Ampersand Lettering Sketches

Hey there! Hope you had a great holiday weekend. I'm guessing not much lettering practice got done over the last few days, right? Yeah, I hear ya. Days off, especially holidays, are usually busier than work days. Okay, so now that lots of good food and good memories were made, let's get back on track to making letters!

Today I want to talk to you about the ampersand, the symbol used to represent the word "and". It originated as a ligature for the letters "et" which is Latin for "and". There really is no right or wrong way to draw an ampersand as long as it vaguely forms a blend of the letters "et". Sometimes it looks like a capital "E" (more like a blend of a capital E and a lower case T) and other times it looks like a number 8 (or an abstract blend of a lower case E and lower case T, resembling an 8).

Think you can handle making your own? Of course you can! Grab a sheet of paper, your favorite pen (or pencil) and start by making the basic ampersand shape. Then begin to modify your strokes, play with different styles and shading as well as with thick and thin strokes and you'll find that the possibilities are truly endless.

Don't forget to share your work on Instagram and include the hashtag #letteringbootcamp on your page and caption so I can cheer you on!

Let's end the week with a few lettering drills so that we may begin next week with better lettering abilities because of it.

Have a great day and happy lettering!

For more tips and inspiration, please follow me on Instagram and join the mailing list.