Rebecca Zomchek led hand lettering workshops this semester with the seniors and sophomores. Zomchek, an award winning illustrator , graduated with an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from The School of Visual Arts in New York City; and a BFA in Illustration, Summa Cum Laude with Honors, from Syracuse University. She has worked as a freelance illustrator, game designer, and she has just finished her second children’s book with Scholastic Inc.
Zomchek: The calligraphic arts are very much a part of our modern visual vocabulary. From pen and brush black lettering techniques dating back hundreds of years to modern and cutting edge designs hand lettering has found a strong roots in our artistic identity. Modern hand lettering has pushed the boundaries of color, dimension and style; becoming a major trend in the entertainment, publishing, and advertizing world, finding its way back into the design spotlight. For the lettering workshops at Miami I shared a glimpse of the broad range of creative approaches to lettering today; emphasizing the truly unlimited possibilities that hand lettering opens to students as future design professionals. I introduced key players in the market specializing in a variety of styles and mediums. And presented the tools of the trade along with key steps in the creative process, working with the students to build their own portfolio lettering samples. In class the students worked on creating a holiday themed hand lettering assignment of their own, exploring different lettering styles and moving from initial sketch stages to final inked drawings. The design students were a fantastic group to work with, I know they will all do well as future players in the graphic design world and wish them the best!
Samples of Student Work:
Links from Rebecca for Further Explorations of Hand Lettering:
Jessica Hische:http://jessicahische.is/
Daily Drop Cap:http://www.dailydropcap.com/
Alan Ariail – Pen and Logo Letterer (Lots of great works in progress):http://custom-lettering.blogspot.com/
Claire Coullon – Very Clean modern style:http://coullon.com/index.html
David A. Smith – Pencil drawn album cover and gold on glass:http://davidadriansmith.com/
Aaron Horkey-Really expressive lettered posters – He doesn’t have a webpage but here are some samples from OMG Posters! Which is a cool site:http://omgposters.com/tag/aaron-horkey/
Darren Booth: Painted Letteringhttp://darrenbooth.com/
Luca Barcellona – Paint Blackletter master:http://www.flickr.com/photos/luca-beanone-barcellona
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDd_lxMbDaY — This video of him working is fantastic
Dana Tanamachi: Chalkboard workhttp://www.danatanamachi.com/
Doyald Young – One of the masters:http://www.lettercult.com/archives/58
Also a really great site for hand-painted signs – another cool art form that is still hanging on!http://www.newbohemiasigns.com/
Heston’s Fantastical Feasts- The Cookbook with the awesome cover:http://www.behance.net/gallery/Hestons-Fantastical-Feasts/511496
