The ABC's of Hand Lettering by Abbey Sy

a hand lettering I made as inspired by Abbey Sy's The ABC's of Hand Lettering

 During High School, I was the type who would use different 'artistic' methods to make the notebook look full, albeit the sparse amount of actual notes. Because I lack the talent with lettering, I remember asking a good friend Clarence to do the lettering on my notebooks.He would make such beautiful scripts with a few careless strokes and I'd envy him the whole time.
One day, I just decided I can do it myself and started copying scripts from books and the internet. As time goes, I tried creating my own style. It's not as pretty or as well thought off as most artists I see in IG. I really rarely do hand lettering at work (I hardly write at all) and I think the skill faded too.
Now that I'm a mom, I'm finding hand lettering useful for making stuff with and for my daughter. It comes handy too for parties as I am finding myself wanting to DIY everything - invites, thank you cards, table displays, name tags, etc.
If you are anything like me who wants to learn or improve their skills with hand lettering but aren't quiet sure how to begin, then The ABCs of Hand Lettering from Summit Books is a perfect read. Written by freelance designer, workshop instructor, creative entrepreneur, and letterer Abbey Sy, the book guides you through a wonderful new hobby with basic techniques, helpful tips, and lots of encouraging inspiration.
"Hand lettering requires a thorough understanding of your ideas, combined with a bit of technical skill and a whole lot of passion, patience, and practice to make it work," says 22-year old artist in her opening letter to readers. "Letters and type have a strong power to express words and ideas visually, which is why drawing letters is one of the more interesting ways to showcase are that people can appreciate.: This book is Abbey's first, and is the first book on lettering by a Filipina author. In The ABCs of Hand Lettering, know the materials you need and the terms to learn as you get started; learn the difference between serif, sans serif, and decorative fonts; and find out how to use font weights to depict certain moods and emotions. Next, find out how to put your work together: from drafting to making the layout to inking and embellishing.
For inspiration, marvel at the work of other letterers featured in the book, such as Risa Rodil, Patrick Cabral, Ella Lama, John Ed Vera, Fozzy Castro-Dayrit, Jelvin Base, Googly goeys, June Digan, Alessa Lanot, Anina Rubio, Alexis Ventura, Christine Herrin, and Carl Chua.
Lastly, prepare to get your work out there with tips on practicing and finding your own style, and important things to keep in mind throughout your hand lettering journey.
The book launch and workshop of The ABCs of Hand Lettering was held on June 20, 2015 at National Bookstore, Glorietta 1. The first 50 participants got the chance to take part in the one-hour workshop and had their names personally hand lettered by Abby Sy. My favorite part will be the inspirations from different artists. It's really wonderful to see how hand lettering can turn any canvas to a work of art. The tools are helpful too, specially the different types of pens that we can use. I find it kid of intimidating when I initially tried the calligraphy pen and thought that lettering was not for me. Turns out, there are lots of other mediums that I can try and experiment with.

The ABCs of Hand Lettering is now available in bookstores, newstands, convenience stores, and supermarkets nationwide for P295.
{the is a press release and I received a copy of the book from @nbsalert}