Ornamental Lettering
A course by Havi CruzDesigner and Illustrator
A course by Havi Cruz, Designer and Illustrator
Learn to design, sketch, and complete a piece of complex lettering drawn by hand.
Although all the works of Havi Cruz–a designer and illustrator specializing in lettering–are finished in digital format, it could be said that he is an artisan, since, without exception, his projects always start on paper and the attention he pays to every curve, detail, and ornament it is overwhelming.
This course leads you to discover the wonderful art of creating personalized ornamental lettering to make your projects stand out at a time when design is tending towards minimalism. Learn the most effective techniques to devise, sketch, and make a piece of lettering from scratch, starting from the simplest sketch to obtain a digital design.
What will you learn in this online course?
15 lessons & 9 downloads
Inspiration and moodboard
6 minutes, 45 seconds
Color palette
3 minutes, 35 seconds
First strokes
4 minutes, 10 seconds
Letter style
7 minutes, 15 seconds
Capital letter and ornaments
8 minutes, 34 seconds
Fine sketch
17 minutes, 11 seconds
What's included in this course?
Start by looking for inspiration for your ornamental lettering, creating a mood board in which you capture these references and define the color palette of your project.
Once you have the initial idea, make the first sketches and use them to obtain the composition for your lettering.
Experiment with different typefaces and design a capital letter, the most important letter in the piece. Learn to embellish your lettering with some decorative elements to give it an extra touch of beauty. Trace the rest of the letters of the composition, adding more and more details until the sketch is ready.
Digitize your lettering by vectorizing the shapes. In this process, Havi explains important concepts such as the use of guidelines and reveals some of the design secrets that will add dynamism to your work, such as the technique of applying light and shadow.
Finally, add color and some important details so that the lettering stands out and speaks for itself.
Recommended software & tools for this course
What is this course's project?
Hand-design and digitize ornate lettering for a local business.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for designers, illustrators, and any lover of drawn lettering looking to learn a new technique to make their work stand out.
Requirements and materials
You need basic knowledge of drawing, lettering, and a vector program. With regard to materials, it is essential to have basic drawing tools, a computer with Adobe Illustrator, a camera or scanner, and a graphics tablet.
Reviews
- 1 year ago
Muy buen curso!
- 1 year ago
Excelente curso para comenzar con el lettering!
- 1 year ago
Me gustó el curso :)
- 2 years ago
I don’t speak Spanish so that doesn’t make sense as to why 1. It was not disclosed that it was in Spanish or 2.offer an English voice over at minimum
- 2 years ago
Gostei do curso. É um bom curso para quem tem alguma noção sobre lettering e caligrafia e deseja aumentar seu conhecimento sobre ornamentos para aplicar em seus projetos de design.
He has worked in advertising agencies such as Grupo W and is currently part of the Lettres studio. In addition, he has founded his own studio, from which he designs for all kinds of brands and businesses related to his style, such as barbershops, tattoo studios, restaurants, and wine, gin, mezcal, and beer brands.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- Presentation
- Influences
- U2
Creative process
- Inspiration and moodboard
- Color palette
- U3
The sketch
- First strokes
- Letter style
- Capital letter and ornaments
- Fine sketch
- U4
The vector
- Guide lines
- Baselines Part 1
- Baselines Part 2
- Basic tools (blend tool)
- Color, lights and shadows Part 1
- Color, lights and shadows Part 2
- Final details
- FP
Final project
- Ornamental lettering for a local business
What to expect from a Domestika course
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Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
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Get front-row seats
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FAQs
Ornamental lettering is the art of designing decorative letters with intricate details and embellishments. In this course, you’ll learn both hand-drawn and digital techniques to create unique typographic compositions, applying ornaments, color, textures, and professional finishes.
This is an intermediate-level course. It’s perfect if you already have basic illustration or lettering skills and want to master advanced techniques in ornamentation, composition, and digitization.
You’ll need paper, pencils, a ruler, eraser, markers, and access to digital illustration software (like Illustrator or Procreate). A graphics tablet is also recommended if you want to dive deeper into digital work.
You’ll learn hatching, hand sketching, using guide lines, ornamental composition, symmetry, applying textures and metallic finishes, plus digitization and layer management in specialized software.
Yes, the course includes lessons on choosing color palettes, simulating metallic effects like gold and silver, and combining colors to create contrast and depth in your designs.
You’ll be able to design bottle labels, restaurant menus, tattoo illustrations, barbershop compositions, and ornamental lettering pieces for various physical and digital formats.
Yes, the course covers traditional sketching and ornamentation techniques as well as vectorization and digital editing methods to achieve professional results.