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Signmaking 101 : Beginner & Newbie Large Letter Layout

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

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Roger R.
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:06 pm
Location: Bessemer City, NC 28016

Signmaking 101 : Beginner & Newbie Large Letter Layout

Post by Roger R. »

This post is for beginners and newbies basically. I think most of the people that hand letter large letters already know this tip.

I have used this method for many years, and it was probably one of the first "tricks" that I learned while lettering walls.

Letters in most logos and fonts are usually easy to reproduce on a large scale. The straight letters are not the problem, just measure them and scale-em-up. The rounded letters like C, G, O, and sometimes S are harder to lay out, especially when they are larger than 4 or 5 foot in size.

First, read Mike Jackson's July post on drawing ovals with a string. "Learn" to draw ovals this way. Then, just make the "ovals" for the inside and outside lines of the rounded letters. Grids don't work as well, as the lines tend to get a little out of shape and wavy. 10, 15, 20 foot letters are no problem to layout with this method. Look closely at your letters and you can see the "ovals" used in their design... simple!
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