Norm, I have a question – is the lettering in Gill / Retail done by hand or is it an available font? I would’ve thought Gill was hand-lettered, but it looks like it might be a font of some kind?
The lettering in Gil is done by hand. The lettering in Retail is done with a font I created.
I often think about switching to hand-lettering with Retail, but I’m always afraid the sudden change will be off-putting to people who have become accustomed to the look of the strip.
Is there any data on how many cartoonists still hand-letter syndicated strips? I would think it’s easier to type using the font, but having never drawn or lettered a strip, I don’t know.
Awesome
Norm, I have a question – is the lettering in Gill / Retail done by hand or is it an available font? I would’ve thought Gill was hand-lettered, but it looks like it might be a font of some kind?
The lettering in Gil is done by hand. The lettering in Retail is done with a font I created.
I often think about switching to hand-lettering with Retail, but I’m always afraid the sudden change will be off-putting to people who have become accustomed to the look of the strip.
Glad to see Gill again! Thanks for this.
Is there any data on how many cartoonists still hand-letter syndicated strips? I would think it’s easier to type using the font, but having never drawn or lettered a strip, I don’t know.
Anecdotally, I would say that the majority of syndicated cartoonists still hand letter their strips.
A font is absolutely easier, but not necessarily better, or even faster.
Thanks, Norm! And it’s really cool that you answer fans’ questions.