Jump to content

Sign writing question


Featured Posts

I’m wanting to make myself some signs. 
I’ll make do for now with paints that are at hand, which are oil based. 
And I’m painting on wood. 
Willing to spend the winter testing my skills. 
 

I understand after a bit of font googling that the style I’m after is ‘brush script’. 
 

My question is will a simple ‘pointed’ brush achieve a brush script style font?

 

And while I’m at it, are there any left handed sign writers out there ? I’m sure I’d find it a lot easier if I were right handed.  Is there a font that’s more left hand friendly?

 

thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Goliath said:

 Is there a font that’s more left hand friendly?

You could write your signs in Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, Urdu, or any other language that is written right to left, so you aren't trailing your sleeve through the wet paint.

12 minutes ago, Goliath said:

My question is will a simple ‘pointed’ brush achieve a brush script style font?

I've never tried this, but my understanding is that there are a variety of brushes used, including flat ones as well as pointed ones, or even brushes with a slope across the ends of the bristles.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

You could write your signs in Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, Urdu, or any other language that is written right to left, so you aren't trailing your sleeve through the wet paint.

I've never tried this, but my understanding is that there are a variety of brushes used, including flat ones as well as pointed ones, or even brushes with a slope across the ends of the bristles.


 

I suppose I could roll me sleeve up 😃

 

or teach myself to write right handed, which wouldn’t be so hard for sign painting. 
 

I do like the idea of Arabic 

 

It was a simple question about the brush really, I guess the answer is buy a range and see what suits. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, Goliath said:

I’m wanting to make myself some signs. 
I’ll make do for now with paints that are at hand, which are oil based. 
And I’m painting on wood. 
Willing to spend the winter testing my skills. 
 

I understand after a bit of font googling that the style I’m after is ‘brush script’. 
 

My question is will a simple ‘pointed’ brush achieve a brush script style font?

 

And while I’m at it, are there any left handed sign writers out there ? I’m sure I’d find it a lot easier if I were right handed.  Is there a font that’s more left hand friendly?

 

thanks

@dave moore may be able to give you some advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I suppose you could start with the last letter of a line and work your way left to the first letter, but this would require more preparation and planning where more than one line was involved to ensure that the first letters on each line were aligned with each other.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Ronaldo47 said:

I suppose you could start with the last letter of a line and work your way left to the first letter, but this would require more preparation and planning where more than one line was involved to ensure that the first letters on each line were aligned with each other.


yea, makes sense, but even the letters themselves can be more suitable to a right hand. 
 

one method I’ve used in the past over years is draw out the letters in block then just in fill bit that’s the wrong approach. It’s the brush that shapes the letter. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.vimartsigns.co.uk/signwriting_course.htm

 

Picked up a leaflet about this at Burton. " 5-day comprehensive signwriting course ... basics of traditional signwriting, from preparation, layout and design, to shading, lining and brushwork, and you will have your own painted sign (and new-found skills) to take home with you at the end of the week ... Coole Acres Fishery, Coole Lane, Newhall, Audlem ... plenty of space to temporarily moor at the marina"

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did a weekend sign writing course with Phil Speight at Bollington Wharf. Don't know if they have more planned, but they don't seem to have updated the website since 2020.

The one thing the course did teach me was that if I want Belfast to look well sign written, I should pay someone else to do it!

But one of the other course participants, with no previous experience, completed the main exercise in half the time and proceeded to add annotations and embellishments which went well beyond anything we had been taught.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, PeterScott said:

http://www.vimartsigns.co.uk/signwriting_course.htm

 

Picked up a leaflet about this at Burton. " 5-day comprehensive signwriting course ... basics of traditional signwriting, from preparation, layout and design, to shading, lining and brushwork, and you will have your own painted sign (and new-found skills) to take home with you at the end of the week ... Coole Acres Fishery, Coole Lane, Newhall, Audlem ... plenty of space to temporarily moor at the marina"

 

That’s interesting. 
And it’s a similar cost to what I imagined it’d be to pay a sign writer to do what I want. 
Worth considering but as David Mack points out, sometimes it’s best to let the professionals do the work. 
 

However, I’ll have a crack at it, and work it out, something to do over the winter 😃


 

Edited by Goliath
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Alec's wife here who has stolen the computer to reply to this thread. I am a beginner on signwriting, but have got a few suggestions, and I am left-handed. If you have any coach gloss, you can use it to create a reusable board to practice on. Only suggest that paint as it is easy to paint onto and to paint over. With the left handed/right handed bit, if you draw out the lettering with the spacing first (I use a white stabilo write on any surface pencil - it washes off with water) you can work on the curves and then go to the straight lines - so right to left to avoid smudging work. If you have fast drying paint and support your painting arm with your other arm or a stick, you could avoid smudging anyhow. Also, when doing the top of curves, it is best to have masking tape running across the top line so you roughly paint the top of the curve and then put it in neatly when you have peeled it off. Looks much neater. Sorry if you already knew this!

