The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
May 9, 2015 6:19 PM Subscribe
Seb Lester is an astonishing calligrapher and graphic designer. In this clip, he freehands a number of famous logos...
But he's got so much more to see. His YouTube channel is filled with videos that are simply amazing.
Favorites include:
- Rock & Roll
- A Word Paints a Thousand Pictures
- A-Z Speed Calligraphy
- Improvised Calligraphy Demonstration A-Z Blackletter & Italic
- Roman Capitals practice
But he's got so much more to see. His YouTube channel is filled with videos that are simply amazing.
Favorites include:
- Rock & Roll
- A Word Paints a Thousand Pictures
- A-Z Speed Calligraphy
- Improvised Calligraphy Demonstration A-Z Blackletter & Italic
- Roman Capitals practice
Speaking as a person who used to concentrate to spell her name right when signing things (because I just can't make all those letters) and has now given up on spelling her name when signing: Holy Crap.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:41 PM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:41 PM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I follow this gent on Instagram and he's pretty amazing. I have zero by way of artistic skill and he just blows me away on a regular basis.
On the other hand, the fact that he has thousands upon thousands of followers boggles my mind. Who knew there were that many people who love calligraphy and freehand logo drawing?
posted by nevercalm at 6:45 PM on May 9, 2015
On the other hand, the fact that he has thousands upon thousands of followers boggles my mind. Who knew there were that many people who love calligraphy and freehand logo drawing?
posted by nevercalm at 6:45 PM on May 9, 2015
I would love to see some of these in real time. How slowly does he work? Also, how did he do that circle thing with the adidas logo?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:47 PM on May 9, 2015
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:47 PM on May 9, 2015
I think the thousands upon thousands of followers is not just for the calligraphy. I think it's about being able to see a master in action. I am in awe of his control of the pen. Utterly amazing and beautiful.
posted by njohnson23 at 6:49 PM on May 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 6:49 PM on May 9, 2015 [4 favorites]
WELP I guess I have another calligrapher other than Theosone to obsess over now
(also hell yeah Parallel Pens)
posted by DoctorFedora at 7:19 PM on May 9, 2015
(also hell yeah Parallel Pens)
posted by DoctorFedora at 7:19 PM on May 9, 2015
It's no fair, he's cheating by being really good at it.
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 7:21 PM on May 9, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by the uncomplicated soups of my childhood at 7:21 PM on May 9, 2015 [10 favorites]
I wonder what the grocery and errand lists he jots down for himself look like.
posted by _Mona_ at 7:34 PM on May 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by _Mona_ at 7:34 PM on May 9, 2015 [5 favorites]
Also, how did he do that circle thing with the adidas logo?
Like this
posted by TedW at 7:35 PM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Like this
posted by TedW at 7:35 PM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wonder what the grocery and errand lists he jots down for himself look like.
Nice and simple things.
I have three of his prints. They make me deeply happy.
posted by rewil at 7:45 PM on May 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
Nice and simple things.
I have three of his prints. They make me deeply happy.
posted by rewil at 7:45 PM on May 9, 2015 [3 favorites]
These are so much better than I imagined they would be.
posted by dogwalker at 8:12 PM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by dogwalker at 8:12 PM on May 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Watching an expert work is pure joy, even when you know nothing of the field. There is an element of unhurried confidence that just can't be faked.
posted by localroger at 8:19 PM on May 9, 2015
posted by localroger at 8:19 PM on May 9, 2015
There is something soothing and about seeing a master at work. Its like "this is complex and involves incredible skill, but dont worry, an expert is in control."
There should be a channel or something which just broadcasts skillful people doing their work. ... no commentary or no music ... just an expert doing his work .... I could watch for hours .. like slow television.
posted by TheLittlePrince at 8:28 PM on May 9, 2015 [11 favorites]
There should be a channel or something which just broadcasts skillful people doing their work. ... no commentary or no music ... just an expert doing his work .... I could watch for hours .. like slow television.
posted by TheLittlePrince at 8:28 PM on May 9, 2015 [11 favorites]
There should be a channel or something which just broadcasts skillful people doing their work.
