Hand lettering vs type?

[Denaliah Arts]

Which one is better, assuming that the artist's handwriting is legible. I'm not just talking webcomics, but mainstream printed comics too, which one of the two would you as a reader prefer?

[JD-Ayane]

Personally, I would prefer type. Even if a persons handwriting is legible, you usually can fit more text with type - and change it. Imagine you did a project and in the end you decided to change some of the dialogue. With type you just change the text, with handwriting you probably have to tape it over or write it on a piece of paper, scan it and insert it with Photoshop. Sounds like a waste of time... ^^;

[Chinko-chan]

I like type made from the artist's handwriting.

However I also feel like it depends on the style of the comic. If it's a traditional water-colored dreamy comic I think type would stand out.

If it's a vectored computer rendered comic, I think handwriting would stand out. As long as it fits with the comic and it's easy to read I don't think I actually have a preference.

[Nessess]

LuMi aka penguin power

Which one is better, assuming that the artist's handwriting is legible. I'm not just talking webcomics, but mainstream printed comics too, which one of the two would you as a reader prefer?

I personally like hand-lettered comics, but the majority of artists can't handletter well at all. If you are going to handletter, buy and learn how to use and Aimes Lettering Guide. It's awesome.

Type is obviously fast and easier to read. I suggest making a digital text of your handwriting. It's not too hard to do, I believe there are tutorials online about it.

All in all what matters is that the lettering is neat, legible, and does not detract in any way from the art or panel construction.

[Kannade]

I think the way a comic is typeset is extremely important, not just because of it's legibility, but because of how it will look on the page. If you write by hand, you'll probably end up making the words too big in the beginning of the sentence and then try to cram it in at the end (which looks terribad).

If you really like the look of your own handwriting in a comic, it's really easy for you to turn your handwriting into a font. That way, you have the ability to change how the text is aligned and you can go back and edit it really easily without having to rewrite the whole thing.

[celestrialdarkmoon]

I feel that it depends on the comic. If the artist has a very organic drawing style, then hand-lettering looks nicer usually, and someone more technical usually works best with digital.

But then again, some typefaces can have that organica hand-done feel to them, and the balloons can usually be tweaked to have a non-mechanical feel, or can be printed on the pencils, and inked.

There's a lot of ways to letter. My only preference is that it meshes with the art and doesn't look strange with it.

[Sisea]

I prefer handwritting because it just another little thing making the comic more original and also I don't really like perfectly written letters too much in a comic.

[megrar]

i love the feel of hand-lettered, but i use type myself. it's just faster, and certainly better than the chickenscratch i call my printing. also, i get a wider variety of fonts to use.

[Kaxen]

I like handlettering, but I did it once for a 20-page comic and ...never again... *faint*

Though I think handlettering goes better with a comic done in traditional media.

[Kyousouka]

Like celestrialdarkmoon said: Handlettering vs digital lettering depends heavily on the art style. A looser style tends to look odd with the perfection of digital lettering, while handlettering can look out of place when the art has very technical lines. This has almost nothing to do with the medium used to produce the art.

I tend to use digital lettering for my comics because I have a relatively clean style and I'm lazy, but I occasionally use hand lettering for certain scenes or characters that call for it.
I make my own fonts, primarily because I haven't found any existing ones that suit my art styles.

And since someone else brought this up, and I feel it's relevant: My bubbles are usually hand-drawn. Organic, imperfect shapes tend to suit my art style, while perfect ellipses/circles draw attention to themselves. So, I only use digital/stencilled bubbles for effect, such as when a character uses incredibly formal speech, or sounds robotic. With some styles though, such bubbles can look fine in any situation.

[Katarinu]

For my own work, I prefer typing. It is faster, allows for corrections (spelling mistakes, punctuation errors), and gives me some room to change things (like the placement of the text in question). For others' comics, I also prefer typed dialogue as it is easier for me to read. Some people have very neat handwriting, however, and in those cases, I do not mind either way. cat_wink

[Kyousouka]

Katarinu

For my own work, I prefer typing. It is faster, allows for corrections (spelling mistakes, punctuation errors), and gives me some room to change things (like the placement of the text in question). For others' comics, I also prefer typed dialogue as it is easier for me to read. Some people have very neat handwriting, however, and in those cases, I do not mind either way. cat_wink

Just FYI: "Handwriting" and "handlettering" can be two very different things. Some people handletter with their handwriting, but VERY few of those have good lettering. Most letterers do not use their handwriting when lettering, what they do is closer to drawing.
Many beginning letterers make the mistake of using their handwriting when it isn't appropriate, and reminding them to draw instead of write can help them a lot!

[ossha letsu]

depends on what you prefer. writing dialogue by hand would be too time consuming for me, so i do everything digitally.

[Xiam]

broIita

depends on what you prefer. writing dialogue by hand would be too time consuming for me, so i do everything digitally.

Yeah... I write by hand purely for the sake of artistic...ness... but I sort of really wish I just knew how to build a font around it so I could type it normally and save time.

Except I can't seem to find one that's free, and also really good. emo

[swordlesslink15]

Typing is much better than handwriting because 1.) it looks professional and 2) it is authentic, and gives it a more of a manga feel