6
weeks
10
online workshops
we talk on Mondays and Thursdays at 18:00 CET in Zoom and draw together
8
recorded videos
about history, materials, typography, and so on
program
1 week
- History of lettering (and why it differs from calligraphy) recording
- Tools and pipelines recording
- Artists, inspiration, references recording
- Discussion of topics for the final project 9 November (Monday), 18:00 CET call
- Gothic calligraphy 12 November (Thursday), 18:00 CET workshop
Арина @SWAGGABILITY
Аня @dontcatchbirds
Андрей @iamprpl
кира @k1pk1p
2 week
- Five Exercises 16 November (Monday), 18:00 CET workshop
Данил @fursovdm
- Converting (lettering) to digital recording
- Experimental typography: what are layout rules and how to break them recording
- Lettering stylisation 19 November (Thursday), 18:00 CET workshop
Аня @dontcatchbirds
3 week
- Modular typography recording
- Lettering + typography, working with titles recording
- Modular typography 26 November (Thursday), 18:00 CET workshop
Аня @dontcatchbirds
Андрей @iamprpl
рома @rameoky
4 week
- Working with effects recording
- AI for letters recording
- Final Project consultation 1 30 November (Monday), 18:00 CET call
5 week
- Final Project consultation 2 3 December (Thursday), 18:00 CET call
6 week
- Final Project Presentations 10 December (Thursday), 18:00 CET review
alena @alenapichh
artem @svrdee
yan @l200kmhinthewronglane
roma @rameoky
katya @hurujoi
nadya @oh_narcy
alyona @alenuchotam
nadya @nay0777
- What to do (with your life) after the course 14 December (Monday), 18:00 CET call
daily practice
besides watching recordings and joining workshops, students do optional daily assignments — writing letters and words
three exercises to create beautiful letters
1
Choose one letter. Come up with and draw as many variations of its shape as possible in 10 minutes, regardless of the references.
2
Find a long stick. Attach a pen to the end of it, and try to draw as many letters as possible in 10 minutes, holding the stick with your left hand.
3
Choose the inscription that you like. Anything from a word on an album cover to a street sign. Try to copy it first in a minute, then in 10, then in 30.
questions and answers
1
Do I need a graphics tablet?
No, a graphics tablet is not required. But if you have one, it will be more convenient to work with.
2
What will I need?
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Figma
Materials for making letters: paper, pencils, pens, markers, etc.
3
Still have questions?
Ask them here: kaik.pictures@gmail.com
if you're still bored...
A Very Brief Visual History of Letter(-ing).
As a species, people need communication. People also love beautiful things. Lettering, or the Art of Drawing a Letter, emerges from combination of this two existential requirements.
↳ The scribe Jean Mielot in the writing room (secretary of the duke), between 1450 and 1460.
The very oldest examples of intentionally formed letters comes from the Roman Times. A lot has been lost, but the oldest remain in stone. Resistance of the material to writing tool makes for a simplification of strokes and straightening of lines.
↳ Pedestal inscriptions on the Trajan Column in Rome, 113 AD.
From then, Roman letters evolved into many different forms and shapes. They migrated from Italy to the North, East and West, becoming more elaborate and strikingly beautiful.
↳ “Family Tree” of the Roman inscriptions development.
Peoples of the former Roman Empire — dwellers of the British Isles, modern-day Central Europe, France and Italy — have significantly developped art of lettering in the early Middle Ages. Most of them are found in illuminated manuscripts.
↳ Pages from Lindisfarne Gospels, Northumberland (modern UK), 715–720
Imagination did not stop, and slowly ornamental decorations turned into full-scale paintings inside letters.
↳ Inhabited Initial E. Montecassino, Italy. 1153
Some more whimsical examples.
Gradually, decorative elements moved from just Capital letters to all vowels and consonants in use. The process was also driven by the invention of the printing press which made book production much faster.
↳ Page from the Gutenberg Bible, 1455
Next significant change to the Letter happened after the industrial revolution: it became irreplaceable part of advertising.
↳ Coca-Cola lettering by Frank M. Robertson
Industrial revolution also re-sparked interest to everything floral and natural motives in visual art — people were tired of straight lines and rationality. Welcome, Art-Nouvuae!
↳ Posters and advertising by Eugene Grasset, 1880-s
This type of lettering was especially loved by the Jugendstihl artsits of the early XX century!
↳ Posters and advertising by Otto Eckmann, late 1890-s
And some more advertisment!
↳ Lettering for advertising by Lucian Berhard
If looking at letters above made you think of psychedelic rock, then you are not wrong! In the 60-s many designers drew inspiration from floral designs of Jugendstihl posters for their musical posters. The whole gang was there: Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead.
The tradition continued well into the end of XX century — reimagined multiple times, of course! Expressive naturalistic details were replaced by soled shapes. Yes, like that Paul Nicholson’s logo.
↳ Shape from Armin Hofmann’s Graphic Design Manual.
Art of the letter is very alive and kicking even now!
↳ Works by Vanök.Regular, author of LETTER course in käik
If you are eager to explore art of lettering even more, here are some suggestions from käik.pictures:
Encyclopedia of Comparative Letterforms, Norman S. Weinberg
Graphic Design Manual, Armin Hofmann
A History of Lettering, Nicolete Gray
And join LETTER class