WeMake :: connect. create. collaborate: Lovely Letters, An interview with Mary Kate McDevitt

Anonymous asked: What tools/pens do you use the most when lettering?

I use uni-ball and prismacolor pens, fountain pens with a variety of nibs, kaweko sport pen and brushes. I like the Winsor & Newton series 7 brush. I’m also really liking my brush pen, not sure what it’s called. It depends on the project but I probably use the uni-ball pens the most.

Anonymous asked: First of all, I think your work is incredible. I have a couple of questions : What classes would you recommend to a college student looking to become more advanced at custom lettering? And after you finish a rough sketch how do you clean it up?

Hello! Thanks so much. Can’t say for sure. I took design and illustration classes, my school didn’t offer classes that focused on lettering. It was something I kind of learned and practiced on my own. But my background on design and illustration is very helpful in terms of the overall design and concept. When I get my rough sketch looking just right, I trace it on a light table. Sometimes I do a tiny rough sketch that I really like so I scan it in, enlarge it and print it out then trace it. Then I trace it again and again till it’s right and ink it up using pens or brushes. Thanks for your question!

Anonymous asked: Hello! I absolutely love your work. It's really fresh and inspiring. I'm starting to consider graphic design as my possible career, but I still got a looong way to go :) Anyway, I would like to learn more about hand lettering. How can you learn hand lettering and what are the best ways to develop my skills? What were your steps? Thank you!

Hello! Thank you very much. I got into hand lettering just from a love of drawing and making things by hand. When I started design in college, my projects had a very hand made feel with textures and form so often times, putting in a random font felt very arbitrary to me so I would practice different ways of lettering that would fit with my project. I was always inspired by turn of the century design so I would turn to books on vintage tins, art deco posters and packaging and I would pick up on the unique ways they shaped type around image or the over the top decorative lettering and I would incorporate that into certain projects.

Since college, I’ve kept the same inspirations and continue to use similar ideas for my projects. I take inspiration from vintage type design but most of the time I let the concept of the project drive my inspiration stylistically. With lots of practice and exploring I’ve learned to polish my lettering skills and and continue to do so with the help of my Handwritten Letters project and working in my sketchbook.

I wish you the best of luck in your graphic design career! 

Cheers,
Mary Kate