How to Create Lettering From a Shape in Procreate
A technique that has grown traction amongst lettering artists is creating lettering from a shape! This method of structuring letters pushes you to think outside of the box when it comes to distorting letterforms to fit the shape you’re using.
Shaped-based lettering really is an excellent way to get introduced to the ropes of lettering in Procreate. Not only does it stand out, but you easily repurpose your finished design for social media, sell it as a print, create stickers from the lettering, or even showcase it in your portfolio.
You will learn how to:
Create a custom lettering piece from a shape
Familiarize yourself with features of the Procreate app
Build and sketch out rough letterforms
Refine your piece by adding both texture and color
Tools I’m using:
12.9 inch iPad Pro
2nd generation Apple Pencil
Procreate
Paperlike screen protector
I have included step by step instructions for Procreate in this tutorial for those that use the app. For those using traditional pencil and paper, these are my recommended supplies:
Paper A4 (or similar size)
Pencil and pencil sharpener
A pen for finalizing your design
Eraser
An object to trace your shape (in this case a circular one)
1. Choose your phrase and shape
First thing you’ll want to do is determine the phrase and shape that you want to use.
With this style of lettering, using shorter words with similar letter counts typically works better.
I’m using the phrase ‘From a Shape’, so I can easily balance 5 characters on the top and bottom halves of my shape.
I chose to use a circle, but the choice of
shape is really up to your preference and the
words you’re working with!
2. Draw in your guide lines
In Procreate:
Start by creating a new layer.
Grab a pencil brush for sketching. I’m using the 6B Pencil in the Sketching tab.
Draw the outline of your shape (in this case a circle).
Next, divide your shape up based on how many words you have using a horizontal line(s). If you’re working with 3 words, add 2 horizontal lines, etc.
Lastly, add in vertical lines to divide up the characters in each word.
3. Sketch out your letters
Using the guide lines you made in the last step as a starting point, begin sketching out your letters.
Here’s where you can get creative and play with different styles and ways of distorting letters.
Tip: Try to keep in mind balance when sketching in the cut-outs of your letters. You’ll notice how most of the shapes I’ve drawn share similar proportions to one another.
4. Draw in the solid shape and erase
Reduce your sketch layers opacity to 50%.
Create a new layer below your sketch layer.
On your new layer, draw in your shape and fill it with a solid color. You should use a brush that has a darker stroke than the pencil you were using before — I recommend using the Monoline brush under the Calligraphy tab.
Tap on your eraser and select the same Monoline brush. Set the size of the brush to be the width of the space you want between your letters.
Begin erasing, following the guide lines from your sketch.
Once you’ve erased the spaces between your letters, erase the remaining cutouts from inside and around your letters.
Tip: If you’re working with the same color on your solid shape layer as you did on your sketch layer, it can be hard to see where to erase. I recommend making your sketch black and your solid shape a lighter color, that way you can see your guide lines. You can always change these colors later!
5. Round-off edges (optional)
After you’ve finished erasing, open your layers menu and tap the checkbox beside your sketch layer to hide it.
You’ll notice in the step above that the edges of my letters are pretty sharp. I decided to round-off my letters and clean up my edges with my eraser.
This step is completely optional, it’s just up to personal preference!
6. Add texture and color
Open your layers menu. Swipe left on your solid shape layer and tap duplicate.
Drag this duplicate layer to the bottom of your layers menu and tap the checkbox to hide this layer.
To add texture:
Tap your visible solid shape layer.
Tap your eraser and select the Noise Brush in the Touchups tab. Adjust the eraser size to be able to fit within your letters.
Begin lightly erasing to add texture to your letterforms. Erase to your desired liking (reference my example on the right).
Tip: I concentrate my erasing towards the inside of the letters without getting too close to the edge.
To add color:
Create a new layer above your solid shape layer.
Tap this new layer and select Clipping Mask. You should see this ↓ icon beside the layer thumbnail, and this layer should indent above the layer below it.
Use the Soft Brush in the Airbrushing tab and colors of your choice to add color to your letters.
7. Add dimension (optional)
Find the duplicate solid shape layer that we hid in the last step.
Tap the checkbox to make this layer visible.
Make sure this text is darker than your colored text on top. I’m using a dark brown.
Duplicate this layer one more time.
You should now have two dark brown text layers below your main layer that you applied texture and color to (one copy is behind my colored text in the first example below).
Part A:
Select one of these layers and reduce the size of the layer slightly using the selection tool. Drag this copy of your lettering slightly below your main text (reference my example to the right).
Part B:
Merge this smaller shape layer with it’s larger copy by pinching the two together.
Grab your Monoline brush again.
Begin connecting the corners of the smaller letters below, to the corresponding corners of the larger letters above (reference my example to the right).
Tip: Hold your Apple Pencil on the screen after you draw a line to make that line completely straight.
Part C:
Drag and drop the darker color (brown) into all the open spaces to finish adding dimension.
You’re all done!
I’m eager to see what you create! Use the hashtag #letteringfromashape to share your creations with me on Instagram.
I hope this tutorial was helpful, I’d love to hear your feedback
Your feedback is greatly appreciated as it helps me to refine my course material and what I’m creating. Click the link below to complete my 5 question course evaluation.
