Drawing Mid-Century Letters with Paul Twa | Swash & Serif 8 Workshops

We’ll be spending an afternoon creating and drawing MCM-inspired patterns to make playful and unique letterforms. Using tracing paper and a guide, you’ll learn how to strategically draw within the contours of a letter to create work that’s infused with mid-century illustrative flair! This period of design is known for its visual playfulness, and the techniques presented in this workshop can be used for everything from greeting cards, to names, to beautifully illustrated drop caps.

People at all experience levels who want to spend a chill afternoon drawing, learning about mid-century design, and exercising their creative muscles.

• Lettering worksheet
• Mid-century reference library
• Graphite Pencils
• Erasers
• Sharpeners
• Tracing Paper
• Drawing Paper
• Blank greeting cards for your final pieces

Paul Twa (he/him) is a graphic designer and illustrator who uses illustration as a foundation for drawing type. The exuberant and eclectic patterns from mid-century design inspired him to create letters out of flowers, gems, twigs, and more; an accessible approach to lettering with limitless variations! He’s always looked to the past for inspiration for client projects and personal work, such as his 36 Days of Type series "Mid-Century Alphabet". Paul has a Bachelor of Design from the University of Alberta and teaches illustration at George Brown College.

Mid-century modern (MCM) is a movement in interior design, product design, graphic design, architecture and urban development that was present throughout the world, but more popular in the United States, Mexico, Brazil and Europe from roughly 1945 to 1970.

The mid-century modern movement in the U.S. was an American reflection of the International and Bauhaus movements. Although the American component was slightly more organic in form and less formal than the International Style, it is more firmly related to it than any other. Brazilian and Scandinavian architects were very influential at this time, with a style characterized by clean simplicity and integration with nature. [wikipedia]

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