10. Amy Domingo, 28
@amy_domingo
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? My first lettering post on Instagram was on July 1, 2016. I was already pursuing a career in graphic design at that time. Hand lettering was an emerging design trend back then; so naturally, I just had to try it out! I just couldn’t decide which words to letter.
I was also struggling to read the Bible better then. With hand lettering, you had to highlight certain words and make them stand out so that it reads better—which I thought was perfect to apply to my Bible-reading journey!
Coincidentally, there was a #30DaysofBibleLettering challenge happening at that time, and tried joining the fun! That was the first time I ever posted a digitally lettered artwork online!
Describe to us your art style. My hand-lettered work is mostly illustrative, fun and faith-inspired! I grew up watching lots of Disney and anime, so that adds a dash of whimsical pixie dust to my art.
Which artist/s do you look up to? Foreign: Stefan Kunz, Lauren Hom, Mary Kate McDevitt, Jessica Hische
Local: Raxene Maniquiz, Nico Ng, Lorra Elena, Serious Studio, And a Half Design Studio
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? On weekdays, I do UI/UX design and graphic recoding gigs! While I do enjoy my day job (solving problems with art and design), my IG account has primarily been a creative outlet for me to make art and share my faith. I don’t do a lot of talking in real life, so I let my art do the talking for me!
9. Janyn Ormeo, 20
@nynjamoves
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? I started my calligraphy journey in 2016. What inspires me to pursue this craft is the time when I saw my classmate designing her project in a calligraphy form, it got me interested to learn with it. At first, I didn’t use a brush pen because first of all, I can’t afford them but I found a way to learn calligraphy without using any of the brush pens. I just bought marker pens and started to watch calligraphy videos on youtube and Instagram.
As time goes by, I can’t take my hands off to my pens I just want to make calligraphy all over again until I saw my improvement and that makes my heart happy. I’ve decided to buy a real brush pen at first, it was really difficult because I always have to deal with perfect strokes. From time to time, I’m always practicing those thick and thin lines to get a perfect stroke. I was really determined to learn and I’m always watching some tutorials on Instagram and it serves as my motivation to learn calligraphy as well.
Right from where I started up to now, I’m always thankful to God for the talent and skills that he gave me. I’ve already produced my own workbooks, worksheets, and planners as well. I can now manage to conduct workshops in different places and invited by some famous art brands.
Describe to us your art style. My art style is more of modern calligraphy. I am also fond of flourish and brush script calligraphy. Sometimes I tend to combine calligraphy and lettering as well.
Which artist/s do you look up to? Stefan Kunz, Ian Barnard, Risa Rodil, Grace Frösén, Rachiie Keith Sanchez
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? Aside from calligraphy, I love to draw doodles and to paint but aside from being Calligrapher, I’m currently the Senior Graphic Artist of our organization which is The Innovator, the Official Media Organization of Students and Associates of FEU Institute of Technology.
8. Paolo Tugano, 27
@pvtugano
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? Actually I love to draw since I was kindergarten. I draw Goku and Vegeta at the back of my notebook when I was in Grade school. When I was in HS, I compete for poster making. I also joined Campus Journalism as an Editorial Cartoonist. Fast forward when I enter college, my art side lost. Not my desire but it’s a hell of a busy year. Fast forward again, I came back to drawing in late 2014 when my cousin’s die due to heart complications and relationship break up with my college girlfriend that time. Early in 2015, I saw calligraphy and lettering on Instagram. At that moment, I fell in love with letters. So I tried to replicate it and do it on my own. Then, the rest was history!
Describe to us your art style. I really don’t know how to describe my art style. But I have this one style that when people saw it, they recognize it as my letterforms. I call it PVT Script.
Which artist/s do you look up to? Patrick Cabral, Carl Chua, Tobias Saul, Seb Lester
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? I do freelancing. I do logos, letterings, and designs for companies, clothing lines, weddings, etc., locally and abroad. I’m also a Front End Web Developer. I also love to sing. I love music. I love to play the keyboard and guitar. I also loved to travel especially beach trip but sometimes I want to be at home. I also manage my own clothing line business, Senioritos.
7. Rbin Binuya, 23
@mydoodlebin
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? Winning my first doodle art contest back in High School inspired me to pursue art as a hobby. I always had an interest in lettering so I’d write words, song lyrics, quotes and doodle cute elements around it. 2014 was when I started sharing my hand lettering works on Instagram and this became my art form and field.
Describe to us your art style. I’d like to describe my art style as fun and freehand. I always try not to overthink the lettering piece because I want it to be more human, relatable and authentic. I express my feelings through letters with illustrations.
Which artist/s do you look up to? I love Lauren Hom’s works! It’s beautifully made and really relatable. She’s a cool, witty and very talented person.
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? Apart from doing lettering, I also design and produce merchandise like stickers and button pins for our brand Pointy Little Things (@pointylittlethings). I’m also exploring digital lettering and illustrations using Procreate on the iPad.
