Posted by Billy Bob on January 19, 2002
Kent SmithI always swore that I would never "sell out" and abondon my hand lettering abilities for a darn computer. Well, now after two years of using one, I've become (almost) totally obsessed w. the things. These days I spend 95 percent of my "creative time" working on my Imac. Also reading various computer mags and related books, writing, web surfing and (I admit it) playing games. Now I understand the "PC enrapturement" that I had witnessed in my colleagues.
I feel sad to abondon a skill that took me years to learn, but most jobs don't require it and few clients appreciate. In fact, "Letterheads" seem to be the only people left who are interested in nice hand lettering.
In our "fast and cheap" based world and marketplace, this was inevitable and financially necessary. But, do any of you highly skilled hand lettering "artists" feel this to be a "sell out" and a waste of talent? Is it a shame (or hypocritical) for us to disregard a traditional, centurys old and highly developed hand craft for a newfangled technology? Just wondering...
CamNot a sell out at all. I agree with everyone else and would add that those of us who learned letter form the the purest way, can use the technology mush better and more to our advantage than those who cannot hand letter. We had that very discussion with a few Ltterheads at Mark's last Saturday. As an example, my Dad never felt that he was abandoning the trade when he screen printed a dozen or so signs instead of handlettering them. The "how" has never been that important. Just be glad you have those extra skills that will keep you ahead of the competition who do not.
Mike JacksonI personally don't believe that use of a particular tool - be it a computer or anything else - constitutes a "sellout". The ony sellout you can make is to your integrity as an artist and a person. If your use of a computer is based on a desire to push out higher quantities of mediocre work at prices below your competitors, you sold out long before you bought your computer. If, on the other hand, you are using it to increase your efficiency and enhance your ability to do creative work, then you haven't and won't.
Looking around at the top people in this trade, the people who write the trade articles and win design awards, you see that all of them are skilled in both hand work and computer design. They use the tools available without agonizing over whether letters come from a brush or a plotter. The nice thing about it, for me, is the choice. I have and use a computer, but still hand letter certain signs by CHOICE, not because I have no other means of output. I would no more throw out my brushes and 1-shot than I would want to go back to doing hand layout and hand lettering every sign that comes through my shop - and I did just that for the first seven years in business and know what it's like. The two major improvements in my business have been the computer and finding a reliable employee; between th two I have doubled my income over the past six years, while continuing to improve as a designer. Would I toss all that over some internal debate over being perceived as a "sellout"? Not on your life.
Rick SacksHi Billy,
It has been my experience, watching quite a few of my friends in the business, that the ones who resist the hardest and longest eventually get computerized in a big way! Several names come to mind, but I won't mention them. Despite our own subjective values, in the end, they are only tools that help us get to a similar distination using a different road.
Mike Jackson
CarolWe all wrestle with that question.
Many years back I cleared our homesite with handtools crawling on my knees. We used chain saw mills to make our lumber and build our home. We hauled water up in buckets.
Today we have electricity powering a pump, use power tools, recently had a D6 cat expand a clearing, drive trucks instead of horses, etc.
It's not just abandoning hand lettering, it's finding how far we can comfortably expand with the changing technology and still retain our valued human qualities.
In the summer we go camping. It is very similar to how life was for us thirty years ago. We can enjoy both. Handlettering and computer lettering can also both be enjoyed. The thing that strikes me is, had I not hauled water in a bucket to bathe, I might not appreciate the shower as much.Knowing how to build a letter and layout a sign makes my computer skill greater. Find where you are comfortable and rest a while.
I certainly agree with Rick. And you don't need to abandon your skills. You might want to shift disciplines. You're pretty close anyway. Calligraphy and Fine Art still welcome hand lettering. Or embrace them all. Design is still the important element.
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads