Illustrated Lettering: Creativity and Expression

A course by Alex Trochut
Designer, Illustrator and Typographer. New York, United States.
Joined December 2018
, Designer, Illustrator and Typographer

Explore different expressive styles to bring your letters to life

  • Spanish with subtitles in English
  • 100% positive reviews (131)
  • 2810 students

Explore different expressive styles to bring your letters to life

Spanish with subtitles in English
  • 100% positive reviews (131)
  • 2810 students
  • 21 lessons (2h 42m)
  • 16 additional resources (7 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Spanish
  • Spanish, English, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever


Alex Trochut is one of the world's best-known and most recognized figures in the art of typography, having worked for clients such as Apple, Nike, and Coca-Cola.

Lettering is Alex's expertise, and in this online course, he teaches you how to create expressive letters and bring them to life by exploring different artistic styles. Discover the potential of words as a visual medium and explore the limits of language, blending text and image into a unique form of illustrated expression.

What will you learn in this online course?

Course table of contents

  • U1
    U1. Introduction
  • U2
    U2. Preproduction
  • U3
    U3. Inking style
  • U4
    U4. OpArt Style
  • U5
    U5. Ribbons style
  • U6
    U6. 3D Script Style
  • FP
    FP Final project
View details

Begin by getting to know Alex and his creative journey through the world of typography, along with his heroes and biggest influences. He also gives you an overview of the course and what it entails.

Continue with a brief introduction to script lettering, its history, and some key concepts. Then, choose the word you want to work with throughout the course.

Once you've decided, dive into the first illustration style: inking. Look at a variety of examples to get some ideas and create a sketch in pencil. Then vectorizing your design in Illustrator before adding light and volume using blending modes.

Move on to the next style and experiment with op-art illustration, an artistic trend that revolves around creating optical effects to give the illusion of movement.

Finally, Alex shows you the ribbon illustration style, his personal favorite which, as the name suggests, is inspired by the waving movement of a ribbon. Look at some examples before digitizing your own strokes and enhancing them in Illustrator.

To wrap up, Alex teaches how to give your letters another dimension in Cinema 4D. Through a series of exercises, learn how to model 3D letters and render your composition using OctaneRender before doing some fine-tuning in Adobe Photoshop to export your project.

What is this course's project?

Create an expressive lettering composition to apply to a poster, album cover, or the support of your choice.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

Anyone who wants to express themselves and have a good time designing letters.

Requirements and materials

Basic notions of Adobe Illustrator required to take this course.

As for materials, you need a pencil, paper, markers and brushes, as well as a computer with Illustrator and, optionally, Cinema 4D.


Reviews

2810 Students
131 Reviews
100% Positive ratings

Alex Trochut

A course by Alex Trochut

Teacher Plus
Designer, Illustrator and Typographer

Alex Trochut was born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1981. He studied at the Elisava Escola Superior de Disseny before setting up his own studio in Barcelona. He currently lives in New York where he works as a designer, illustrator, and typographer for a wide range of clients including Nike, adidas, The Rolling Stones, Katy Perry, and Coca-Cola.

His creations have been recognized internationally and featured in magazines and publications around the world. He has given talks and has been honored by the Art Directors Club, the Type Directors Club, Creative Review, Cannes, Clio, D&AD, and more.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Hello!
    • Some of my heroes, influences and references.
    • What we will do in the course
  • U2

    Preproduction

    • Script Lettering, brief introduction
    • Basic theory
    • How to give different characteristics to our lettering
  • U3

    Inking style

    • Examples
    • Approach in pencil
    • Vectorization
    • Application of light and volume
  • U4

    OpArt Style

    • Examples
    • Pt1 vectorization
    • Pt2 vectorization
  • U5

    Ribbons style

    • Examples
    • Vectorization
    • Calligraphic and freestyle creation
  • U6

    3D Script Style

    • Examples
    • Vectorize for Cinema 4D
    • Modeling pt1
    • Modeling pt 2
    • Postproduction
  • FP

    Final project

    • Introduction to illustrated lettering techniques

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    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
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Illustrated Lettering: Creativity and Expression. Calligraphy, Typography, and Design course by Alex Trochut

Illustrated Lettering: Creativity and Expression

A course by Alex Trochut
Designer, Illustrator and Typographer. New York, United States.
Joined December 2018
  • 100% positive reviews (131)
  • 2810 students