 

As for brushes, you need a range. The flat brushes are excellent for long, wide straight strokes. I like the chisel tip for thinner lines and curves and the round tip ones can also help create a good curve. A lining brush can also be useful if you need a very fine line to your lettering. There will be some differences between what people use as it will be partially down to your painting style. Do get really good brushes though, the cheap ones give in quickly and leave a poor result ( as I now know!). I got mine through Craftmaster.

 

Phil Speight is doing more courses btw - find him on facebook or eventbrite. Worth doing - really learnt a lot.

 

Marta

  • Greenie 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, agg221 said:

Alec's wife here who has stolen the computer to reply to this thread. I am a beginner on signwriting, but have got a few suggestions, and I am left-handed. If you have any coach gloss, you can use it to create a reusable board to practice on. Only suggest that paint as it is easy to paint onto and to paint over. With the left handed/right handed bit, if you draw out the lettering with the spacing first (I use a white stabilo write on any surface pencil - it washes off with water) you can work on the curves and then go to the straight lines - so right to left to avoid smudging work. If you have fast drying paint and support your painting arm with your other arm or a stick, you could avoid smudging anyhow. Also, when doing the top of curves, it is best to have masking tape running across the top line so you roughly paint the top of the curve and then put it in neatly when you have peeled it off. Looks much neater. Sorry if you already knew this!

 

As for brushes, you need a range. The flat brushes are excellent for long, wide straight strokes. I like the chisel tip for thinner lines and curves and the round tip ones can also help create a good curve. A lining brush can also be useful if you need a very fine line to your lettering. There will be some differences between what people use as it will be partially down to your painting style. Do get really good brushes though, the cheap ones give in quickly and leave a poor result ( as I now know!). I got mine through Craftmaster.

 

Phil Speight is doing more courses btw - find him on facebook or eventbrite. Worth doing - really learnt a lot.

 

Marta

I didn’t know most of that so thank you. 
There’s lots of tips in there cheers. 
 

I think like you say find the brushes that suit. I’ll get a range and just have a crack at it. 
 

Sometimes I’ll wet a brush in my mouth and simply see what marks/lettering it will make on a piece of something that’ll show the wet. If that makes sense. Shapes the brush. 
And I practise making letters. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But as a left hander don’t you find making ‘backward’ curves difficult. 
 

When I was a child I was given an ink pen with a crooked nib. Which helped tremendously. Stopped the scratching against paper. 
I notice a lot of left handers will twist their hand around the pen to pull it across the paper. 
Left handers push the pen, right handers pull it across. 
And making a nice curve is the hard part for me when lettering with left hand

Edited by Goliath
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, agg221 said:

I tend to use both hands - I swop the hand I use to deal with anything I find difficult. Takes patience but seems to work for me. 

Ha, yes me too 😃

Larger scale I can easily use the right hand to paint. 
I’ll practise smaller scale 

 

thanks 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Marta did these for Oates. Being small enough to pick up, the other trick is to turn them the other way up to do the difficult curves.

 

Alec  

 

 

On 11/06/2022 at 18:33, agg221 said:

 

IMG_6337.jpg

  • Greenie 1
  • Happy 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve spent much of my life around letters as a signwriter. Casual, brush scripts look deceptively simple but require dextrous brush manipulation to execute properly. Formal letters are easier for beginners. I favour long haired chisel ended sable brushes, available from specialist suppliers such as Wrights or Handover or Craftmaster. They are not cheap, neither is the synthetic enamel paint used. I admire the willingness to practise but it’s a long road to a decent casual script. Many years ago I taught signwriting at a local college, many of the students were anxious to try these fonts, quickly discovering their difficulty. Good luck, happy to advise further.

Dave

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, PD1964 said:

Any thoughts on Air Brushing? As seen on American Custom cars, not for Traditionalist just as most don’t like vinyl signs. But I’ve often thought about it.

Good idea, but that for me is a whole set of new skills to be learnt. 
 


 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dave moore said:

I’ve spent much of my life around letters as a signwriter. Casual, brush scripts look deceptively simple but require dextrous brush manipulation to execute properly. Formal letters are easier for beginners. I favour long haired chisel ended sable brushes, available from specialist suppliers such as Wrights or Handover or Craftmaster. They are not cheap, neither is the synthetic enamel paint used. I admire the willingness to practise but it’s a long road to a decent casual script. Many years ago I taught signwriting at a local college, many of the students were anxious to try these fonts, quickly discovering their difficulty. Good luck, happy to advise further.

Dave


That’s the term I’m after ‘casual script’, thanks. 👍
And yes it’s very difficult. 

I’ll have a look at ordering up a few long haired chisel brushes of different sizes. I don’t mind the cost, I’m sure they last for years if looked after. 
 

Plus I don’t need to practice the whole alphabet, just need a few letters. 
I’ll sketcj some ideas in the meantime with brushes and paints I have at hand and I might post a picture here later in the week to give an idea of what I’m after. 
 

I’m determined to do the sign in a traditional way. It’s for an advertisement board and I want it to look the part. 
 

Thanks. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.