Bullet Journal Tutorial: Ideas To Improve Your Hand-Lettered Fonts

Improve your hand-lettered fonts, with bullet journal expert Annie Weir AKA A Journal by Annie

A bullet journal offers a way of documenting our lives with craft, care, and calligraphy. They require us to take pride over not only what we write but how we write it.

Annie Weir (@a_journal_by_annie), the bullet journalist behind the page A Journal By Annie, is an artist who uses her bullet journals to practice mindfulness every day. In this tutorial, she shares a few basic tips on how to improve your hand-lettered fonts.

1. Brush lettering

Sketch out any new words or styles out in pencil first. You may choose to skip this step if you are more experienced but using pencil allows you to make any adjustments before putting your brush pen to paper.

Once you have your plan, you can go over the lines with your brush pen. If you don’t like your initial sketch, you can choose to ignore it as you go or erase it and start again.

2. Fine brush lettering

Adjust the width of your tips and nibs according to the size of your page and the amount of text you want on it. A smaller nib is likely to give you more control but can also be more complicated to manage.

If you notice any imperfections in your lettering, don’t be afraid to go back and fill in any spaces to fix them.

3. Faux lettering

Faux lettering uses a more conventional pen which doesn’t create the brush effect naturally. This gives you greater control over placement and dimensions. You can fill in your letters if you choose but leaving them empty also gives a nice effect.

If you liked this tutorial, check out Annie Weir’s online course, Introduction to Illustrated Bullet Journaling, to learn more about how to create a handmade, stylish, and functional bullet journal using illustration and hand lettering.

You may also like:

- Introduction to Brush Lettering, a course by James Lewis
- The Golden Secrets of Lettering, a course by Martina Flor
- Italic Script with a Brush Pen, a course by Bego Viñuela Galarraga