Category: Free Inquiry

As my final project for this semester, I decided to embrace another challenge… An animated GIF! It’s pretty subtle, but adds dimension and intrigue to an otherwise simple piece. e

I would like to figure out why my iPad refuses to save my screen recorded videos… perhaps they are too long?

Overall, I have really enjoyed practicing new skills with the tech that I am so privileged to have. Once the investment has been made, this is a free, non-messy, way to practice artistic skills and express creativity!

Another key benefit from this project is that my instagram feed is almost entirely filled with both digital and physical art tutorials! #TargetedContentForTheWin

Once again, I made a super satisfying reflection video and my iPad neglected to actually record it for me.

Nevertheless, here’s the final product!

This was the first project in the video series that included more than lettering – I finally get to paint leaves!

They seemed easy… You start with just a little bit of pressure on the Apple Pencil, then apply more pressure for the leaf itself, and then release pressure again to add a pointed tip on the leaf.

It was really hard.

You’ll see in the video that I erase and replace almost every leaf after I draw it. The video tutorial that I watched suggested that we practice drawing leaves the same way that we practice lettering. You must practice the strokes and pressure with the pencil to understand how to move the tool to achieve the desired look.

Of course, I was impatient with this one and decided to try my best without practicing.

I am quite happy with the final product, but I do not particularly like the video that captures the process of getting there. I think this is partly due to how each individual leaf looks fairly awkward and imperfect, but when all of the layers are put together it looks uniquely natural.

Today I explored the symmetry tool on procreate! This was not part of the tutorial course I have been following, but I was inspired by a post I saw on Instagram earlier this week.

This tool cuts the canvas into 2, 4, or 8 equal slices to perfectly mirror any brush strokes. This first image was an exploratory doodle, so I hadn’t turned on screen casting; however, I really like how it turned out so I wanted to share it here!

The symmetry tool is incredibly satisfying to watch so I created a similar doodle with a screencast for your enjoyment.

I decided to customize the second tutorial in the Watercolour Lettering series by choosing my own quote to letter and texturize. As the federal election took place yesterday evening, I chose to use this as a theme for my project.

I chose a quote that was meaningful to me, and to my future as an educator. Exercising our democratic right is an important step in having a voice for the future of our country.

Shape tomorrow by voting today.

The tutorial I followed was focusing on blending different colours throughout a quote. My colours chosen in my video represent the proportion of the vote that went to each of the prominent Canadian parties last night.

I think this is a colourful representation of the outcome of the election, and it would be neat to re-do this project with the different proportions from previous elections.

Thank you to everyone who voted in this years election!

I did it!

I followed my first real tutorial for Watercolour Lettering in Procreate! To add to that, I even used some of the skills we have been taught so far this semester: I did a screen recording of the process AND edited it in iMovie so that it was a reasonable video length with a pause of the final product at the end.

This was a fun first project to get comfortable with Procreate. I look forward to using my brush lettering skills, instead of an existing font, on the next project!

I hope you enjoy watching!

I hinted, in my last free inquiry post, about starting a new course on Watercolour Lettering in Procreate (iPad), and I did it! I was feeling overwhelmed with the lack of guidance for my inquiry so I decided to take the plunge and enrol in an online course to teach me the ways.

At first I thought I was cheating. An inquiry project should be fully self taught, am I right?!

I was very wrong.

I had absolutely no clue on where to start… I knew procreate was the app to use if you were lettering on an iPad, and I knew you could download free brushes and fonts, but how were you supposed to get that from a computer to an iPad? Is it even legal to download new brushes? What are the licenses on that?

That’s when I came across an advertisement on Facebook that was marketing an All-In-One, Beginner Friendly, Watercolour Lettering Course. Thanks Zuckerberg. I was wavering back and forth at first. This wasn’t a free course and I had to decide if I was truly invested in letting enough spend a little bit of cash.

