Letter like a Graphic Novelist Just say NO to Comic Sans: Heather Martinez

Do you ever wonder how graphic novelists and comic book artists make such great lettering? The style they use is perfect for rapid capture and content-size lettering for graphic recording and facilitation.

With the flip of your standard wedge or chisel-nib marker, we will turn our handwriting into a well-designed lettering style in just minutes! I’ll also share some hot tips that only the comic book artists themselves know.

We will also scale up to make our titles go 🌟KAPOW! 🌟

Here’s what you will want to have on hand:

For rapid capture and content-size lettering:
• Any size wedge or chisel nib marker
- I will be working with Neuland No.One Wedge, TwinOne, and BigOne markers
- Black ink is recommended
• Pencil
• Eraser
• Practice paper
- I will be using lined and grid paper. I recommend starting off this way to ensure you write straight and build the muscle memory to continue to do so. Many comic book artists draw guidelines when they letter and erase them after.

For titles and emphasis lettering:
• 30mm or 50mm FatOne or Montana marker
- Mine will be filled with 500 Brilliant Yellow ink
• 2 sharpened pencils, even in length
- Alternatively, bring the pencils and something to put between them if you don’t have a FatOne.
• Rubberband
• 6” or 15cm of artist or painter’s tape (something strong, but won’t leave a residue)
• Assortment of markers in various colors.
- I will be sticking with primary/comic colors: red, blue and yellow.
• Neuland No.One Outliner round
• Paper - we are going big with this one so 11x17” or A3 to practice technique, then be ready to take it to the wall (Flipchart or larger, I will be using the Graphic Wally)

How you can prepare (optional):
• Practice your Architect lettering
- You may already have the online course as it was given away last time or you can access it here: https://www.letslettertogether.com/offers/xJBPzXgu?coupon_code=VISUALJAMFREE
• Hack Your FatOne! We will do this in the session, but if you want to get a head start, you can watch the video in this free resources class that accompanies my book: https://www.letslettertogether.com/products/lettering-journey-resources/categories/1033306/posts/5361170
If you can’t access this, you can sign in for free here: https://www.letslettertogether.com/offers/TjnngiKF

Heather's BIO:
Heather Leavitt Martinez started her work as a visual practitioner in 2011 while working at KornFerry, a leadership development company. She quickly realized that she wanted to create a team of graphic facilitators so she pitched her idea to a systems engineering start-up in Washington, DC. She became a co-founder, art director and scrum master of the Visioneering team. As a senior consultant for the intelligence community, Heather worked closely with organizational change managers to write facilitation guides and support multi-day offsites for directors of agencies.

Shortly after the administration change in 2016, Heather left DC and took a gap year to travel across North America in a 1947 teardrop trailer. In this time she kept a blog, wrote a book, created a platform to train other visual practitioners, and attended three, month-long artist residencies to focus on her fine art.

Heather has been teaching online since 2017. During the pandemic, she helped visual practitioners, facilitators, and trainers shift their work online and built a new platform, Tech Host Academy, to train those who want to create online environments where we can all thrive. She teaches “Appreciative Inquiry + Visuals = Meeting Design” at The Center for Appreciative Inquiry. And teaches in-person lettering classes to those in her community in a shared studio space at The ArtRoom at the Smiley building in Durango, Colorado.