How to make an 'S'
Well, I guess the first things is - I know it is not calligraphy in the strictest sense of the word. But I am having trouble with my hands. I am learning to do certain things on the computer which will allow me to continue to use skills built up over the years.
This was designed on my home computer using CorelDRAW. This letter is a part of a heading for a certificate. Each letter in the heading was designed in much the same way. I use a 4" × 5" graphics tablet with a cordless pen for much of the artwork I do on the computer. I certainly won't say you cannot do this with a trackball device, or even with a mouse, but if you are serious about working with graphics on a computer I urge you to try a tablet and cordless pen combination.
I have been asked about how this “hand lettering” was done, and that is what inspired this little tutorial. I hope you enjoy it.
 1 First I use the pen from my graphics tablet to draw each stroke by dotting an outline, as if I were creating a “connect-the-dot” picture.
Each “pen stroke” is drawn as a separate object.
I place them in the approximate position they would be if they were drawn with a real calligraphy nib. They can be moved in relation to one another.
 2 At each “dot” there is an “editing node” which can be moved in relation to any other node. At this stage the line connecting each node is kept as “straight.” I use quite a few of these nodes at this stage.
The more nodes you use, the better you can describe a shape. Later I will discard many of these nodes. (The nodes are shown here as small black squares - for this example.)
NOTE A scanned letter, versus a drawn letter, may have many more nodes, especially at higher resolutions. Most are unnecessary in the final letter and should be removed. It can make your printing go much easier. Good letters take time here as well.
 3 When I have the objects fairly close to a final position I then “select” all the nodes on an object. I then convert all the straight lines into “curves”, except those at real corners. Each of these nodes can still be edited.
Each node has a line coming into it and one going out of it - all these can be changed to infinite combinations. I choose a very smooth curve for a letter like this.
You must make sure the thickness of a stroke will show up when it is reduced to final size, for display on the computer or for output to a printer.
I usually work in a square of four inches, with an area outside of that for ascenders, decenders, and for extra wide letters.
Here are two small aids I use to assist me in maintaining those consistent stroke weights. Create them as you need them.
The first one is made from four circles. The thickest part of a stroke to its' thinnest. |
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The second one is a set of circles which can be rotated to keep track of pen angle, and the thickness of strokes at various points in each stroke. It is “see-thru”.
Simply scale it to fit each set of letters you are drawing on screen. |
 4 When the shape of each “stroke” of my letter is even closer to what I want, I then “weld” each object to the others. This makes all the parts into one object which can still be edited.
First I get rid of some of the extra nodes caused by the welding, and then select and discard other un-necessary nodes.
The term welding is just a choice of words by the software maker to describe a particular action.
5 Some final touch-ups for overall shape. At this stage you can make the strokes heavier or lighter, longer or shorter, closer or farther apart, stretch them or compress them - etcetera - as your heart desires.
 6 I will often choose particular nodes for removal for design reasons. But - you can select all the nodes at once in this program, and use a single command to allow the program to pick which nodes to discard. This is not a good method.
If you discard too many the description of the letter will not be accurate, if there are more than are necessary you can have other problems. There is generally a fairly wide range of an acceptable number of nodes for any final graphic.
Smaller numbers translate to better printing. Each node has a mathematical description for it. Less memory used equals faster, etc. And some programs have limits on how many nodes will be recognized.
 7 Here we have a completed letter without decoration, but the outlines have been filled with color. At this point you can dispose of the outlines themselves or leave them on the letter for other effects.
You can make the letter smaller or larger for whatever need you might have.
Make a Copy of it if you want to do more to the letter. Save the original off to the side.
Using the copy, THEN decide if any decoration is desired. Draw on the “copy” only. When it looks good to you - weld any decoration (which then becomes a part of the letter) to the copy. Do any final touch-ups it needs. Save this copy also. Now you have two letters - one plain to use again and again - and one decorated for a particular use.
 8 Play with yet another copy. On this one I added a little pen drag loop coming out of the top stroke of the letter, added a light drop shadow, and it is ready to use in my heading.
 I Love this S - turned out nice.
FINAL NOTE – This method is an attempt to retain all the vitality, appearance, and the “feel” of true pen lettering. But it is not as meditative as calligraphy.
Each of the letters I work on take about an hour to get the way I want them to look. This is about the same as hand drawn letters or a heading written a hundred or more times for a title, which is not at all unusual.
The real bonus of working on the computer is … Once a letter is done you can make repeats - at any size, change colors, add decoration, change the width or height - over and over again.
I hope you learned something about using the computer and that the letter looks good to you. It is really not as complicated as it may sound once you try it.
BUT - Keep using your pen - I sure miss using one.
If you are doing this on your computer, and you actually think I can be of some assistance - please feel free to contact me. I use CorelDraw, Fontographer, Serif products, and others also. Let me know if it helps in any way, or if you would like to see more articles like this one.barry@letteringa2z.com
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