Lilla here. I’m so excited to share a FREE example of some of the content you’ll get in my lettering course, Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering, which starts Monday, September 8th.
BIG NEWS! I’ve concocted a wild new approach for five of the assignments you’ll get in Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering: I’ve pretended that I’m a creative director who is commissioning you with some very cool jobs!
Having been on the receiving end of job commissions for decades, it turns out I have a knack for being a fake creative director creating fake jobs! And although the jobs are just pretend, they are tuned in to current lettering needs in the marketplace and will be phenomenal for your portfolio. I give specifics, fantastic lettering styles to follow, and sometimes color palettes and more. I hope they make you giggle, but also motivate you to draw while teaching you tons.
I had so much fun creating briefs for you that are entertaining and engaging while also giving you some real skills – you’ll get a FREE taste in next week’s newsletter.
Plus MORE BIG NEWS: we’ve also decided to give away Day 1 of class for FREE! Join me for the free live Zoom on the first day of class, Monday, September 8th, where I’ll give you your first Micro Mini assignment and we’ll work through it together. I’ve created a video of me doing the assignment so you can see exactly how I tackle it, and you’ll be able to ask questions and add comments as we watch it together – just like you’re watching over your teacher’s shoulder in a real-life classroom.
That Zoom is on Monday, September 8th at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST – set a reminder now, and don’t forget to bring your sketchbook!
So much goodness coming up! This is the second time I’ve taught this class and I’m so excited about it. I’ve been passionate about lettering ever since we did penmanship in third grade. I’ve both studied and taught calligraphy, and when I was an illustrator I paid my bills thanks in part to my lettering.
Some of my lettering gigs from my days as a full-time illustrator in NYC. My clients included New York University, Chronicle Books, Uppercase magazine, the Grammys and hundreds more. I paid my bills using my lettering skills, and I want to show you how you can do it too!
Why did I write a lettering course anyway? It’s because the ability to do lettering was one thing I always looked at when I was viewing an artist’s portfolio as an art agent. Why? Because being able to do lettering can help you get more work – and more work means more income for you, along with a more interesting and varied creative career.
That’s why I wrote this course: to help you get more jobs and more money. I designed it to help you find your own unique lettering style and fill your illustration portfolio with beautiful artwork designed to help you get paying jobs. I hope you’ll join me – sign up here.
Gorgeous books illustrated by some of the artists that I represented. Being able to do lettering will help you land more paying jobs like these, and as an agent it was one of the things I looked for in an artist’s work.
If you’ve taken Assignment Bootcamp before, you know that you usually get a mini assignment on the first Monday of every month, right?
Well, Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering is different. Different from any other lettering course out there too, because you’ll learn 15 different styles in bitesize daily assignments. In this course, I want to give you the opportunity to try out a ton of different styles of lettering in order to help you develop your own unique style, and to create a mini encyclopaedia full of varied styles of lettering that you can refer back to. So I created my bite-sized Micro Mini assignments.
You’ll get 15 Mini Micro assignments like this to help you build a reference library of gorgeous lettering styles – get your first one for FREE and work through it with me in the FREE Zoom on the first day of class, Monday, September 8th! Art by Erica Root.
Q. Lilla, what on earth is a Micro Mini assignment?
A. Each Micro Mini assignment will give you an example of a different lettering style you can try out and learn from, along with some notes from me. I’ve designed them to get you to try out 15 different lettering styles, to find out what you love, to give you more lettering styles for your took kit, and to prepare you for the portfolio assignment on the second week of each month.
You’ll get FIVE downloadable Micro Mini assignments in Week 1 of each month – one every day from Monday to Friday. This means you’ll get to try out a lettering style for five days for the first week of every month (of course you can save them up and do them weekly if you like).
Q. I’ve already taken Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering. Will I get the same Micro Mini assignments all over again?
A. Nope! You’ll get BRAND NEW Micro Minis and BRAND NEW assignments, to help you build a fantastically varied reference guide for lettering, and a really broad and powerful lettering portfolio.
