Overview
I love the look of hand drawn effects in web design, and I don’t think I’m alone in this. I have no idea what gene that’s in us web geeks, but I’d say most of us have it.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled this list of the best inspirational sites, resources, freebies and tutorials that utilize hand-drawn effects. There is so much more available, but these are many of my faves. I hope you enjoy!
Inspirational Sites
These sites utilize hand drawn effects to just the right amount. They are fresh and original. That is what’s so great about this style, by it’s very nature, it’s unique.
Freebies & Resources
You don’t always need a pencil and pad to make this style work. Sometimes a quick fix is utilizing free resources.
Free Hand Drawn Doodle Icon Set for Bloggers
45+ Most Wanted Beautiful Free Hand Drawn Fonts
Vector Freebie: Hand Drawn Wings
120+ Free Hand-drawn Vector Arrows
Handycons: A Free Hand Drawn Social Media Icon Set
Hand Drawn Social Vector Set
Tutorials
Alright, so now your inspired to create some of these effects, well here’s how.
Photoshop: Hand Drawn Design
Technique For Creating A Hand Drawn Website Style
How to: Make a Hand-Drawn Font
Create a Sketchy Hand-Drawn Camera Illustration in Illustrator
Your Turn
I’d love to getting feedback; let me hear your thoughts. What do you think of this style? Are you tired of seeing it, or are you loving the uniqueness of it?
Sharing is Caring
If this post was helpful to you, please consider sharing it with others, it's a great way of saying thanks.
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March 15, 2009
Coool! Great Post! Thank you
March 15, 2009
Great roundup and thanks for including Handycons!
Janko´s last post was… How to create Skype-like buttons using jQuery
March 15, 2009
love these thanks! It’s nice to see the growing popularity of hand drawn art.
Best,
@javierjrdg
March 15, 2009
Honestly I haven’t seen much of them. I like it a lot and will have to check out these resources.
Man, there is too much stuff out there.
Typegeek´s last post was… My first thoughts with Thesis
March 15, 2009
Great roundup Andrew! I actually had a very similar post planned out, but I may not post it now :P
Tom Ross´s last post was… Interview with Grant Friedman of ColorBurned
March 15, 2009
Thanks Andrew,
You really have shown the variety and uniqueness that’s possible with hand drawn effects in web design. Your post has inspired my to try designing some myself from my own drawings now.
Alison Lee cousland´s last post was… Global Verge Mailer * Travel * Buzzirk * Aqualife
March 15, 2009
@Janko Glad to include them :) They have such a cool style to them!
@Tom Glad you liked the post. That’s funny I got to the idea before you. I think I recall a time I had a post idea that you posted about right before I got the chance :) Oh well, I say still post it, a couple of different perspectives are nice. Not to mention, it’s nearly impossible to write about a design topic that hasn’t been covered at least one other time. The main thing is that you add your own unique flare to it.
@Alison Glad to hear it. Learning more about the technique has definitely perked my interest as well.
March 15, 2009
Great roundup Andrew! Some awesome sites, and some very cool resources. Thanks for mentioning my arrows! Appreciate it :)
Nick Pagano´s last post was… Free Vectors – 28 Halftone Vectors (Clean & Grunge Versions)
March 16, 2009
Hey! My website has lots of hand-drawn goodness too ;) Currently…redesign is coming soon!
Good list though! Many of these same ones inspired mine!
March 16, 2009
Fantastic roundup, I’m a big fan of the old hand drawn style.
Thankyou for including the blogger icons, I hope they come in handy!
Chris Spooner´s last post was… Twitter Background Design How-To and Best Practices
March 16, 2009
Very cool, makes me wanna try a layout using this style
March 16, 2009
thanks for including my blog in this roundup, i am a great fan of this site and was very happy to be on the spot.
cheers!
March 16, 2009
I love the hand drawn look. It has become so obsolete with all the new technology of today that it is so nice to see it brought back.
March 16, 2009
Thanks for adding my icon set to the list of other great designs and sites. Loving the ink on myInkBlog!
AJ Troxell´s last post was… Hand Drawn Social Vector Set
March 18, 2009
loving hand-drawn style, social network vector set was new for me.:)
Dainis Graveris´s last post was… 101 High Quality CSS And XHTML Free Templates And Layouts: Part 1
March 20, 2009
It’s so useful and informational, big thanks ;)
T-Law´s last post was… Graphic design inspiration: Video Games Fan Art
March 21, 2009
Some really nice websites and icons.
Kevin´s last post was… Beautiful Game Covers
March 22, 2009
basmati tree is awesome … like this post.
can’t imagine where you get all this stuff from :)
Leo´s last post was… extremes Licht
March 27, 2009
There is one more to add, http://kinetic.com.sg/ ;)
Johnson Koh´s last post was… Create Powerball Effect for Movie Poster
April 5, 2009
i liked the post, its great to see such a nice work all over the web and the compilation make us love their work more and more..
Keep it up, now following your blog … nice domain too :D
You rock
hami´s last post was… 50+ Search Engines to Search Files on Rapidshare
May 9, 2009
Hi, our site is an interesting blend of vector and hand drawn effect charecters! Currently in a redesign stage.
Great list of samples, many thanks.
January 26, 2010
This post has described a great variety and creative use of hand drawn effects in web design. I t is awesome to see such an excellent work. Good job!!!!