Type Anatomy 101
Extract from Hand-Lettering for Everyone • By Cristina Vanko • Published by Michael O'Mara Books
About
Hand-Lettering for Everyone
Just like the bones in your body, letterforms have names for all the structures and details that make up their shape.
Some of my favourite exercises are simply reviewing the anatomy of type, and seeing what I can do to differentiate my letters by taking a certain aspect and exploring all the options imaginable.
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Spanky H. favorited Type Anatomy 101
27 Feb 01:21
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JadeSucksAtLife favorited Type Anatomy 101
23 Feb 15:53
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Michael O'Mara Books published his project Type Anatomy 101
23 Feb 09:00
You Will Need
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Step 1DOWNSTROKES (TAILS)
Will it curl? Will it be straight and rigid? Will it curve? Will it look like a cat’s tail? Will it act as a flourish-y element to underline the word? -
Step 2OPENINGS (COUNTERS, EYES)
Will it be wide open? Will there be very little space? Will it have a boxy shape? Will the axis be dramatic? -
Step 3CROSSBARS
Will it loop? Will it cross at an angle? Will it extend past the stem for extra emphasis? -
Step 4APEXES & VERTEXES
Will it be a straight line? Will it have some sort of adornment?There are 206 bones in the human body. Now, there’s no excuse not to memorize all of the anatomy of type, right?
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Step 5LEGS
Will it extend below the baseline? Will it be curvy? -
Step 6BRACKETS
Will it have a distinctive shape? Will it curve deeply? Will it taper? -
Step 7SPINES
Will it be curvy? Will it be horizontal? Will it be vertical? -
Step 8BEAKS
Will it be large? Will it be dramatic? How pronounced will it be?Next time you’re out with friends, throw some type anatomy into casual conversation. You will immediately be the coolest cat in the group.
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