How to Do Bounce Lettering
New to hand-lettering? You might want to start over on my Hand Lettering 101 page HERE.
How to Do Bounce Lettering
First things first. What is Bounce Lettering? Bounce lettering is a great way to add style and character to your hand lettering.
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. -Picasso
That quote pretty much sums up bounce lettering. To show you what I mean by that, let’s look at some basic typography terminology.
In the above image, I’ve drawn the word “happy” elementary-school style, so I can define a few terms for you.
- Ascender Height: The line ascenders hit. An ascender is a vertical stroke found on lowercase letters that extends above the letter’s x-height. Examples include b, d, f, h, k, and l. Sometimes, the ascender extends about the cap height.
- Cap Height: The height of capital letters from the baseline to the top of the letter.
- X-Height: The height of the body of a lowercase letter.
- Baseline: The invisible line where all characters sit.
- Descender Line: A line below the baseline where the bottom of descenders hit. A descender is a vertical stroke found on lowercase letters that extend below the baseline. Examples include g, j, p, q, and y.
In elementary school, when we were all learning to write, we were told to stay within the confines of those lines (just like I did with the word “happy”).
Now that we understand these basics, the concept of bounce lettering is really simple.
We’re going to break the rules and have fun drawing our letters outside the lines!
Here’s an example:
In the top version of “Bounce Lettering” I stayed in the lines. This is a more traditional style of lettering. While it’s still pretty there’s not a lot of variation, right?
In the bottom version, I’ve extended my lettering outside the confines of the cap height, x-height, and baseline. Can you see how that adds a ton of style and character? The possibilities are endless and there are so many ways to vary Bounce Lettering!
That’s it, you guys, that’s all there is to basic bounce lettering. And like I always say, the key to lettering is simple: practice makes progress.
So, I’ve created a simple worksheet for you to practice both Traditional and Bounce Lettering styles.
By doing this worksheet, you will get a better feel for the differences between each style, using your own lettering.
Want to learn lettering + calligraphy in greater detail?
The 30 Days of Drills Workbook
This workbook is perfect for busy beginners who want to learn the art of Brush Calligraphy. Commit to doing just one worksheet every day for 30 days and keep track of your progress with the included checklist!
NEW! The 30 Days of ABCs for Small Brush Pens
The second workbook in the 30 Day series is here! Commit to just one worksheet a day, and you’ll see significant improvements over the month.
Happy practicing!
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Awesome!! Really loved it! Thank you for sharing with us!
I love the bounce lettering! I’ve been doing calligraphy for years, and have recently become obsessed with brush lettering, but I learned in a very traditional way. So I’m learning now to break out of that! I’m loving your blog.
How fabulous of you to include a worksheet! Thanks, Dawn!
Dawn,
I would love to take your Art+Lettering course, but I don’t use Facebook, is there any other way for me to participate?
Thanks for all you do for all of us.
Kathy
Hi Kathy! Unfortunately, it’s the perfect way to share a free class! Some people have told me they joined FB solely for the class and don’t use it otherwise. I have some additional video lessons in the works but those will be a paid option as they cost a ton for time and money to produce. However, I have a TON of free resources here on the blog (check out the hand lettering 101 tab at the top of the site) and all my social media, all for free so I do hope you’ll take advantage of those. ?
I am new to Pinterest and facebook etc. but I love what I am seeing. I am a fountain pen obsessed woman who loves, loves, loves, all things handwritten. My question is, do you have a published book or is everything on-line?
Hi Laura! You can find all my books here: http://bydawnnicole.com/my-books
I want to hug you right now, thank you for free printable calligraphy practice sheets 🙂 Very helpful especially for me I’m a beginer 🙂 Good Bless
Is there a print-out of the lines you drew on the paper to write happy?
Hi Kathryn!
These is not, I just drew those with a ruler but I can create one. It’s on my to do list. 😉
Dawn
Hi Dawn: I love your blog and you share so much content for free, thank you so much! I love the bounce lettering style. Do you have other resources to learn this technique better? Does one of your books or ecourses have more information about how to get better with this technique? I have been using this page as a guide, but would like to see how other letters and words are done.
Thank you so much!
Hi Lynnell, I hope to have more on this soon but don’t currently. If you Google, “bounce lettering” you’ll find several more bloggers who’d done posts and maybe even a class on it if memory serves me correctly! 🙂
Thank you
Your tutorials are just what I was looking for to figure out how to write prettier. I am a DIY Home Improvement business owner and I was searching for a quick way to express my creative side. I’ve never done brush lettering and your tutorials are easy to understand. Your downloads are perfect. I hope to find the time to continue to practice and perfect the skill. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and talent.
You’re so welcome, Sandy! Happy lettering!
Hello!I want to learn how you do all this awesome stuff?☺and I have read that it’s free
Hi from Norway ?? I love your style – you’re the best – and your way to teach is just excellent!
Heidi, Fredrikstad, Norway
Thank you so much for the time and effort you have put into your website. It’s been so incredibly helpful. Hand lettering/caligraphy is a hobby I recently picked up and with out your work I feel like my skill level would never have grown. In short, thank you very much!
Such pretty work. I love that I stumbled upon your site when looking for the definition of Bounce Lettering. I’ll be back to read more!
Love your work! Noticed you are a lefty. Me too. I’m one of those old fashion overhand lefty types, even with a paint brush! So, I have trouble getting that smooth thin up thick down stroke unless I have a wide nib. Even with a nice flexible tip, I just get scratches. I can do a fair job of hand lettering with a wide nib, especially my own free style normal hand writting/printing. Any clues for an overhand lefty?
Hi Linda! Thanks so much. Here is a post I did on Lefty Tips. 🙂 https://bydawnnicole.com/lefty-tips-hand-lettering-calligraphy/