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Real Brush Lettering

Real Brush Lettering

In this workshop we will explore the fundamentals of the true “brush lettering”, that is, we will make lettering with a brush considering valuable type design aspects such as expression, style, composition, rhythm and balance between negative-positive space. We will use the brush not as a final finishing tool, but as a mean of sketching and exploration.

We will work very similar to the way sign-painters or lettering artists do, through a sketching and adjustment process until we reach a final piece where the brush was the main source of personality and originality.

Level Intermediate

This workshop is aimed at people with basic knowledge of drawing and calligraphy.

Requirements:

  • ½ inch and 1 inch flat brushes
  • Any additional brush
  • Indian ink for calligraphy or professional tempera
  • Tracing paper Drawing tools: pencil, eraser,
    markers, Wite-out.
  • Ruler
  • Scissors
  • Tape or solid paper glue

Instructor

Gen Ramírez

Gen Ramírez is a typeface designer, graphic designer, calligrapher and sign-painter from Guadalajara, Mexico. His strong interest and passion for brushes and letterforms developed since a young age as he was taught mastery of sign-painting in his father’s workshop. It later led him to graduate from TypeMedia at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague as well as completing both Type@Cooper Extended program in San Francisco and Condensed in New York.

He teaches calligraphy, sign-painting, and type design workshops and leads Letrastica Festival, a conference in Guadalajara. With strong roots in an organic approach to letterforms, his work focuses on embracing both the analog and digital dimensions of design. He loves adding a dash of code in there to spice things up too! His work has been recognized by Latin American Typography Biennial in 2016 and 2018.


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