Learn calligraphy online at istilllovecalligraphy.com. You’ll learn the basics of pointed pen, flourishing, addressing envelopes and developing your own style. The course comes complete with a beginner kit of supplies and personal coaching from calligraphy experts Melissa Esplin and Erika Paulsen. Click here to find out more.

Thanks for the shout out Creative Market!!

Not quite ready to dip your toes into the deep ocean of pointed pen calligraphy? Try your hand at some brush lettering!

It’s been a LOOONG time since I’ve shared a tutorial here! Life is just passing me by at the moment, but settling down on the horizon. I’m very much looking forward to getting back into the blogging swing of things.

I was on KSL’s Studio 5 sharing a segment on how to letter with watercolor. Using a brush and watercolor is very forgiving as it caters towards a looser style. Lettering in your own handwriting, uneven kerning, inconsistent line weights are all a-okay here.

The possibilities with watercolor are so endless. Artwork, greeting cards, business cards, gift tags. The list goes on! Check out my pinterest board for more DIY ideas using watercolor. Let’s talk about how to letter our own simple greeting cards!

Supplies

watercolors (this is my favorite starter kit)

large jar of hot water

brushes

pencil

eraser

paper

pipette or eyedropper (optional)

You can certainly use crayola watercolors, but an intermediate or student set will make the colors more vibrant and you’ll have more control over the pigments.

You’ll want a round brush or a liner brush. Both would be great. The maroon brush in the image above is a size 8 round Kolinsky sable. It’s SUUPER awesome. However, I found a little set of 4 synthetic brushes (blue striped ones above) at Michael’s that includes size 10 and 12 rounds and size 6 and 8 liners (here’s another set). Liner brushes are long and skinny, round brushes are round with a sharp point at the end. Both provide great drama (the liner a little more), but make for a completely different touch.

We’re making greeting cards so the paper is really up to you. You can cut down watercolor paper to greeting card size, or you can use a nice cardstock. Both will work great because we’re not using a lot of water. Watercolor paper will give the work more texture and cardstock will give a smoother finish. For this tutorial I’m using watercolor paper.

Click “read more” for the rest of the tutorial!

I’ve been lettering for some time. I’ve got some experience under my belt, but I still like to rough out what I’m going to write in pencil. If you’re not worrying about spacing or centering, you can freehand. I wanted to make sure my composition was nicely centered. The key here is to touch the paper as lightly as you possibly can. Can you see the pencil? BARELY. It’ll make erasing much easier so you won’t rough up the surface of the paper or destroy the little details in the watercolor.

With a clean surface all prepped and your watercolors soaking in warm/hot water (SEE THIS TUTORIAL for why), wet your brush. Dip it all the way in and swirl it around. Water is your BFF.

Dip your brush in the pan and load it up with pigment.

Transfer the pigment to a flat tray (usually the lid of your watercolor set), mix the desired pigment and load the brush with pigment. The key to getting a good controlled line is to twist your brush in the pigment before lettering.

Then start lettering. This goes quickly. Unlike calligraphy and penmanship, you can go relatively fast through this process. Any time you stroke downward, add pressure for a wider line.

Any time you stroke upward, release pressure so only the tip of your brush touches the page. You’ll get nice variation in line-weight this way. You can use this technique in print and script styles.

Boom. You’re done! I added a gold swash to the bottom and plan on sending this with a gold envelope. Super easy. This project will take you under a minute. Why not cut out a bunch of cardstock and make a whole set of stationery to last the whole year?

(Cover image art for the segment is by Angie Makes)

Additionally, while the paint is wet, drop spots of an analogous (neighboring) color in there for a mottled ombre look.

*This tutorial/freebie is free for personal use and should not be distributed/republished without my consent. Altering any files is NOT ALLOWED. If you would like to use this freebie for commercial purposes, please email me. Thanks!