Some cartoonists say it’s a waste of time to letter a comic strip by hand. I disagree. Although it’s never been put to a test, I think I could beat anyone in a race to see who can letter faster — me with a pen, or an opponent on a computer. Plus, I think it’s a lot more satisfying to put pen to paper and make your own lettering than typing on a keyboard, and, if you ask me, there isn’t enough hand-drawn stuff in the world for people to look at, especially lately with computers. It was my editor, the late Jay Kennedy at King Features Syndicate, who once told me that hand-lettered words are more eye-friendly than those that are computer generated. It took me a while to understand what he meant by “eye-friendly”. He meant that readers — even if they don’t consciously know it — find that handmade stuff is easier on the eye, more “human”, and therefore nicer to look at. What better qualities than those for a comic strip to have?
I draw “Tina’s Groove” with an ink brush and black india ink. I letter the word balloons with a pen nib dipped in the same ink. Hand-lettering my comic strip gives me the option to play with the physical features of the letters and words, because, when you think of it, letters are images just like cartoon faces are images — they can be expressed, and “drawn”, in a way that adds life to a comic. Sometimes I draw dialogue in a way that conveys to the reader how it should be read. Everybody knows that words can take on different tones through the style they’re drawn in. If I were to hunt for fonts that do this as effectively as I’m capable of doing it myself, I would be wasting time. And let’s face it, tapping out letters on a keyboard is just not what you think of when you think of cartooning. What’s a cartoonist, then, if not someone who crafts these things by hand?
I’m not against using a computer. I use photoshop to color my “Tina’s Groove” Sunday comics (I should add that this is the way newspaper production requires it. You can’t do an ink wash for the comics page). But when it comes to the actual line drawing of a cartoon — and the lettering of its word balloons (and the word balloons themselves!) — I really believe a hand-made line is best. When done competently, nothing catches the eye like it. In every day life, nearly every image we see is computer-generated — isn’t it refreshing to see something that’s got a personal touch?
Hand-lettering is a skill. When done properly it adds character to a strip. I like to think that the comics page is one place, published daily in print, where a reader can go to see entirely individual hand-drawn art, with a personal touch. As I write this I can’t think of any other place, can you?
Everything you said, Rina, plus this for me:
I like the pictures to do as much of the work as possible in conveying the message of the cartoon. Having a font — even if it’s a computerized adaptation of my own hand lettering, such as can easily be made — makes it too easy stack up a wall of text. Hand lettering forces me to edit my captions to be as lean as possible.
Perfectly said and totally true!
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I letter on my own. Fonts make my cartoons even uglier (:
Agreed. When I think of hand lettering, Tina’s Groove provides a great example. Mutts also leaps to mind.
Words are a design element, no question about it, and they have to enhance (not compete with) the artwork. I will say that I avoided doing any digital lettering for years but since I use it so much in my advertising work I realize that I’m essentially getting the same effect as hand lettering when using Adobe Illustrator. I can shape each letter, if I want, to my liking. I’ve often compared it to sculpting.
I recently met a guy who’s made a business for himself by hand lettering with paint on the side of buildings and business windows. He does amazing work and it’s all freehand. His stuff is usually billboard-sized and he sits on a ladder all day painting perfect letters.
Painting letters sounds like such a relaxing job (when the weather’s right!).. and yes, you guys brought up the fact that hand-lettering forces you to be a tighter writer — I totally forgot to mention that. So true!
I also letter by hand, and on those rare occasions when I’ve had to use a font for a non-strip job, it’s always taken longer. This is due to having to constantly calibrate how much space to leave for the dialog, and invariably getting it wrong.
I totally agree, and I love your lettering. It’s so lively, just like your drawing line.
While I sometimes think lettering is a chore—mostly because I don’t feel as consistent or competent as I should—I think it’s worth it. Jay’s comment about hand lettering being “eye-friendly” and easier on the eye and more pleasant to look at is only part of the story. It’s more than that. When I’m lettering, I find that there are many times when what the characters are saying causes me to imbue the lettering with a slightly different attitude. I may be the only person who notices it outright, but I think on a subconscious level, readers feel it. I may be deluding myself in thinking that, but do believe it.
