8 Ways to Add Shading to your Hand Lettering

Need some letter shading inspiration? Here are 8 of my favorite ways to add shading to my hand lettering. Shading is a great way to add character and dimension to your letters.

I’ve often been asked “how do you know where to add the shading?” I drew a little diagram that helps explain it below:

You want to imagine a light source. The light can be on the left or the right – but whichever side it’s on, you want to add the shading to the opposite side. So for this example, the sun is on the left so the shading is all on the right side of the letter. I’ve also added white highlights to the left side of the letter, because this is the side that the sun is shining on.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions please comment below.

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Welcome to the Letter by Starlight Blog!

Hello! I'm Melissa, the lettering artist behind @LetterByStarlight. I'm a wife, mom of two, coffee addict and hand lettering artist. I first picked up a brush pen in 2017 and haven't looked back! I specialize in colorful modern hand lettering, botanical illustration and watercolor. I love to create pieces that combine all three! My work has been featured by some of the top lettering brands including Tombow, Rhodia and Crayola. My goal is to share some fun tutorials with tricks and techniques to help you on your lettering journey. I hope this blog inspires you to create your own beautiful works of art!

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