In Progress: See Inside a Lettering Artist's Sketchbook and Process, from Pencil to Vector

Even on italicized letters, the points are plotted on the extrema, not on the “top” and “bottom” of the letter, as you may have guessed.

The typographic lockup and proportions of the page have the biggest effect on the skeleton—if I have to cram a long word onto a single line but still want to give it visual importance, the skeleton must be narrow, the letters taller than they are wide.

You can use this to your advantage if you really want a client to pick a particular version, colorizing only that sketch (and showing a few color options), which lets them clearly know it’s your favorite.

Deciding on a lettering style or styles can be difficult if you’re constantly envisioning the end result instead of making small decisions as you go.

Crossbars do not need to fall at the same height. If you’re shooting for perfectly centered crossbars, it’s likely that they’ll all end up in different places—the A will be lowest (to account for the small amount of white space in the interior apex of the letter), the E will be a little higher than the F (because the F has so much white space below

To find the extrema on any letterform with curves, draw a box around the exterior of the letter and another around any interior counters (the negative space inside the letterform) and look at where the edges of the letter shapes touch the boxes—those are the extrema.

type designers (and savvy letterers) plot their anchor points on the extrema of curves whenever possible.

While brainstorming, I usually jot down a few styles that feel appropriate for the subject matter (for instance, if I’m drawing a cover for a book showcasing DIY weddings, one of the sketches would definitely showcase a script lettering style), but it’s during the sketching that my vision for the letterforms really takes shape. I tend to use a maxi

Just absorb as much as you can and document the interesting bits—the places where an artist did something unexpected and incredibly imaginative—for use in your work later.

Round letterforms like the O dip a little bit below the baseline and extend a little bit above the cap height (or x-height if it’s a lowercase letterform). This is called overshoot. It ensures that the O makes as much contact with the baseline or cap height as the other letterforms, which gives all the letterforms the appearance of having a consist