Well, you know the rest.
It's been suggested to me that some of the opinion pieces that I'm preparing might not find favour in all corners of the industry, and even that I might re-consider some of them for fear that they might cost me work.
I hope that the reverse is true. In the unlikely event that anything I type here reaches the eyes or ears of industry movers and shakers, I hope that they'll find something of value in the fact that I believe passionately in the necessity of good lettering; that I think long and hard about what lettering can bring to a storytelling medium; that a pay cheque is less important to me than finding projects I want to work on and that I invest time and effort in developing a lettering style that enhances that project.
And, yes, I know that almost no-one reading any project I letter will actually notice the lettering, but I believe unconditionally that they would notice if the lettering was worse, even if they couldn't directly articulate why they found a page less satisfactory.
Some people have asked why I'm so happy to give away what amount to 'trade secrets', and this is why: because I believe that there is no excuse for bad lettering. There are only two real reasons; either disinterest or lack of technical ability. Well, I want to take away the technical ability argument. If you can't be bothered to letter your comics properly, you can't pretend it's because you don't know any better. Not everyone can be a great letterer, but everyone can be a competent one and it genuinely breaks my heart to see good artwork let down by bad lettering.
So, yes. I care, and I believe debate is good, and I'm open to being persuaded by a good counter-argument to anything I post here, from the merits of lettering in sentence case to the best way to achieve a specific effect in Illustrator.
Phew. That was a bit heavy. How about a joke to lighten the mood?
Two fonts walk into a bar…
Thangyew, thangyew, ayy thangyew.
I'm here all week. Try the fish.
(Actually, I'll be at BICS over the weekend. Black leather, big boots, probably a cowboy hat. Say hello if you spot me. The promised Sunday Surgery post may be quite late in the day…)
Well said. The average reader rarely notices lettering unless it's bad, so anything to up the quality of lettering can only be a good thing. Agreed on all counts, Jim.
ReplyDeleteMore font jokes please. Liked that one.
Jim, these words couldn't be more true. As a publisher, I believe lettering is an essential component of comic book production. You can have the greatest artist working on your book but if your letterer doesn't know what he/she is doing it can ruin everything. I've seen it happen countless times.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can also say that I've seen your work on QUARANTINED and I admire your talent and commitment to your craft. I hope we'll have a chance to work together in the not too distant my friend.
Thank you for taking the time to write and post this.
and don't just take Jim's word for it, I am happy to confirm this is 100% true:
ReplyDelete"I believe passionately in the necessity of good lettering; that I think long and hard about what lettering can bring to a storytelling medium; that a pay cheque is less important to me than finding projects I want to work on and that I invest time and effort in developing a lettering style that enhances that project."