CONT.

OF LESSON 1
By: Engr. Eddie Cabayao, Ph.D .M.E.
Engr. Lyndre Bito-onon, M.S. Mgt. Engrg. LETTERING
By: Engr. Eddie Cabayao, Ph.D.
NOTE: (THIS
Engr. TOPIC
LyndreISBito-onon,
TO BE INSERTED
M.E.E. AFTER THE INTRODUCTION AND ORIENTION)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the student should be able to:
 Identify simple types of letters; and
 Draw letters using freehand.

INTRODUCTION
Even though lettering is another field of discipline, it is important in any drawing because other pertinent information
necessary in a drawing is lettered to describe the object under construction which the drawing or the graphical representation
fails to show. Sometimes, ideas in drawing cannot be fully understood unless an annotation accompanies it. In this case, a good
lettering is needed to help transmit these ideas. It is noteworthy that no matter how nice the drawing is, if the lettering
accompanying it is poor, the entire drawing might be spoiled.

There are numerous styles of letters in use since the design of modern alphabets, but only very few are recommended for
use in technical drawing.

LESSON CONTENTS

FREEHAND LETTERING

Lettering is done to form letters and numbers in freehand. It is ‘lettered’ rather than just plainly written, because such is
easier and faster to do and there is the least chance of error. In drawing, information such as dimensions of parts and notations
are usually lettered.

In technical drawing, the lettering used is called single-stroke gothic lettering. These letters are simple and easy to read
that is why it is more preferred than other styles of letters.

The following tips draw attention to small matters of detail which will assist the draftsman to improve the technique of
lettering:
1. Lettering should be vertical or slanted. In most cases, vertical letters are preferred than slanted letters.
2. The slope of the slanted letters should be approximately 20 to 25 from the vertical.
3. The letters and symbols should be produced at reasonable speed and in uniform manner.
4. In technical drawing, single stroke letters are preferred and must be free of serifs and embellishments.
5. All letters must be black and of consistent density.
6. Underlining of characters should be avoided since they impede legibility.
7. Make sure that all letters and dimensions remain legible if reproduced on reduced scale or viewed on microfilm reader.
That is why uppercase letters are recommended in technical drawing rather that of lowercase letters except when used in
codes, abbreviations, or symbols. Periods should be avoided after metric symbols such as m, cm, and mm.
8. As much as possible, mechanical pencils should be used instead of wooden drawing pencils since no resharpening is
needed. In the process, draftsmen will save time and efforts. For beginners it is recommended to use wooden pencil to
realized when to or not to sharpen the pencil.
9. Light guidelines should be used for uniform height and spacing of letters. It is recommended that guide lines should not be
erased even after lettering is finished.

3.2 PARTS OF A LETTER

stem lobe swash line serif
1. Stem – the horizontal or vertical segments of a letter.
2. Lobe – the curved segments of a letter.
3. Swash line – the sloping or slanting segments of a letter.
D M
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 Figure 3.1 – Parts of a letter
STYLES IN LETTERING

Single Stroke Gothic Lettering Style

In this style, all the letters in the alphabet are formed with a series of single strokes that are as wide as the pencil point,
speedball pen, or ordinary drawing pen.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
QRSTUVWXYZ
Figure 3.2 – Single stroke vertical uppercase letters or caps

abcdefghijklmnop
qrstuvwxyz
Figure 3.3 – Single stroke vertical lowercase or small letters

1234567890
Figure 3.4 – Vertical numbers

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
QRSTUVWXYZ
Figure 3.5 – Single stroke inclined uppercase letters

abcdefghijklmnop
qrstuvwxyz
Figure 3.6 – Single stroke inclined lowercase letters

1234567890
Figure 3.7 – Slanted numbers
Roman Letters

All letters having ‘accented’ strokes or consisting of heavy and light or thick and thin lines are Roman letters. This is
usually drawn using styles C or D speedball pen. Roman letters are either of the old or modern Roman which is usually used
for map titles and names of countries and cities.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
PQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmno
pqrstuvwxyz
1234567890
Figure 3.8 – Roman letters and numbers

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Italic Letters

All slanting letters are classified as italics. Sometimes they are referred to as either Roman italics or Gothic italics and
the like. Like the Roman letters, this is drawn with the use of styles C or D speedball pen.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
PQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnop
qrstuvwxyz
1234567890
Figure 3.9 – Roman italics
Text Letters

These include all styles of Old English, American Text, German Text, Cloister Black Text, Bradley Text, or other various
trade names. This style is often used on diplomas and certificates.

