Learn a New Block Lettering Style

Today on our blog, we welcome guest artist Denise de Blaca (@dcreatesletters), whose creative lettering caught my eye in our Facebook group. Denise creates a huge variety of wonderful lettering styles, and she has made a tutorial on how to draw one of them for you.

Hello everybody! My name is Denise de Blaca, and I am from Ireland. I have always loved art. After 22 years of working as a chef, I followed my dream and returned to university as a mature student. Four years of study later, I graduated with a BA (Honours) in Design in Visual Communications in 2017. This is where my passion for typography developed. I am always creating and drawing all “TYPES” of lettering.

I love experimenting with hand lettering styles. I find it so relaxing just using pencils, pens, brushes and brush pens to create lettering. I love to play and mix things around… sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but that’s ok!

This black and white design is a bold and quirky block lettering style with an exaggerated left side shadow. I love color, but I also love the simplicity of designing in black and white, as in my opinion, it always stands out from the crowd.

Kelly Creates Supplies: Deluxe Lettering Kit,  Black Fineliners, Grid Practice Paper

Other Supplies: white card stock or Kelly Creates Project Pad , removable tape

1. Use Kelly Creates Grid Paper pad or download and print this grid paper from her website by clicking HERE.

2. First we will draw the alphabet on grid paper with a pencil. Copy my letters that you see below. You can rub out and change as much as you need to at this stage until you are happy with the finished letters. This will act as your template to create your words.

We are going to use 6 x 6 squares to keep the letters in proportion.

4. Try and keep the white space consistent between the block letter and shadow throughout.

5. Some letters such as ‘m’ and ‘w’ may go outside the 6×6 grid.

6. Trace the words you are going to use onto another sheet of grid paper from your alphabet template. In this case draw “play” and “create”…we will fill in the ‘and’ later. I use my window (or you can use a light box). I do it this way so that you can reuse the design and also because the final design will not have rubbed out pencil marks.

7. You can trace over these letters with your black Kelly Creates Fineliners. I just like to save the ink for the final draft, and pencil works just fine at this stage.

8. Next tidy up the letters. Then we can start transferring the design onto blank paper with a selection of Kelly’s Creates Fineliners.

9. Write ‘and’ in the empty space with Kelly Creates Midnight Fine Brush Pen.

10. Fill in any white spaces on the letters. Take your time and don’t lean too hard on the fineliners as you will damage the tip and also tear the paper. As Kelly always says “Slow and Steady.”

11. Finally use removable tape or Kelly Creates Washi Tape on the corners to create simple, cute patterned designs.

12. All done! Now you can put your design near your creative space to remind you to play, create, experiment, and have fun.

Denise’s hand lettering styles always motivate me to experiment and play with letter forms!

For more creative lettering, follow Denise on Instagram @dcreatesletters.

Shop the supplies used in this tutorial by clicking the affiliate links below or visit my online shop KellyCreatesStore.com.

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