Art of Sign Painting

SkeechyD

SkeechyD

Active member
Ive been drawing for years and love doing projects. Painting never really interested me, so I have never really attempted it.

Recently I got an idea for painting some stuff our new apartment. Wondering if anyone out here has ever done specific sign painting or letter painting before?

Ive done a bit of research but I would love to talk to someone who has had some experience.

Seems like a cool art form that, from what I have heard, is becoming extinct

Here is a trailer for kind of what it is

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I have no artistic ability and cannot aid your quest to become a sign painter, but after class I'm gonna watch the shit out of that video because painted signs look cool as hell.
 
Best people to talk to about it are lowbrow hot rod/rat rod fanatics. 90% of the people who do their pinstriping on cars also do signs. Check out their forums, and you should find some dudes wholl be glad to give you advice
 
Learn typography first, you have to learn how letters are formed, what makes a letter look correct, and how to manipulate letters to create the look you want. I would guess that you could achieve a similar result by designing on a computer first to create the look, copying that look onto wood with a pencil or carbon paper, then painting in the design.

Here is a good source to learn a bit of this stuff from.

http://www.creativebloq.com/graphic-design-tips/typography-tutorials-1232719

I don't do sign painting directly, but I do a lot of graphic design work, as well as loads of advertisement design for my job. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 
Awesome, Im looking to learn this type of type of art without the use of a computer eventually. maybe at first. But right now im learning the types of strokes and shit. Hard as hell to make a perfectly symmetrical letter
 
my dad ran a sign making business for a number of years...doing the designs, carving wood by hand or with a computerized router, painting them in, etc etc. He then decided to sell it to his business partner because of other interests, but that guy still runs it 25 years later and does fairly well.

it's really cool driving around and seeing signs he made 30 years ago still doing their purpose. he rants and raves about the cheap bullshit printouts on plastic and banners called 'signs' you see so much of nowadays. there's no craftsmanship anymore!

typography is really fun stuff I think. it's fun to see how messages can be conveyed with such a different tone based on the design of the characters.
 
my in-law dad used to be a career sign painter, but graphic design ended up putting him out of business, you're correct in saying it's becoming extinct.

He was hired at another sign making place recently, but everything was done on computers, and that company was following certain sign templates, nothing really creative or original, so he bailed. it's a bummer, hand painted signs are tits, but the only place you find them now are in famous dave's/ Sanford's type restaurants
 
To add on this, search for a copy of Friedl's, Ott's & Steins: "Typography"

Every designer should have this on their bookshelf. (If that bookshelf can handle the weight)

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