The course was on sale, $77 instead of $99, but only for a limited time. What really hooked me was the inclusion 4 different digital watercolour papers, an entire pack of procreate watercolour brushes, individualized colour palettes for each of the 8 projects, video instructions on how to get everything started in procreate, and an Extended License that allows me to sell anything I make using the brushes included.

Now, let’s be honest; I don’t plan on selling any of my lettering “art”, but after learning about copyright laws since starting the PDP program, I have been more intentional about trying to course properly licensed products.

The course is part of Teela Cunningham’s website called “Every Tuesday”.

Every-Tuesday is an education resource for ambitious graphic designers and hand letterers. Why ambitious? Because if you’re someone who’s ready to take action and are willing to put in the work to get there, *you* are my kind of person.

Improving or beginning any professional skill takes time, but it doesn’t have to take forever if you know where to focus. This site was created to fast track design and lettering education into 4 separate offerings, allowing you to dive as deep as you’d like into any topic.

1. Resource Library
2. Online Courses
3. Video Tutorials
4. Digital Products

So far, I have followed the first video in the course. 10 minutes dedicated to a class overview, and how to install the bonus procreate brushes, colour palettes, and paper texture files! And I am getting super excited to start the first project!

If you have any interest in checking out watercolour letting on an iPad, check out the Every Tuesday website. She has a collection of “freebies” to get you started without spending a dime!

Well… We were told that our questions could, and likely would, morph as we dove deeper into our Free Inquiry project. I’m not here to say that I am changing my topic because it was too hard, but rather, because my guided inquiry needed a little more guidance.

So I am here to announce that I have switched from the broad world of “Typography” to focus in on “Watercolour Lettering in Procreate (iPad)”. I’ll admit, I was a little intimidated to start on this project because I just didn’t know where to begin. I have expressed interest in learning brush calligraphy, and started by downloading some drill sheets to practice on my iPad. Well, this has been a lot of fun, and great practice! So great, that I’ve distracted myself during a number of lecture over the last two weeks. Oops.

When I searched Pinterest for free templates, I came across an artist by the name of Kelly Sugar Crafts – anybody by the name of Kelly must be worth listening too, right? I decided to stop searching and see what free goodies Kelly had to offer me!

I know I have a long way to come. Would you believe me if I told you I never learned cursive in school? I think that is part of what inspired this project – I have always found loopy letters to be so captivating, but I could never get the curves to flow out of my hand.

I will continue to practice, and document my journey. I will soon be starting a course that will guide me through water colour techniques to bring my brush letters to life!

Here are some links to the (free) Brush Lettering practice sheets from Kelly Sugar Crafts:

Brush Lettering Practice Basic Strokes Worksheets

Free Bounce Lettering Worksheets ver. 2

I have always found myself drawn to the art of stylistic and unique printing. I was the student who took neatly organized and colour coded notes all throughout high school and university. Along the way, I have been intrigued by the different font types and styles that can really personalize and convey emotion in print work. Now, thanks to this free inquiry project, is my chance to develop the skill for myself.

I know I am not the only student in our program who is utilizing this project as means to develop a skill or hobby that they have always wanted to try. In September 2018 I purchased and iPad and an Apple Pencil, since this time I have played around a bit and explored some elements of graphic design.

My biggest project to date has been designing a mathematics graphic/logo.  The mathematics department at Simon Fraser University to used this as a T-shirt design since the SFU bookstore didn’t carry any math related merchandise.

Given my affinity to typography, I chose to use my math notes from my undergraduate degree as my inspiration for the logo. My homepage showcases the math equations in a higher quality format, but it is easy to see that this project took me a very long time. This was designed using my personal mathematics typeface, and the goal of my inquiry project is to gain appreciation for and to increase fluency of other fonts.

We all develop a natural font with our own handwriting over time. I intend to explore and practice different fonts and typefaces throughout this project in the remainder of this semester. This page will document my success and my struggles, but mostly will be a space that I can showcase my work.