this year. Lately, I’m digging chick lit and psychological thrillers.⁣
⁣
📺 I love watching TV! Some of my current faves are Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Yellowstone, Bridgerton, and pretty much anything on HGTV. I also re-watched all of One Tree Hill, Vampire Diaries, Gilmore Girls, and Hart of Dixie this past year.⁣
⁣
🚲 Gym class was my least favorite class in school, but now I work out 5-6 days a week. I alternate weights (Liift4 and MM100), Peloton rides, and going for a run outdoors with Theo. He’s much faster than I am, but he also has four legs. 😜⁣
⁣
🛍 If I could go on a shopping spree at only one store, I’d pick @Athleta. I love their stuff!⁣
⁣
🏠 We move A LOT. It comes with the military life. Places I’ve lived: Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois, Alabama, and Germany. We’re now back where we started! We ❤️ living in Charleston, but we’ll have to move again this year or next year. (We will know more soon…)⁣
⁣
⭐️ Three Random Facts: 1️⃣ I’m an introverted homebody who loves traveling. 2️⃣ I’m 5’9”. 3️⃣ I turn the big 4-0 this Fall! ⁣
⁣
Do we have anything in common? Is there anything else you’d like to know?

Jan 22

💡 Be the light 💡 ⁣
⁣
Thank you so much for all of you who voted in my IG stories yesterday. I couldn’t decide on the color scheme for this piece. ⁣
⁣
You overwhelmingly voted for the blue background, so that’s the one I refined a bit more.⁣
⁣
I’m working on adding some new pieces to my @theispotnews portfolio as I’ll be featured in an email to buyers next week. ⁣
⁣
Swipe for the original color options, process video, and a peek at my The I Spot portfolio so far. ⁣
⁣
P.S. A big thank you to @mollyjacques for sharing “The I Spot” in her IG stories a while back! 💖 ⁣
⁣
After a long break from doing client work to have more time for my own content and shop product creation, I’m ready to dive back in and The i Spot is a great fit for my overall goals as a freelance lettering artist. ⁣
⁣
✏️ LEARN LETTERING WITH ME⁣
⁣
🛍 Shop: shop.bydawnnicole.com⁣
⁣
You’ll find Procreate Brushes and Brush Calligraphy Workbooks in my shop.⁣
⁣
💻 Blog: bydawnnicole.com⁣
⁣
You’ll find a ton of free lettering/calligraphy worksheets, Procreate Tutorials, and more on the blog.⁣

Jan 12

Jan 12

Every letter tells a story. 📖💕 ⁣
⁣
A just-for-fun lettering piece. Swipe for texture close-ups and the process video.⁣
⁣
✏️ Tap the photo to shop the brush kit I used to create this piece!⁣
⁣
💻 For a ton of free Procreate tutorials and practice sheets pop over to my blog at bydawnnicole.com. ⁣
⁣
⭐️ Fun fact: My blog turns 10 years old this year! ⁣

Jan 8

Happy Friday! 💖 The Creativity Kit for Procreate just hit my shop. This brush set is one of my easiest to use. Simply draw, color, paint, and stamp away!⁣
⁣
There are 32 fun new Procreate brushes designed to give your digital creations a realistic artsy vibe.⁣
⁣
✏️ 12 Artistic Brushes⁣
✏️ 10 Stamp Brushes⁣
✏️ 10 Border Brushes⁣
⁣
The border brushes also work great for lettering details as you can see in some of the artwork I created.⁣
⁣
Swipe through photos to learn more about this new brush kit and see just a few things I created using it.⁣
⁣
Tap the photo to shop!⁣
⁣
💻 Blog: bydawnnicole.com⁣
🛍 Shop: shop.bydawnnicole.com⁣
⁣
#procreateartist #handlettering #handlettered #ipadlettering #procreatelettering

Dec 25

Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁 Did anyone get an iPad and Apple Pencil for Christmas this year?⁣
⁣
I decided to kick off the year-long Birth Flower Drop Cap Procreate Series a bit early since so many of us are spending Christmas alone this year. ⁣
⁣
The January Tutorial is up on the blog right now! ⁣
⁣
You’ll learn how to create this Snowdrop Floral Drop Cap by following my step-by-step lesson. In the 30-minute video tutorial, you’ll learn a variety of Procreate techniques such as:⁣
⁣
✏️ Adding Textures with Clipping Masks⁣
✏️ How Using a Lot of Layers Helps You Stay Organized⁣
✏️ Creating Drop Shadows Two Ways (manually or the quick way)⁣
✏️ Grouping and Duplicating Illustrations to Save Time⁣
✏️ Exporting Your Work as a PNG⁣
⁣
Head to the blog for for the free color palette, reference PDF printable, video lesson and more. Swipe for a more pics.⁣
⁣
Happy creating!⁣
⁣
💻 Blog: bydawnnicole.com⁣
🛍 Shop: shop.bydawnnicole.com⁣
⁣
#DNDdraws #Dropcap #procreateartist #handlettering #handlettered #ipadlettering #procreatelettering

Follow on Instagram

The content of this website is ©Dawn Nicole Designs, LLC unless otherwise noted. If you’d like to share something from my blog, please feel free to share ONE image and then link back to my post where people can read the full tutorial/content. Please DO NOT alter or copy photos nor copy my work in its entirety to share on your site without my permission. Some posts may contain affiliate links. Dawn Nicole Designs LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. View my Full Disclosure, TOS, and Policies here.