Daily Drop Cap 

uit what you’re doing right now and check out Josh Cochran’s site, the amazing illustrator (and my dear friend / brotherfromanothermother) that qrafted today’s drop qap. You may have seen his ridiculously hilarious and awesome zombies vs. unicorns illustration, which I would go on record to say is one of my favorite drawings of all time. Josh is a part of my studiofriendposse at The Pencil Factory in Brooklyn (the actual former Eberhard Faber factory, not the bar across the street or the fancy lofts that were built last year) which is populated with some massive talent in the illustration industry. I’m so happy Josh was able to participate and churned out this awesome Q! Putting a bird on it really DOES always work!

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/josh-cochran-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Josh Cochran" align="left" alt="Q"/>

F   Be sure to remove the original text letter you are replacing.

eally, when do these guys sleep?? From their site: “Originally conceived in 2001 as an avant-garde anti-design movement by Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen, Post Typography specializes in graphic design, conceptual typography, and custom lettering/illustration with additional forays into art, apparel, music, curatorial work, design theory, and vandalism.” I have been a huge fan of Bruce and Nolen’s work for some time now and was over the moon when they agreed to do a drop cap. We cross paths (sort of) earlier this year when both of our work was selected for the Lubalin Now show at Cooper Union. I love what they did with their R!

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/posttypography-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Post Typography" align="left" alt="R"/>

F   Be sure to remove the original text letter you are replacing.

ome people are just so talented that they make you burn with envy. Alex Trochut is one of those people for me, his work is just amazing. The S that he contributed for Daily Drop Cap is just one of the styles he’s been experimenting with lately, but he works within so many styles from hyper-illustrative (RIDICULOUSLY BADASS) lettering to more classically influenced ornamental type. If you have been paying attention to illustrative lettering at all in the last five years, you should know Alex’s name by heart. His work has been all over the internet, in all kinds of annuals and magazines, and in gallery shows around the world. I was SO EXCITED when he was able to contribute, as I am a culty superfan of his stuff.

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/alex-trochut-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Alex Trochut" align="left" alt="S"/>

F   Be sure to remove the original text letter you are replacing.

o say Jon Contino is a talented guy would be a massive understatement. Hailing from the great city of BKLYN, Jon has really mastered masculine but refined hand-done lettering. His sailor-tattoo-ish scripts are super lovely and all of his work makes me want to drink a beer and get in a fist fight. On top of his own lettering projects, he’s also co-founder and creative director of design studio Onetwentysix and menswear brand CXXVI Clothing Company. Aside from being an obviously busy dude, he’s also a very nice and humble guy. Thanks for contributing, Jon!

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/jon-contino-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Jon Contino" align="left" alt="T"/>

F   Be sure to remove the original text letter you are replacing.

nbelievable. I think these drop caps just keep getting better and better! Today’s fun U is brought to you by the Aussie ex-pat Timba Smits! His work is so rich and full of warm nostalgia without being annoyingly retro (SO HARD TO DO!). I have been a fan of Timba’s work for a while and was super pumped to share a gallery with him for an exhibition in Australia called Go Font Urself. On top of being super talented, he’s also a super nice dude and the self-described “world’s talest ninja”. If you’re not already familiar with his work, run over to his site immediately—especially if the weather is as dreary where you are as it is in NYC today— it will undoubtedly put a massive smile on your face.

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/timba-smits-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Timba Smits" align="left" alt="U"/>

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ery envious of Will Staehle’s amazing work! You might have been introduced to his stuff through these illustrations which definitely made the rounds on the internet—or like me, you’ve been a fan of his work for quite some time, particularly his lettering and design work. He was the designer behind the AMAZING Michael Chabon Yiddish Policemen’s Union cover (click on books—flash!) which I’m not ashamed to say I bought because of the cover. Will’s been named both an ADC Young Gun and one of the Print New Visual Artists and is Design Director for JibJab media in Venice, CA. He also has his own studio, Lonewolfblacksheep (previously linked above), where he uses his design and illustration background to create stylized posters, fonts and comics to ensure that he gets as little sleep as possible.

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/will-staehle-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Will Staehle" align="left" alt="V"/>

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hat an amazingly talented guy. You are probably very familiar with Alejandro Paul’s work, though you may not have been familiar with his name (designers are so bad about knowing about type designers!)—he’s the Argentinian lettermaker behind the type foundry Sudtipos, which churns out all those fancy scripts you’ve been using on your wedding invites and foodstuffs for years. Ale makes fonts that designers love. They’ve got a lot of personality, are well crafted, and include all sorts of extra characters, ligatures, and swashes that make designing with them super fun. I cannot believe how prolific this man is. I don’t hesitate to direct people to his fonts (here’s a link to both veer and myfonts) when they approach me for lettering but have no budget or no time, his work is pretty much the next best thing to custom lettering.

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/alejandro-paul-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Alejandro Paul" align="left" alt="W"/>

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-tremely (EXTREMELY!) happy that the amazing Marian Bantjes agreed to be a part of Daily Drop Cap! To say I am a fan of hers would be a massive understatement. Marian’s work has been a huge inspiration for me since college and she is one of the main reasons I got into lettering. I was able to meet her in person last year and was a complete awkward fangirl—red-faced and sweaty with excitement. I’m sure you’re as huge of a fan of her as I, she’s one of the most talented (and nice!) people in the industry. If you’re unfamiliar with her work, you should definitely spend the rest of the day perusing her site and drooling all over your keyboard. Enjoy her creepy skeletal X made out of collected coral!

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/marian-bantjes-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Marian Bantjes" align="left" alt="X"/>

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ou all wish you were as awesome at lettering and sign painting as today’s special guest drop capper Jeff Canham. Hailing from San Francisco, I’ve seen Jeff’s work around the internet but I’m sure the screen does it no justice compared to how these beauties look in person! His work makes my mouth water with its vintagey goodness and his craft is really spectacular. I would trade a leg for a massive sign by him for my office!

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/jeff-canham-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Jeff Canham" align="left" alt="Y"/>

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oomed through this alphabet, we did! Today’s letter, the last of the series, is by the talented lady Keetra Dean Dixon! I stumbled across her work a ways back on the interweb and fell instantly in love with her blend of craft, whimsy, and amazing concepts. I have a crush on her brain for coming up with genius projects such as The Great Slumber (hilariously morbid!) and Anonymous Hugging. Her lettering work is exquisite—her Cordial Invitations project is what first introduced me to her work, and I want my own version of this recent piece like I’ve never wanted anything before (anything geode reminiscent brings tingly nostalgia awesomness). Thanks so much for participating, Keetra—and thanks to everyone else that participated. I am amazed and in awe of all of the lovely letters crafted and can’t wait to get a jump on putting together an exhibition so we can see these beautiful creations in person!

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<img src="http://dailydropcap.com/images/keetra-dixon-small.jpg" title="Daily Drop Cap by Keetra Dean Dixon" align="left" alt="Z"/>

F   Be sure to remove the original text letter you are replacing.