This week’s lettering post isn’t an actual tutorial, but it is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned and continue to learn. It’s about something we all deal with, no matter how long we’ve been at this: what to do when you hate your lettering and you can’t figure out why.

Even though I’ve been lettering for years now, there are still pieces I dislike greatly. Like, "what the heck even is this" levels of frustration.

For a long time, I’d try to figure it out on my own. I’d stare at it for way too long, tweaking one letter or word at a time, hoping it would magically come together. Or I’d just scrap it entirely and start over. But really, that’s not a great way to learn. Talk about wasted time, especially when I couldn’t figure out what made me dislike my original design, so I couldn’t even learn from it.

Enter: Feedback

Lately, instead of spiraling in frustration or wasting precious time, I’ve started posting these “ugh” pieces in The Letterverse, a Discord group full of other artists and letterers. I’ll literally ask, “Why do I hate this?”

And every time, they come back with feedback. Suggestions. Observations.
Stuff like:

Your baseline’s a mess (ok, they said it nicer than this)
You colors are off
What if you moved this word down a little?
How about making your curves match?

It’s always something I hadn’t seen myself. Because—let’s be real—we get stuck in our own heads. And the longer we stare at a piece, the harder it is to figure out what’s actually wrong.

But when I step back and let someone else take a look? That’s where the real learning happens. When I incorporate their feedback, I almost always end up loving the piece.

A Before & After Moment

Let me share two pieces that I started off hating but couldn’t understand why. After posting them in The Letterverse and getting some incredibly kind and helpful suggestions, I reworked them—and ended up with pieces that I liked much more.

Piece One

The original that I was not a fan of

The final - after including suggestions.

The actual advice I received from my fellow Letternauts.

So while this isn’t a step-by-step tutorial, it is one of the most important bits of lettering advice I can give:

Ask for—and Accept—Feedback

💬 Don’t get defensive when someone points out what isn’t working.
💬 Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
💬 Don’t assume struggling means you’re not good at this.
💬 You don’t have to accept all advice. Use your best judgement for what you think will help and what won’t.

There’s always room to improve.
And the only way to grow is to let other people in. Otherwise, we’re just stuck in our own heads with no real direction. If we’re just running in circles in our head, then how will we improve?

So if you’re ever sitting there with a piece you hate and can’t figure out why? Post it. Ask for feedback. Or you can even let me know, I’m always happy to offer feedback! You don’t need to suffer in silence (or waste hours tweaking the tail of your "y").

We learn faster together. And also, having a community where you can feel safe to share your work and get feedback is equally important. If you’d like to join The Letterverse Community, please do! I like to think we’re a pretty welcoming bunch, if you can get over our initial weirdness. XD

Join The Letterverse