I'd like to design my own Walt Disney logo font, I have seen what
currently exists but I don't really like these, for example:
I'm hoping to stay accurate to the logo with the drawing instruments; would anyone kindly be able to offer some insight into the method of drawing this logo may have used, i.e. kind of pen or brush?
Comments
Disney was an animation guy, he could draw. I don't know what you are looking for but why don't you just draw it as you see it in whatever tools you are comfortable with? After that, you can redraw it in a font software of your choice. I assume drawing letters is what you want to do? There is no big secret other than learning to draw.
Are you just doing this for yourself? I don't see a big market for it so I just wondered what your intent was?
But getting the Disney lettering isn't that hard. To be clear, the logo isn't based on Walt's actual signature. His real signature is unreadable. It's based on Walt's publicity signature which evolved over the years.
His 20's signature doesn't look like his signature from the 60's. It changed over time. Some people think he didn't actually write the signature that was used for the logo, but if you look at his actual brush signatures, it's very similar.
He printed his name quite a bit and that evolved over time too. He used the printed signature for signing publicity cels. It's similar to the Disney logo but the letterforms are less cursive.
That's three different signature types each evolving over decades.
As for the rumors that he had an animator design the logo, I doubt it. If you look at his actual brush signatures, there's no reason the Disney logo wouldn't have been based on one of Walt's actual brush publicity signatures. But maybe someone else did it. I'm sure it was traced off countless times and touched up but I think that's probably his brush. But you never know. Disney animators wound up with a similar drawing style from years of sitting at a desk at the same angle, drawing from the same model sheets, trying to make their style conform to everyone else's. But it looks just like something Walt could have written.
The Disney logo was based on Walt's brush signature. I've seen Walt's fountain pen signatures and the thick & thin is very different. The bottom of the L and E give it away; that thickness is caused by the brush going sideways.
In pencil, plan the letterforms. Not the thick/thin, just plan the shapes of the letters so it looks Disneyesque. I just drew them really small on foolscap. Use a watercolor brush and ink to write Disney over and over. You'll find out quickly that there's an ideal position for your arm and and ideal brush angle. You'll know when you hit it because it'll look ... like Disney.
Although someone skilled as Michael Clark can manipulate a Speedball pen to look like a brush
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/ihof/p22-pooper-black-pro/
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/ihof/p22-sneaky-pro/
http://www.myfonts.com/fonts/ihof/p22-shibumi/