I’m joined by one of Lettering Tutorials ‘Lettering Legends’ Emma Holmes for the first part of a festive feature series over the holiday season. Emma mostly specialises in brush lettering and has created some really unique Christmas pieces of work in the past.
I’ve invited Emma onto Lettering Tutorial to share the process that she used to make some awesome reindeer Christmas cards. Emma’s provided easy steps so that you can follow along too, and have a try at making you’re own hand lettered cards!
I first asked Emma what she enjoyed most about Christmas.
“Oh man. I just love the whole thing! The magic and spirit of it all. The good vibes. I especially love the movies and the quotes from those movies.
(If you hover your mouse over any of the pictures below from a computer you’ll be able to see the artwork in colour, or tap on any picture from a mobile device for a colour version.)
Elf is by far my favourite.
Oh and olaf snowflakes!
I like that there are annual traditions and imagery which you can tap into and create something that is instantly recognised, relatable, and that might bring a smile to someone’s face. That the things I create are usually being given as gifts feels great!
It’s a good time to hunker down and create things as it’s dark in the evenings in the UK.
This Elf screenprint sold out pretty quickly and I may end up doing some Giclee prints. I sometimes do those as special one offs for people.”
Emma’s steps for making her hand lettered reindeer Christmas cards
Step One – “I found a reindeer outline online.”
Step Two – “I started to play with the word placement using a brush pen (Tombow).”
Step Three – “I refined the placement in pencil.”
Step Four – “I inked the outlines using Steadtler pigment fine liners.”
Step Five – “I finalised the inking by filling in all of the letters.”
Step Six – “Next I scanned it in to my computer and colorised the nose.”
Step Seven – “I sent the final image to a printers so it could be printed out on cards.”
“The finished cards.”
I asked Emma if she had any final thoughts, tips, or considerations when it comes to lettering or the holiday season.
“YES! in the words of Buddy the Elf, the best way to spread Christmas cheer, is singing loud for all to hear.
Please consider giving to a charity of your choice. Some of my favourites:
Operation Christmas Child
Crisis
Shelter
Thank you for the feature! Keep up the great work on the site.”
More from Emma
If you’d like to see more of Emma’s work, you can either visit her website emmaholmesart.com or check out her Instagram account!