Create stunning art like this for your portfolio which showcases your lettering skills, helping you to get more paying gigs. Art by Make Art That Sells students (l-r) Jeni Palthiel, Mara Penny and Heather Manning.
Today I’m giving you an example of one of the Micro Mini assignments you’ll get on the course. You’ll get another 15 of these inspiration sheets in total in Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering – five every month – to help you build up a really comprehensive reference guide of styles.
Plus, as I mentioned above, in the third month, all five of your Micro Mini assignments are written as though I’m a creative director commissioning you for a job. I had so much fun writing them and I know you’re going to love them. You’ll get a sneak peek in next week’s newsletter – don’t miss it!
The Micro Mini assignments will be followed by a big assignment in the second week of each month, when you’ll make some gorgeous art for your portfolio, designed to help you land lettering gigs. You’ll be prepared for that assignment because you’ll have a catalog of styles from the Micro Mini week.
Plus you’ll also get monthly LIVE meetings with me where you can ask me anything, break out rooms with your fellow students, bonus content, and more. Don’t miss it – register here.
How to use these assignments
Let’s go! Here’s your first Micro Mini assignment – you’ll get your second one in next week’s newsletter.
I made the pages large (letter size) for two reasons.
First, I want you to see the lettering on the photo nice and large.
Second, if you want to, you can print them out and tape them into a journal. You could put the printout on one side of the page, and your practice work on the other side. By the end of class, you’ll have a gorgeous lettering encyclopedia of fifteen styles (plus this one and the one you’ll get next week). If you don’t want to print anything out, you can simply draw from the pages on your screen.
Download your assignment here. I’ve scoured all sorts of vintage and modern paraphernalia for you to find some fabulous lettering samples like this that I think you’re going to love!
Check out this gorgeous vintage lettering I found for you. In preparation for this course, I’ve had to visit gourmet food stores, vintage shops, thrift shops, and all sorts to find tons of lettering for you and obviously it’s been simply terrible and I’ve hated every moment lol. I can’t wait to share the fabulous lettering I’ve found with you!
Read the notes at the bottom of the page, and riff off and experiment with the lettering. Do it as precisely or as wonkily as you like – make it yours!
You’ll find these Micro Minis are a wonderful way to start your day, or wind down each evening. If you want to spend longer on them, you can add the bonus in the notes at the bottom of the page.
Here’s an example of me doing a Micro Mini, with the printed out Micro Mini on the left and my practice on the right. Even as a former illustrator with literally decades of experience under my belt, I actually learned a ton from this unique approach, and I know you will too!
If you want to watch how I approach a Micro Mini then be sure to join the Zoom at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST on the first day of class, Monday, September 8th! You can watch a video of exactly how I approach the assignment you’ll get on the first day of class, ask questions, add comments, and draw right along with me. It’s going to be so much fun – don’t miss it.
Enjoy your first Micro Mini! Don’t forget to share what you do on social media and tag @makeartthatsells and use the hashtag #MATSLetteringPrep so that I can find it!
Don’t miss out – class starts Monday, September 8th! Sign up here!
- Monday, September 1st: Our brand new FREE 30-day Instagram challenge starts on September 1st! Lilla has created 30 wonderful prompts, and you could win a course just for taking part! See the prompts (and follow us on Instagram) here and find out more here.
- Monday, September 8th: Lilla’s much-loved lettering course, Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering, starts Monday, September 8th. Lettering is fantastic for your creative career – find out more and sign up here.
- Monday, September 8th: Join Lilla at 12 noon ET/5 pm BST for a FREE live Zoom event on the first day of Assignment Bootcamp: Lettering. She’ll be sharing Day 1 of class for FREE and giving away a FREE place in class!
- Hurry HURRY! Places in Lilla’s small-group mentoring intensive, Inner Circle, are going fast, and it won’t run again until fall 2026! Don’t wait another year to give your creative career a huge boost. Find out more and sign up here. Registration closes on Saturday, September 27th at 2 pm Eastern.
- Next newsletter: Get another fab FREE lettering assignment – and this one comes courtesy of mysterious (and entirely fictional) creative director Milla Dogers
Lots of love