6. Gian Carlo Wong, 23
@giancarlowong
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? As early as my elementary days, I was already in love with art. I just loved designing and crafting whenever there was an opportunity. Then, social networking grew and the internet world was all about Friendster profiles where you could customize your very own page. I wanted to stand out with really cool background graphics so I started dabbling with Adobe Photoshop. Fast forward to college, I took up a Multimedia Arts program and specialized in graphic design. Along the way, I was able to find a big appreciation for typography. I simply loved drawing and making compositions with words.
Describe to us your art style. I’ve always been recognized through my dynamic typographic work that combines expressive lettering and punchy colors. So it’s always colorful, it’s moving, it has character, it challenges legibility, and if I could use one word: FUN.
Which artist/s do you look up to? My holy trinity of idols include: Velvet Spectrum, Gemma O’Brien, and Karan Singh
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? As a big believer in creative explorations and experiments beyond mandatories, I also initiate projects that center on things I love and produce them as novelty art merchandise people could get in cons! I’ll be selling new stuff very soon and my social media channels are always up to date with announcements or with the hashtag #designbygian.
5. Kitty Jardenil, 19
@kittyjardenil
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? My journey is a bunch of things, twists and turns here and there! I started lettering around the first year of high school, but I like to think my interest came as a result of the different phases of my life.
Growing up, my parents encouraged me to make art. They would buy me soooo many art materials that it would be just me, Barney on TV, and my bottles of glitter glue, textured paper, and purple wavy-cut scissors. They even had me join art workshops, which were so much fun. I remember being the youngest student in those classes (I was three!) and had to make dioramas, cut-outs, and paintings. Forget the age gaps and intimidation; I was just having fun!
As time flew by, I became such an avid reader that I knew then that I wanted to write for a living! I vividly remember my Tito asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I enthusiastically said I wanted to be a writer. He asked, “A writer? Like what do you want to write?” I had to explain that I wanted to write books of fiction, like Stephenie Meyer (I had to say the most obvious example back then) or Suzanne Collins or Veronica Roth. It was a dream that was already set in stone, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Those stories made me a fangirl, which also led me to be a total nerd on Tumblr. It was like an 8 AM to 11 PM routine: wake up, have breakfast, scroll and reblog things on Tumblr, then sleep. Ask any old Gen Z-er and I’m sure they’ll say “Oh, I loved those old Tumblr days!” I’m so grateful for that time in my life because along with the fandom stuff, I became interested in graphic design; I followed online tutorials, made a bunch of themes, and created photosets and gifs.
So my lettering journey really is a culmination of art and design and writing. There is so much power in words. Why not make it even more powerful by making its visuality even more beautiful?
Describe to us your art style. Artists fear the word style because it feels permanent, perpetual, and constant, and therefore intimidating when asked about it. I like to think style is fleeting, changing, and ever-evolving!
My style right now is vibrant and dynamic lettering, accompanied by energetic and textured illustrations and exciting embellishments, all on a black background. I want to capture a loud contrast between the presence of colors and the absence of it, sort of saying that there’s always something to look forward to even in the darkest of moments. Super hugot, but it’s a good reminder! People also say my art is a direct translation of who I am as a person, which is pretty cool.
I’m still experimenting and trying out new things, so we’ll never know what my next style could be! My goal is to be flexible so I can capture the essence of any project, and not limit myself to a certain kind of project, client, or message.
Which artist/s do you look up to? My top six foreign lettering artists that I look up to are Erik Marinovich (for his dynamism and versatility with his letters), Martina Flor (for her scripts, knowledge, and embellishments), Nick Misani (for his elegant and graceful letters), Jessica Hische (for just existing… seriously she’s contributed so much to the lettering and design world EVERYONE looks up to her!), Jim Tierney (for his versatility and talent in combining letters and lettering, and his work for the publishing world; his job is my dream job) and lastly, Lauren Hom (for her wit, humor, marketing skills, and generosity; she shares ALL her secrets willingly!). Recently I’ve met Lauren, and she’s SO NICE, so that’s a check out of 5 boxes!
I love local artists as much as foreign artists. Filipino talent is so world-class! Favorites include Raxenne Maniquiz, Dan Matutina, Betsy Cola (Betina Continuado), Jelvin Base, Gian Wong, Jill Arteche, Eva Yu, Jappy Agoncillo, Soleil Ignacio, Risa Rodil. I also look up to my fellow designers and illustrators in the Benildean Press Corps!
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? I’ve been lucky enough to have collaborated with amazing clients, both big and small, including San Miguel Corporation, ABS-CBN Publishing, FILED, Penelope Pop. Otterbox PH, and Candy Magazine. My works have also been featured in both Goodtype books and Typism Book 4. I’ve also done many lettering workshops and painted murals too!
Aside from lettering, I’m also a graphic designer. I love to make layouts and play with the blend between typography, colors, and images, hoping to practice the principles of design to make something effective. I find details incredibly important when making anything!
I’m also the Creative Director (two times in a row!) for The Benildean Press Corps, the official student publication of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, where I guide a team of dedicated and talented student journalists in creating visuals for the publications online and print content.
4. RK Sanchez, 27
@skribsinner
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? I’ve been into drawing anime and painting since I was 6 years old but I only discovered calligraphy and hand lettering in 2016. I joined GUHIT Pinas Calligraphers and that’s where I got inspired and improved.
