Recently we’ve been getting a lot of requests (mostly via The PreVinylite Society Facebook page) from aspiring sign painters for advice on how to get started. In response to these requests we decided to share some recommendations for books, supplies, and tips for the beginning sign painter. This is a very basic list that we will add to over time but we hope it will give a good starting point for those of you interested in picking up a sign painting brush for the first time.
First off, the best advice I can give is to seek out a sign painter in your area that’s willing to show you the ropes–there’s really no substitute for learning from a master. But in the case that there are no local sign painters that can show you how to properly form letters, here are some options for getting started on your own. Please keep in mind that these references are just a fraction of the many, many different options and opinions that you may receive from various sign painters around the world so please take all of these recommendations with a grain of salt.
Supplies
Before you can start painting, you’ll need to get yourself some lettering brushes and some paint. 1shot sells poster paint that’s good for learning with. It’s oil based so you still have to thin it and clean your brushes with thinner.
The website and company I recommend checking out is Letterhead Sign Supply. They are super nice people and very helpful. If you have any questions about any of the products, I advise just giving them a call; they’ll help you out. You’ll be able to order most of your supplies through them.
Paint
The paint I (and most sign painters) use is 1shot Lettering Enamels, though some sign painters prefer Ronan Paints. When you use either of these paints, you may have to thin it down a little with mineral spirits or 1Shot ChromaFlo or Reducer to help it flow better.
Brushes
For brushes, here are my recommendations and tips for keeping them in good shape (again, brush preferences vary from sign painter to sign painter):
I like the Mack 189-L lettering brushes (I’d get one from at least every other size) and the Kafka striping / scroller brushes. I have been really enjoying these. Good quality and affordable for the most part.
I recently got some great brushes from English Brush maker, Big Dave Jackson—all custom handmade. You can email him for a catalog at bigdavejackson@hotmail.co.uk
Brush Tips
A quick tip if you get a set of any of these brushes: before you put the brush in the enamel paint, always dip the hair of the brush in transmission fluid, Marvel Mystery Oil, or I’ve heard of people using Vaseline (sounds a bit odd I know). Always remember to clean the transmission fluid back out of the hair by dipping the brush in thinner or mineral spirits, then spin the brush (like you’re making a stick fire) to dry off the bristles before dipping in paint. Once you’re done painting, clean the brush in mineral spirits, spin, then dip back into transmission fluid and store with transmission fluid on bristles until you’re ready to paint again. This will keep your brush in good shape.
Here’s that sequence again:
1. buy brush
2. dip brush in transmission fluid (any brand will do) and make sure it gets into the ferrule
3. rinse brush in mineral spirits and spin dry
4. start painting! Always remember to palette out the brush. In other words get some of the paint out of the brush after dipping by stroking the edge of the paint cup or can with the bristles.
5. clean brush with mineral spirits, spin dry
6. dip brush back into transmission fluid
7. store
8. repeat process
You should start by practicing basic letter strokes and the casual alphabet.
There are ways of twisting the brush to make a point at the terminals and creating the curved parts of the letters. You’ll probably only be able to learn the correct way of doing that by watching another sign painter or by reading an old sign painting book.
Books
There are a lot of great books on sign painting and lettering, many of which are hard to find and aren’t cheap but here’s a list of a few that are a bit easier to acquire.
When I apprenticed at New Bohemia Signs in San Francisco, the first book I was told to read was Helm Wotzkow’s The Art of Hand Lettering. This book is a great foundation for learning letterform and letter history but not necessarily for learning how to sign paint.
My favorite book is E.C. Matthews' Sign Painting Course. Even though it was originally published in 1954 it’s still relevant and has some great examples and illustrations. This one’s a little harder to get.
Mike Stevens’ book, Mastering Layout: On the Art of Eye Appeal is (as its title suggests) a great book on layout.
I use Kent H. Smith’s Gold Leaf Techniques all the time for gilding. This is a great one!
Atkinson Reproduced in Color and Vintage Commercial Art and Design are a couple of great, inspirational books that are still in print and easily available.
If you can’t find any of these other books, Sign Painting Techniques by Ralph Gregory is a pretty good book that is available used.
The American Sign Museum has a great list of out of print books that I often drool over and wish I owned. …I have a couple but they cost a pretty penny!
Some other great resources for all things hand lettered are Letterheads the Hand Lettering Forum.
Painting the Alphabet
If you don’t have a sign painter in your area that can show you how to form letters, one good way of practicing is to print out a nice alphabet you find in a book or on the internet (casual, gothic, script, or roman) in a large format. A great internet resource for fonts is Letterhead Fonts. You’ll probably have to tile the sheets if you are using a regular printer, or you could go to a copy store and blow up the lettering.* I’d say around 3 to 4 inch tall letters (you could go smaller or larger depending on the style of letter). Then get yourself some blue 1shot poster paint (instead of black which would be harder to distinguish from the letter that you’re tracing), lettering quills, thinner, and a roll of tracing paper. You should also get some disposable Dixie cups for holding and thinning the paint (better than painting directly out of the can). You can also pour out a smaller amount of paint this way.
*Update Feb. 2014: We just found out that New Bohemia Signs is selling their silkscreened casual and gothic alphabets online. This is the casual alphabet that Josh learned when he was just starting out. You can buy it here.
Take your alphabet printout and tape it to your easel or wall. Then tape a sheet of tracing paper over that alphabet. You can then paint onto the tracing paper over the alphabet, attempting to emulate those strokes and shapes. Some of the instructional sign books will show you the amount and the correct direction of strokes needed for each letter of some of the basic, sign friendly alphabets. For example, here’s a page from E.C. Matthew’s Sign Painting Course:
Once you’ve completed the alphabet, remove the tracing paper, get a fresh sheet and try again. Each time try to get cleaner, more accurate lines, while at the same time increasing your speed. At New Bohemia, we used to time ourselves and even race with one another at the shop. We would also write our names, date, and the time it took to complete at the bottom of each sheet. That way you can gauge your improvement.
Hope these suggestions help. Again, this list is just a beginning and we hope to add a lot more to it as we get the opportunity.
…the advice I was given when I was first starting out,
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
