John 3:16 – Hand Lettering

Brief:
Create an original 6' x 2' hand lettered sign.

Concept:
One day at church, I was approached with the project of creating a sign that would go over our welcome table with the verse John 3:16 on it. This was the biggest hand lettering job I'd ever received and had to think creatively about how to execute it without dismay. I started the process drawing many different designs in 6" x 2" squares. When I found the design that I liked and with the right spacing and contrast between typefaces, I blew it up to feet instead of inches. I drew a grid with the correct measurements from my sketch and converted that to be the real size of the project. After drawing it out, I painted the letters on the paper to create stencils I could then cut out and use to trace the letters onto the final wood board. After all the letters were spaces correctly on the board, I began the painting process with a smaller brush that needed in order to create the finer details and not create a sloppy edge.

Materials:
Paper
White acrylic paint
Paint brushes
Wooden board