Describe to us your art style. I really love experimenting with color palettes. I use a lot of gradients and various color combinations in my work. I also usually apply shadows and highlights in my letters.
Which artist/s do you look up to? I look up to a lot of artists and usually take inspiration from them. Some of my favorites are Stefan Kunz, Matthieu Tarrin, Stephan Lopes, and David Milan.
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? I had been a teacher for almost 7 years and I decided to quit my job to pursue my career in lettering. In July 2018, I started a campaign called “This Is Not A Font” to clear the confusion about the differences between lettering, calligraphy, typefaces, and fonts. The campaign started as a response to the question “What font is this?”, which most aspiring lettering and calligraphy artists get from people. Aside from being a full-time artist, I also serve at a Christian church in Angeles City as an acoustic guitarist.
We have a page dedicated to the local arts and music community. Check it out here!
3. Ella Lama, 30
@ella_lama
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? I started lettering in 2012 as a stress reliever from work. Since my job was in digital marketing, I wanted a hobby that would allow me to use my hands and be away from the computer screen. As I gained confidence in my art, I released products, taught workshops, made murals, and worked on other commissions.
Describe to us your art style. I am mostly into illustration now, but I still add hand-lettered details to my work. I love working with color, and I like infusing my work with a bit of humor and positivity. I take inspiration from my experiences as an artist, freelancer, and introvert.
Which artist/s do you look up to? My ultimate hand-lettering idols are Jessica Hische and Mary Kate McDevitt. I feel like, over the years that I have been following them, they have grown and experimented so much, and that inspires me to keep on learning and improving. Other artists I admire are Risa Rodil, Kitty Jardenil, Lisk Feng, Aiko Fukawa, Anna Bond, Iraville, Fran Meneses, and many, many more.
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? Aside from illustration and lettering, one of my passions is helping other artists navigate the numbers side of their creative businesses. I teach a workshop called Creative Career Roadmap, where we talk about pricing, business registration, self-promotion, and finding motivation. I hold one session per quarter, and the first one this year is happening on January 25th in Quezon City.
2. TC Morados, 22
@inksandcoffee
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? I guess the earliest memory I can recall was when I was in first grade. I was on my way home riding our school bus, when my older bus mate showed me how to letter my name “Trina Cassandra” on a pad paper, using her glittery pink pen. I have no knowledge about it nor know what it’s called back then but when I arrived home, I hurriedly went to grab my art tools in my room and tried to recreate her letterings the whole evening. A decade later, I enrolled myself in an online course about the Art of Calligraphy— after obsessing over the idea of making my own wedding invitations.
Describe to us your art style. My art style is always changing. I have been known for not being constant, for trying out anything that interests me because any routine-like work really bores me. And I solely create based on my emotions which is a total rollercoaster ride. I can describe my art style as a chaotic yet well-thought art, it’s a beautiful mess!
Which artist/s do you look up to? I admire @jordan.e.clark, @theblushingscript, @thegraytergood, @stephsayshello, and @oraarts’ works so much! They inspire me to the point that it makes me want to grab a pen and just start lettering whatever every time I come across their posts!
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? If I’m not putting pen to paper, I’m either painting coffee mugs to sell them on my page or making journal spreads about creativity and mental health. I also spend most of my time playing video games, reading books, or just probably out for an iced coffee run to take a creative break!
1. Risa Rodil, 26
@risarodil
When did you start and what inspired you to pursue this craft? I realized my fascination for art at the early age of 14. This fascination went on for a couple more years until I finally decided to take up an art course in college. I took up Multimedia Arts in DLS-CSB—a course that introduced me to various design fields like Animation, Illustration, Web Design, Video Production, Game Design, and Photography. All throughout college, I heavily enjoyed Web Design the most, and so that time I knew I wanted to be a professional web designer in the future. I even got my very first job as a web designer for a large network company after graduation.
In a funny turn of events, I suddenly became enamored by typography at around the same time. I’ve only been playing around pre-made fonts then, but thanks to the internet, I discovered the term “lettering” and how you can draw your own fonts from scratch. I was OBSESSED. I started illustrating my favorite quotes for fun and posting them on the internet. It took me by surprise when I received my very first lettering inquiry. I never thought someone would actually pay for something I’m just doing for fun. For two years, I’ve been trying to juggle my day job and the lettering commissions. When I felt that the commissions were consistently pouring in, I made the risky decision to quit my day job and try my luck in freelance. Fast forward to 5 years later, I’m happy I made the shift to Lettering and Illustration because it was quite a feeling to make a career out of your hobby.
Describe to us your art style. I describe my style as a vibrant mixture of striking colors with a touch of whimsy and modern retro.
Which artist/s do you look up to? My all-time lettering idols are Mary Kate McDevitt, Jessica Hische, Linzie Hunter, and Gemma O’Brien.
Anything about yourself you’d like to add, like other hobbies, jobs, and passions? Apart from being an artist, I also enjoy binge-watching shows, traveling to new cities, and going out with friends.
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