The Best Books on Hand Lettering | 16 of my favorites books to teach and inspire you!
Hand-Lettering was not something that was taught in my time at graphic design school. I simply started buying books on hand lettering and practicing the art form. I like to tell the students in my Art + Lettering Class that “practice makes progress”. Now, I have a pretty big (and ever-growing) collection of books on lettering. I went through them to pick sixteen of my personal favorites to share with you.
Studying a wide range of books and styles not only great for practicing but it also really helps you develop your own style.
- Creative Lettering & Beyond | This book is possible my very favorite. It is full of inspiration, tips, and even gives a full tutorial on digitizing a hand-lettered print using Photoshop.
- In Progress | Jessica Hische is one of my favorite lettering artists ever, so it’s awesome to get a peek into her sketchbook and her process.
- The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering | This book is a new addition to my collection. Valerie McKeehan’s work is amazing so I was thrilled to see her put out a book. It has 3 built-in chalkboards for practicing too. How cool is that?
- The Little Book of Lettering | This was on the first books in my collections and it’s still a favorite. Small in size but full of awesome work.
- Drawing Type | This book is great intro to drawing letterforms.
- Creative Lettering | Possibly my favorite of all my books. I anxiously awaited for Doh’s follow-up book, More Creative Lettering, which came out last summer.
- More Creative Lettering | Jenny Doh’s Follow up to Creative Lettering.
- Hand Lettering Ledger | While it does have a lot of practice pages, this little book has a ton of fun info and I’m happy it’s part of my collection!
- The Botanical Hand Lettering Workbook | This was on pre-order and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I just got it earlier this week and it’s so adorable…a great addition to my collection!
- Modern Calligraphy | Learning Calligraphy with a traditional pen is on my to-do list. This book I just bought and not only is it a complete guide, it has a beautiful section of at least 20+ ways to draw every letter of the alphabet.
- Scripts | Dedicated solely to beautiful script lettering.
- Hand Lettering | A ton of inspiration and fun lettering styles to inspire you.
The Art of Whimsical Lettering | Colorful and fun inspiration! Sharpe shows us how to use some really fun mediums as well.- Zenspirations Dangle Designs | How to draw dangle style designs and doodles. This is a super fun style to add to lettering!
- Zenspirations Letters & Patterning | A guide to ultra-artsy lettering with fun designs and colors.
- Adventures in Lettering | Created for kids, this was my second book. It contains 40 exercises for young lettering artists! “Readers with a love of lettering and a flair for design are in good hands.” – Publishers Weekly (My first book was Words to Live By: Creating Lettering, Coloring, and Inspirations).
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Stacey Mitchell says
November 16, 2015 at 7:07 amThis post is perfectly timed as I’ve been researching hand lettering recently. It’s something I really want to try so having a little recommended reading is a big help!
Dawn Nicole says
November 16, 2015 at 7:48 pmYay, it’s so fun Stacey! 🙂 Happy book shopping!
Andi says
December 4, 2015 at 6:02 pmWhich book would you recommend to read first for someone who is just starting?
Dawn Nicole says
December 4, 2015 at 7:14 pmHi Andi! Definitely go with Creative Lettering and Beyond. It’s the most comprehensive one. 🙂
Kayla says
June 3, 2016 at 4:31 pmI’m brand-new to hand lettering, it’s on my list of things to try for this month so I just bought the Creative Lettering & Beyond book. Should be here by next week, I can’t wait to get started! So glad I stumbled upon your blog through Pinterest 🙂
Kayla | kaylablogs.com
APRIL says
July 17, 2016 at 9:17 amHi, love your blog! How do I get the Anthem font bundle? It diverts me toCAPTCHA and after several attempts it still continues to ask for the code, even though I put in the code. Help please.
Thanks
April
Dawn Nicole says
July 17, 2016 at 12:55 pmHi April! Hmm…I had to enter a the CAPTCHA code when I visit the site via my VPN but then it takes me right to the site. Perhaps Creative Market is having website issues or try clearing your browsers cache and ordering it then. Or can you try another browser? (Chrome, Firefox, Safari?) I just clicked the link and it takes me right to order the bundle. Sorry you’re having trouble on their site!
Peter Joseph Gowen says
December 21, 2016 at 3:37 pmHello,
Just a guy trying to vastly improve horrible hand writing, any suggestions on where to start? Really looking for something with a tutorial with practice sheets or letter outlines to copy.
Respectfully
Peter Joseph Gowen
USMC Retired
Husband
Leader of two Monsters
Grandpa of One
Dawn Nicole says
December 22, 2016 at 2:15 amHi Peter! I have a ton of free tutorials and practice worksheets. You can find them all here: http://bydawnnicole.com/category/blogging-business/art-graphic-design/hand-lettering/practice-worksheets. And thank you for your service! My husband is currently Active Duty Air Force and we’re stationed in Germany. 🙂 Have a wonderful Christmas and happy practicing!