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Published here for the first time in a digital format, BJ Betts’ guides are the OG reference for learning how to create great lettering tattoos. Throughout these eBooks, BJ shows you how to approach lettering as an illustration, rather than as type font, explaining the “how” and “why” of design.
With BJ’s guides and some practice, you’ll learn the fundamentals of lettering designs, like spacing, consistent weight and shading, and how to develop a sense of what works and what doesn’t.
Special offer: Save 20% when you bundle all 3 Lettering Guides!
Make sure you check out BJ Betts' Lettering Guides 4 and 5 on Tattoo Smart!
In BJ’s words:
“Lettering has always held my interest. I remember seeing handwritten letters from my Grandfather to my Grandmother and being in awe of the penmanship skills. Then there were the holiday cards, post cards and other handwritten notes celebrating various accomplishments or birthdays. I studied those letters, those brush strokes and really asked a lot of questions about how letters work and interacted with each other.
When I first started tattooing, lettering was more of an afterthought, taking the back seat to a larger, main image. Now, the roles have reversed and lettering has taken center stage, becoming the main image. This was also before a time when people specialized in specializing, and you had to do some homework if you wanted good reference, Google wasn't an option. The tattoo world was largely flash based, and the designs were plentiful, however, there wasn't much lettering reference.
Luckily, I can sketch lettering relatively quickly, and so I was frequently asked to whip up some lettering on the fly. After a few years of that, I decided to print a small guide to give away to my friends, and this book eventually became the first lettering guide, with 4 volumes to follow. There was only a few sketchbooks available at the time, which were Sailor Jerry and Mike "Rollo" Malone, so I decided to enter the sketch book world and make something that you can throw in your backpack, giving the user some basic guidelines for successful layout, design and lettering.
Now, here we are 15 years later, and the books are available in digital format making it even more convenient and travel friendly. I can't thank everybody enough for all the support over the years and also to Russ for putting together this amazing platform to help artists develop their own styles and continuously improve."
