Being able to vector your hand lettering can help you to develop original and innovative vector design. But the art is a difficult one to master as the smooth curves we desire may not be possible to attain at first. With the right practice and knowledge of some of the minor techniques, you can be able to recreate your beautiful hand lettering. Let us check out the steps:
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The first step, as always, is scanning your lettering. Just scan the design and open the image in Photoshop.
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Next, you would need to adjust the levels and contrast. Adjust these elements until you are able to see the lettering more clearly.
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As the next step, open this adjusted file in Adobe Illustrator, the software you would be using to create vector images. Reduce the opacity of the file to 10%. This makes it very easy to trace over it.
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Your image would be in running letters and would also have many letters. You should make sure that you are vectoring each letter separately. This can help you to move the shapes around if the need arises.
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The Pen tool is your best friend for this task. You can use this tool to trace each letter, by placing anchor points on the “extrema”. The extrema are the furthest points of each letter.
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Another good friend for you would be the shape tool. Using the shape tool wherever possible can add to the levels of alteration of your lettering. For instance, if you can use the Ellipse Tool for creating the circle for the letter “g”. The use behind this is that it can be easily altered to fit the letterform.
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Once you have completed creating your hand lettering vector artwork, just go through your artwork and check it overall. If you find any inconsistencies, correct them and make necessary adjustments.
Some tips to ensure quality hand lettering artwork are:
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Use the technique some refer to as “crossover”. This technique can be used to control the widths and angles of parts of your letterforms. This technique also helps you to move and alter one portion of your letterform without disturbing another.
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Using the Width Tool can also do wonders. This tool helps you to decide how you want the weight to be distributed across the letterform. The Width tool can definitely help speed up vectoring certain letterforms, especially script. The only downside of this tool would be that when you try to expand your stroke, it forms a massive amount of extra anchor points, which are unnecessary. Also, if you wanted to make edits after it was expanded, you would require the original stroke to edit.
Mastering the art of vectoring letterforms can help you to create a unique style of vector art. If you are in search of a quality vector artwork services, you can avail the services of the best vector artwork agency.
