Hand Lettering Font Styles: How To Choose and Combine Styles in Quotes

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How do you know what hand lettering font styles to use together? This is a common question I’ve received after my book party video where I hand lettered your special requests. Choosing what hand lettering fonts to use together can be pretty overwhelming because there are so many options! I’m going to break it down into three tips for you.

Tip #1 How to Choose and Combine Hand Lettering Font Styles: Practice

First of all, it takes practice to feel comfortable with different styles, so don’t get discouraged. You may need to practice the alphabet in a particular font before you feel comfortable using it in a quote. I’ve been combining fonts since I started years ago, and I’m still finding new styles I want to try and things I want to do with my quotes. So like anything else, the more you do it, the better you’ll get! Because there are so many possibilities, it’s about finding what you like because there are many different correct ways. In my book, Hand Lettering for Beginners, I have a section on laying out quotes, and I kept it as simple as possible because I know it can feel overwhelming. One of the techniques to practice is switching up fonts, which is why I have a few basic styles to practice in my book to help you feel comfortable getting started.

Tip #2 How to Choose and Combine Hand Lettering Font Styles: Start Simple

Do you have a couple of styles that you feel good about? Start simple and have two to three font styles that you feel really comfortable with that you can switch between. Combine those fonts over and over until you feel like you can add more. If you don’t know where to start, I have a secret to making it look like you really know what you’re doing! Start with combining a basic script and a print style then, use the print style for the word you want to stand out in your quote. That is my most common font combination and is super simple. The reason this works is because it’s high contrast. If your different font styles have only subtle differences, it might look like a mistake, as if you accidentally did it or you didn’t get one of your fonts quite right. You want your hand lettered quotes to look intentional, and having a high contrast between your styles will help with that.

Tip #3 How to Choose Hand Lettering Font Styles: Experiment

There’s more than one right way to combine hand lettering font styles, so it’s about what YOU like. You never know what’s going to work or not until you try it! To help get you started and keep it really simple, look at your quote and decide what you want to stand out. Try switching up your fonts around that part of your quote. If your quote is short enough, you can experiment with switching up where you use each font.

With hand lettering font styles, the possibilities are endless! So start small, keep it simple, and trust yourself to know what you like. I hope that these tips will help you feel more comfortable and confident with your hand lettering.