There's a subreddit for this kind of video—r/artisanvideos—although in my experience the quality is uneven. Maybe just skim the top posts!
posted by danb at 10:20 PM on May 9, 2015
There's a subreddit for this kind of video—r/artisanvideos—although in my experience the quality is uneven. Maybe just skim the top posts!
posted by danb at 10:20 PM on May 9, 2015
The logo videos remind me a bit of the old "Mad Painter" bits from Sesame Street.
posted by mcrandello at 2:23 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mcrandello at 2:23 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
You know, but with skill and all.
posted by mcrandello at 2:23 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by mcrandello at 2:23 AM on May 10, 2015
The old typographer in me found this indescribably beautiful.
posted by kinnakeet at 4:23 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by kinnakeet at 4:23 AM on May 10, 2015
He's generally very good, but he's for some reason really bad at freehanding curves. The bottom of the G in the GAP logo, the first S and the first R in STAR WARS... The s in Adidas he does nicely when he's doing the typical calligraphy curve thing at first, but when he has to widen the curves to make the strokes uniform, he just kind of half-asses it and makes them kind of uneven and kinky.
I get the feeling he's a very good calligrapher, but not a very good draughtsman or typographer. He's got the calligraphy technique down, and he's very good at it, but you can definitely see that he's nowhere near as good when he has to go outside of his comfort zone and just basically freehand draw some parts.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:27 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
I get the feeling he's a very good calligrapher, but not a very good draughtsman or typographer. He's got the calligraphy technique down, and he's very good at it, but you can definitely see that he's nowhere near as good when he has to go outside of his comfort zone and just basically freehand draw some parts.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:27 AM on May 10, 2015 [3 favorites]
Oh, and I just got to the "American Horror Story" logo, and man, is that ever evident in the tails on those R's. He's not even screwing them up in the same way on each one.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:30 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 4:30 AM on May 10, 2015
Not even via time lapse?
Time lapse actually makes it harder, because it draws attention to uneven and uncertain motions.
posted by localroger at 5:03 AM on May 10, 2015
Time lapse actually makes it harder, because it draws attention to uneven and uncertain motions.
posted by localroger at 5:03 AM on May 10, 2015
Note also how quickly the video cuts away from the finished result in each case, so you don't get a chance to look at it in detail. It looks impressive in motion because it produces a result that looks a lot like what you remember those logos looking like, but it doesn't give you a chance to look at anything but the big picture and notice imperfections.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 5:11 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 5:11 AM on May 10, 2015
I knew if any site could ruin this guy for me, it would be Metafilter.
posted by nevercalm at 5:25 AM on May 10, 2015 [16 favorites]
posted by nevercalm at 5:25 AM on May 10, 2015 [16 favorites]
all that time spent practising … other people's logos? Why, that's delightful {/}
posted by scruss at 7:24 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 7:24 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
I never realized how much the sizes of letters vary in the media properties. Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings - there are at least two and sometimes more different sizes of letters. Interesting.
posted by jeoc at 7:40 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by jeoc at 7:40 AM on May 10, 2015
Metafilter: If any site could ruin this.
posted by Paladin1138 at 10:14 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Paladin1138 at 10:14 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
What is going on with the coca-cola logo at 1:46 in the first video? Some sort of offset white ink pen? huh?
posted by GhostChe at 10:48 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by GhostChe at 10:48 AM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
GhostChe: that kind of pen is called an oblique, and yes he is using white ink.
posted by idiopath at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by idiopath at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
If they aren't doing Spencerian or Copperplate, I'm just not interested.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:03 PM on May 10, 2015
posted by PeterMcDermott at 12:03 PM on May 10, 2015
Mainly, I'm just jealous because I'm left-handed....
posted by schmod at 6:08 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by schmod at 6:08 PM on May 10, 2015 [1 favorite]
Witchcraft
posted by mygoditsbob at 4:40 AM on May 11, 2015
posted by mygoditsbob at 4:40 AM on May 11, 2015
idiopath: "GhostChe: that kind of pen is called an oblique, and yes he is using white ink."
Is it a coincidence that the oblique example you link to is also using white ink, or is there some reason the oblique pen is better for white ink?
posted by RobotHero at 6:11 PM on May 14, 2015
Is it a coincidence that the oblique example you link to is also using white ink, or is there some reason the oblique pen is better for white ink?
posted by RobotHero at 6:11 PM on May 14, 2015
« Older changing from a 'bad' man to a 'good' woman | (Not even a single piece was left!) Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by quin at 6:22 PM on May 9, 2015 [2 favorites]