How it works
These hand lettering quotes are 36 proverbs, each broken into two to four lines and stacked. They are set in type, not drawn: a layout to print and trace, to copy by hand or to save.
Read the full guide
Hand lettering phrases, shortest first
Next quote steps through the list in order, from Live and let live to a four-line layout of A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Every one is a proverb, its wording checked against its Wiktionary entry. The page opens on Every line full width: each line is scaled to the width of the board, so the shortest line is drawn tallest.
Lettering quotes in circle layouts
Under More options, set Shape to Full circle and the quote runs around a ring as one line. A ring holds 60 characters, and every quote here fits.
- Type a quote with the line breaks somewhere else and another line becomes the largest.
- Bebas Neue sets every letter as a capital, and Permanent Marker draws small capitals for the lowercase keys.
Questions and answers
Which quotes are on the list?
Thirty-six proverbs of three to eleven words, such as Better late than never, Many hands make light work and Every cloud has a silver lining. Press Next quote for the next one, or type a line of your own in Your text.
Can I use the list as a hand lettering challenge?
The list works as one. It is ordered shortest first, so lettering one quote a day starts with a few short words and ends, after 36 days, on a four-line layout. The page sets no dates and keeps no score.
Who said these quotes?
The page prints no author: each is in use as a proverb. Wiktionary traces a few to a writer. Hope springs eternal is from Alexander Pope's An Essay on Man, and the journey of a thousand miles from the Tao Te Ching.
Are these hand drawn lettering quotes?
No. They are set in ten open-license typefaces, from the heavy serif Abril Fatface to the brush script Alex Brush. They are layouts for your own hand: print one and trace it, or copy it freehand.