Figure 3.10 – Diploma texts

3.4 GENERAL DIVISIONS OF LETTERS

Letters are generally divided into two according to its usage, and these are:

1. Drawn or Built-Up Letters – are letters often used on big advertisements. They are first outlined and then filled up for
more emphasis after being made with brushes.

Figure 3.11 – Drawn or built-up letters

2. Written or Single Stroke Letters – are letters formed in single strokes that are as wide as the pencil point or speedball
pen.
John B. Lacson
Figure 3.12 – Single stroke letters

3.5 GENERAL PROPORTIONS OF LETTERS

Normal Letters – when the letters are drawn neither too narrow nor too wide. Under normal lettering, six units in height, the
following letters are proportioned as follows:
I – the narrowest and is the foundation stroke of all letters
W – widest letter, eight units in width
T O M Q V A X Y – the second widest letters, six units in width
The rest of the letters are five units in width.
Compressed Letters – these letters are narrow in width in proportion to height and are used when space is limited.
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 Figure 3.13 – Compressed letters

Extended Letters – these letters are wider than the normal letters and are used when the space is very wide

Figure 3.14 – Extended letters

NEED FOR GUIDE LINES

Guide lines are absolutely essential for good lettering and should be regarded as a welcome aid. Guide lines should be
drawn with the aid of a T-square. It is therefore necessary to know how to use this instrument. Triangles are also needed for
vertical and inclined guide lines. Thus, knowledge of how to use the same is important.

Guide lines may be of the light horizontal type which is used to regulate the height of the letters, or the light vertical or
inclined guide lines which is used to keep letters uniformly vertical or inclined.

Guide lines must also be made of fine, light, straight, and parallel with cap line and base line identified for uppercase
letters, and with the waist line and drop line for lower case letters. Inclined guide lines should be drawn with 671/2 or 2:5
proportions.

WAIST LINE CAP LINE

UPPERCASE LETTERING
BASE LINE

Figure 3.15 – Guide lines for uppercase lettering.

WAIST LINE CAP LINE

Lowercase lettering
DROP LINE BASE LINE

Figure 3.16 – Guide lines for lowercase lettering.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWER

1. What style of lettering is the simplest lettering and is recommended in technical drawing?
2. How is uniformity of letters kept in lettering?

References
Maritime Drawings and Diagrams, by Dr. Edmund Pragados

NOTE:

HANDS ON LETTERING AND DRAWING ACTIVITIES IS TO BE SCHEDULED

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PLATE NO. 1: TITLE: GOTHIC LETTERING (FREE-HAND SINGLE STROKE)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. By using drawing paper size A4, draw the letters of the alphabet as shown below using vertical single stroke CAPITAL
letters. Use the light lines as guidelines (cap line, waist line and base line) and use the scale that may be assigned by the
instructor. Letters may be done in pencil.
2. In this style, all the letters in the alphabet are formed with a series of single strokes that are as wide as the pencil point.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 6mm
1234567890 6mm

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 5mm
1234567890 5mm

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 4mm
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 4mm

PLATE NO. 2: LINES DRAWING PATTERN

INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Make 6 equal windows (or squares) 65mm x 65mm and draw the different line pattern as shown
2. By correct using of drawing instruments draw figure as shown below (distance between lines is 5mm)
3. The drawing instructor/trainer will demonstrate the correct use of instruments

FIG. 1: HORIZONTAL LINES FIG, 2: VERTICAL LINES FIG. 3: 300 INCLINED LINES

FIG. 4: 600 INCLINED LINES FIG. 5: 450 INCLINED TO THE RIGHT FIG. 6: INCLINED TO THE LEFT

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