I’ve considered creating a font based on my lettering with alternate characters to keep it from looking so mechanical, but even with that, I think it would lose something. Even beautiful and consistent hand lettering can have a cold appearance, almost as cold as using a font. I admire the craft, but I feel like it’s a little distancing. I go as far as not using guidelines either. That gives me the ability to slightly change the sizes and angle and even the curvature of the baseline to help get across an attitude. And I can do that much faster and with more efficiency than I could mimic it on the computer.
I have, on occasion, used computer lettering when I needed the effect of a font, like in a long series of strips that are a poem. Or trying to make a caption look like it’s a headline in a font.
My lettering is far from perfect, and I don’t want it to be. There may be people out there who don’t like my lettering (I was told a certain syndicate president once said he really disliked my lettering). But it’s mine. It’s part of the character of the strip. And I do take some pride in that.
I tried hand-lettering 12 years ago. I wasn’t good at it (I wasn’t good at the cartooning, either) and it was tiring. I had a limited amount of time and energy to pour into the strip, and I had a big story to tell.
So I started using fonts. I went kind of crazy with them for a while. I’ve settled on just four (one for the narrator, one for most dialog, one for robot dialog, one for the title character’s dialog) and I use bold and italics judiciously where emphasis is required.
Would my strip be better hand-lettered? Yes.
But I believe the route I took, which allowed me to tell more story faster, was critical to me making a living on “Schlock Mercenary.” Font use was one of the sticks I used to keep the wolves from the door.
Two years ago I hired a colorist because I realized that he could do it better and cheaper than I could. These days I honestly think the strip would be better if I handled just the writing and the thumbnails, and hired a penciler, inker, letterer, and colorist. But see, I LIKE making comics. I like scowling at the page until something in my own facial expression pushes its way through the pencil into the emotions of the characters. It’s hard work, and I’m not the best there is at it, but the work seems to be the best there is for me, so I’m keeping it. Fonts and all.
So… you’re right. Hand-lettering is a wonderful, waning art. Count yourselves fortunate that you don’t find yourself forced to contribute to its demise, like I have.
Ivan Brunetti doesn’t allow people to use computer fonts until after the first year. I think this is good practice. Not necessarily to develop your ability to draw letters, but to get a good understanding of word-bubble placement and letter placement within the bubble as it relates to composition of the page. When only digital lettering it’s temping just to plop them into the top of the panel.
I hand letter. For my personal taste: I prefer longer stories IN PRINT to be hand lettered but online strips I don’t mind digital lettering, it seems more natural when viewed on a screen.
I hand-letter as much as possible. About 95% of the time. It helps keep everything in my comic looking like my own creation. I enjoy reading both though seeing a person’s nice and oftentimes unique handwriting is always a treat.
I prefer to do everything by hand. It’s more immediate, and I think it results in better integration of the art and the words. In fact, I just do pencils, and “ink” when I scan the art by adjusting the levels in Photoshop. I’d love to find a calligraphic pencil … one with a flat wide lead (but not as wide as a carpenter’s pencil.)
I have resorted to computer lettering on some occasions when time is short, but I’d much rather avoid it completely.
You guys have given me more food for thought on this font thing. I hadn’t even thought about what Rick K says about lettering the character’s words : “When I’m lettering, I find that there are many times when what the characters are saying causes me to imbue the lettering with a slightly different attitude.” You’re not the only person who notices — it’s subtle, and personal, but I think it’s noticeable.
Incredible feedback… thanks to all of you for sharing it!
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Looks like I’m the only one on this reply chain who’s not a cartoonist, but who really enjoys and appreciates good comics. I’d never really studied lettering in strips until Rina raised the issue here. Now I’ve started to notice more. The hand lettering definitely adds an informality and family feeling to the strip, which is perfect for Tina and her colleagues. Thanks for doin’ it, Rina, and keep up the good work.
I’ve only recently started putting my comics in a place the public can see them.
The first set I did were short 3 panel comics to accompany short articles and all of the text was hand rendered, the problem is when I draw I want to see the finished piece so would write the text at a normal pace, I ended up having a few comments about legibility.
As a compromise I’ve started typing then printing my text out and tracing it onto the original drawings. I think this works well to keep the hand made feel within the work but keeps it readable without being too formal for the comics i make.
ICECUBES is hand lettered too and I wouldn’t have it any other way. nor would my readers!