Design organic type

Design organic type

Sarah Coleman reveals a digital shortcut to recreate an organic hand-made type effect, usually achieved using lots of ink and bleach.

Decorative, hand-made illustration can really enhance your lettering and bring a quirky sense of individuality to your work. One of my most popular styles, for example, is created with a specific type of nib, ink and bleach.

However, working by hand can have some major disadvantages: it can be fiddly or messy, the piece must be done in one take, and it's difficult to alter when clients want changes. This project walks you through how to recreate a similar look digitally, allowing you to make changes throughout the process. Crucially it also gives you speed of turnaround, which is particularly important when you're working to a tight deadline.

I've used hand-drawn lettering in the following steps, and concentrated on preserving the integrity and beauty of the autographic line, even when it's turned into a vector - an important issue for any lettering artist. I then use this type to digitally create an organic, watery, textured piece that looks every bit as though it's been dried to a crisp in the sun.

Click here to download the support files (10.8MB)

Click here to download the tutorial for free

Computer Arts magazine subscriptions

Get our newsletter!

Sign up today to receive weekly design tips, as well as details of our latest issue the day it goes on sale!

CA Collection
Computer Arts Presents: The Design Studio Handbook

@computerarts

site stat collection