Lettering – Fonts for comics and graphic novels
on January 7, 2010 at 8:00 am
To start things off I want to apologize for using the Comic Sans font in my pages as seen above. I just learned a bunch of stuff lately about my lack of skill and understanding of lettering and now I'm kinda embarrassed with what I've posted. I will be updating the lettering fonts really soon so worry not! Because of this eye opening experience I have decided to do some posts specifically about this subject.
First of all I'd like to thank Jim Campbell for being the first person to point this out to me. He re-lettered some of my pages to show me how much better it could look if executed correctly and helped me see many things I was overlooking.
To list a few things that I was doing wrong:
- Using Comic Sans font. Apparently it's an incomplete font and very hated by letterers.
- Using an I with the cross bars in the middle of a word. (BIG NO NO)
- Words completely unvaried. Not showing any emphasis on key words.
- Not even thinking that anyone really cared about lettering.
First, here is a link that breaks down all the basics of comic lettering. It's very helpful just to understand strange symbols and to know what people are accustomed to.
Comic Book Lettering Grammar and Tradition – Nate Piekos
Second, here are two sites that sell comic lettering fonts and some are even free.
Blambot Fonts (comic lettering fonts and some free fonts)
Comicraft Fonts (these are really professional looking but cost money)
(Thanks to Ryan Christopher Lord for giving me these links.)
Third, here are some tutorials on Lettering:
Comicraft lettering tips and tricks
Jim Campbell's lettering guide using Illustrator (download link)
So now that I have discovered the basics of graphic novel lettering, I need to update my pages to cool the burning hatred fueled from frivolous overuse of Comic Sans.
Yeah, I can only imagine how much you learn by hand lettering it all. I tired it about 15 years ago and learned that I should never try it again. haha. But on the same subject, I just learned some new tricks about making your own fonts which I will share on Thursday. I think it's the best of both worlds. But we will see.
Yep it's complex stuff, I'd suggest having a go at hand lettering even if it's just an exercise to learn the fundamentals of the craft. I've been hand lettering and you learn a lot by doing.
Great posting. I have been going through a similar process trying to improve the lettering for an upcoming project. Always so much to learn…and learn again!
I really hate fonts in web-comics that have the 'f' that looks like a 'P'. HATE.
Seriously man, I’m learning something new every day from your blogs Jason – I think I’m about 60% of the way in the ‘Making Graphic Novels’ section.
You’ve convinced me to go through all my latest coloured pages of GRAND HUNTER and fix/enhance all the dialogued that came with it (with accordance to the industry standards explained Nate Piekos’ Comic Book Grammar and Tradition).
I didn’t even realise how big of a ‘No no’ it is to have a captilised ‘I’ in the middle of words (with some exceptions to the rule).
Thank you very much Jason. You continue to a hero for budding graphic novelists. *thumbs up*
Don’t forget that with Comicraft, the best day of the year to buy fonts there is January 1st. They’re all $20.12 this year.