I happened to come across this sketch the other day and saw that it was finished except for the title lettering. I had drawn and painted the two-page spread on location at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens last winter during my annual teaching trip to Florida but never got around to adding the title. I’ve since finished it, and I snapped some photos while I was working on it, so I could share a quick lettering tip with you.
It can be a little tricky to add lettering to a banner, because the shape of the lettering has to conform to the curve of the banner and be centered in the space. You can always just wing it and figure it out through trial and error, but I’ve found a better way. Here’s how I did the curved lettering on my Selby Gardens sketch…
I wanted to use a lettering style that was an upgrade from my usual printing, so I typed up a page in Microsoft Publisher to preview various fonts. When I found a couple of styles that I liked, I resized them a few times to give me options for fine-tuning the text size and then printed the page. It looked like this:
I cut out several of the titles and laid them on the page to see which one gave me the look and feel that I wanted for my sketch.
Then I selected the one I liked best and chose the size that looked like it would fit the allotted space on the banner.
As you can see from the image above, the straight baseline of the printed title will have to be adapted to fit the curve of the banner.
The next step was to trace the shape of the banner (the space where the title would go) onto tracing paper.
I marked the approximate center of both the printed title and the banner.
Aligning the center marks, I began tracing the title onto the tracing paper, one letter at a time.
Each letter was positioned so that it sat flat on an imaginary line parallel to the bottom outline of the banner, and the vertical alignment came straight up from the baseline.
After each letter was traced, I had to reposition the tracing paper for the next letter. Each new letter needed to be aligned vertically and horizontally, as shown by the red lines in the photo below.
As I worked my way across from the center, the tracing began to diverge quite a bit from the printed lettering I was copying.
After “GARDENS” was completed, I went back to the center and worked my way toward the left with the word “SELBY”, using the same alignment technique as before.
When the tracing of the title lettering was complete, I positioned the new curved lettering over the empty banner and taped the tracing paper in place.
Next, I inserted a piece of homemade transfer paper between the tracing paper and the sketchbook page.
To make homemade transfer paper, simply cover a piece of tracing paper with graphite pencil lines – HB or softer works best. Scribble over it in every direction to make a fairly solid dark grey layer. I like homemade transfer paper better than the commercially available type because, 1. It’s free!, and 2. The marks always erase cleanly, because it’s pure graphite, with no waxes or fillers.
Using a ball point pen, I retraced the title I had drawn, transferring the lettering to the banner.
When I removed the transfer paper and the tracing paper pattern, my title was revealed, fitted perfectly to the curved line of the banner.
The pencil lines were a rough approximation of the actual font style. The spacing was good and the general form of the letters was there, but as I inked the title, I referred back to the computer printout of the lettering, so I could be sure of where to thicken lines, add serifs, etc.
Since I used permanent black ink for the lettering, I was able to paint over it to add color to the banner. The lavender ties in nicely with the rest of the page.
Even though this sketch is small, just 7″ wide x 5″ tall, some thought went into the planning of it. The scene is framed by the large tree on the left and the planter on the right. The title banner completes the frame by arcing across the top of the page, and the hint of a path leads in from the bottom center. The topiary nudges up in front of the banner, helping to complete the connection of various elements on the page. And the harmonious color scheme ties everything together.
I probably worked on this for about 45 minutes on location and was able to complete everything but the title. The drawing was blocked in with a pencil to get everything positioned on the page, then I used a Sailor Fude fountain pen with 55° bent nib for the inking. I like the varied line widths I can get when drawing with the Sailor Fude pen. I was able to complete the painting with a water brush and small travel set of QOR watercolors before it was time to pack up and head for home.
Adding the title lettering took about fifteen minutes, which was probably less time than it would have taken to use the trial and error method.
I hope you’ve found this tutorial to be helpful. There’s nothing like sketching on location – I love it! – but there’s also nothing wrong with finishing sketches later at home. It’s a commonsense way to work, and it’s standard practice for me when I’m doing pages which include lettering and/or borders.
If you enjoy plein air sketching, I hope you will give some thought to coming along on one of my workshop trips. There are a few spots left in my 2025 schedule and plenty of space still remaining in some of the 2026 tours. Find out more here.
3 Comments
I love how this page turned out. The way you enhanced the scene with purple shades and basically how you composed the page. There was so much going on in that sundial garden!
Thank you for demonstrating how you did the banner Leslie. I’ve read a lot of your articles and often wondered how you’re able to make your lettering look so nice and streamlined. I really appreciate all your helpful advice and love your style of painting. Thank you!!
You’re very welcome, Sharon. I’m glad you found it helpful.