Lettering piece created for the final project of my Domestika course – ‘Expressive Lettering with Swashes and Flourishes’. The aim of the project is to capture and convey the spirit of a favourite city through the expressive use of lettering with swashes or flourishes. My example is the beautiful city of Barcelona. Whenever I think of Barcelona, I think of Gaudi and Art Nouveau – which was of course the inspiration behind this piece.
Due to the fine lines with the flourishes, the vectors where initially constructed using a method which uses both strokes and shapes. These are carefully placed together, before the shapes are combined and then refined further, removing any stray points or kinks in the line work.
A couple of options were explored, however, the dark reds, oranges and yellows feel to me more evocative of the city.
Once the vector was finalised, further details were added in Photoshop to give a sense of depth and dimension. The type and flourishes were given a bevel, and some of the shapes arranged to give the impression of them weaving in front and behind one another.
The complete start-to-finish process is explained in detail in my Domestika course. I talk through the initial inspiration, to gathering references, to sketching in Procreate (or with pencil and paper), to creating the vector in Illustrator, and finally adding depth, dimension and final touches in Photoshop. See the link below to find out more about the course and to sign up.
This will soon be available as a limited edition Giclée print. Click the button below to sign up to my newsletter and be notified when the prints are available.
