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Mother’s Day is coming up in America. It is a great time to work on our card making skills. We will be concentrating on the importance of lettering and I will walk you through the way I plan the card’s front and inside page. I will also take this opportunity to introduce the different markers that may be available to you and talk about the care of them. All markers are water based and washable. If you need more background on Lettering in art you need to check out Lettering in Pop Art and Comic Strips . Much of this video came about from Jacki’s work with Loveleigh University, Loveleighloops.com. I really dislike videos that are longer than 40 minutes. I am sorry to say that this video is 90 minutes. However, it has very detailed instructions. Therefore, thanks to my wonderful videographer, Jacki, we were able to give links to a short version and a long version. It is up to you to determine which video you will need. I also encourage practicing the lettering before putting it on your card. So much of the long video is me showing you how to practice and how to correct your mistakes.
Supplies
- Strathmore Sketchbook
- Pentel mechanical pencil
- Kneaded eraser
- Tombow Dual Tip Brush Pen
- Pentel Sign touch Brush Pen
- Canson watercolor paper
- Fine rigger or liner brush preferably not natural hair
- Water
- Q-tips
Instructions
- It is important for you to figure out a consistent alphabet that you will be working with. In an effort to make you comfortable with the card front I have included a template of the lettering that I have used. To get the correcting letter sizing there are specific instructions included in the video about how to adjust your printer settings if needed.
- We will need to “cut” or “tear” the watercolor paper to meet the needs of a 5 x 7 envelope. I prefer the torn edge.
- Now you need to get the letters on to your watercolor paper. Before you put this on your good card use your scraps to figure out which method and which colors you will be using on your card. Although You can use tracing paper; those lines will be very dark outlined, not disappear magically and create dents in your paper. The water based marker technique we used will teach you how to achieve a disappearing guideline and let you trace the letters on to the paper with a water based marker.
- Use your practice letters to try different outline colors and determine which colors will disappear best on your card.
- This is a new technique we are using with the pens. We will be putting the color down (please refer to video for all of the options). Special warning here *Do not put your pen tip in water! Using your paint pallet apply the color and then with a slightly damp brush pick up that color and start working on the letters. Build your letters with this method. Work with one line of the letter at a time.
- Remember to let the water do the work when painting the butterflies. Put a layer of water on the paper and then drop in the color with a brush.
- The inside of the card is just as important as the outside. For your convenience I have created a little poem for you to fill in the blanks.
- You are the _________________ (color) __________________(where you see that color). Please do not use black
- ________________________(now say how it makes your feel).
- Mistakes happen. In the long version of the video look at time 1:22:00. I show you how to correct an oops after you let it dry.
- In the long video I talk about how to pick and care for your markers. I have included a link to a page that answers some questions that might arise. These tips come from the makers of the pens.
Card making is an art in itself. Not only do you have to be an artist to illustrate it you also have to be a writer o convey your feelings. These are just some of the tools that a card artist might use. The best thing to take away from this experience is the importance of practice. Your practice will improve your efforts and give you a card you can be proud of. But I know mothers, they love anything you make them. I can guarantee that this card will be kept for years and years!