For those of who prefer the ancient method...

I'm an illustration major, so my favorite part of typography is making changes to the actual letter forms; In essence, re-illustrating the letters so they're different and unique. Exactly opposite of what creating a uniform typeface does. Here the link to a site I draw inspiration from:
http://www.n8w.com/gallery/color/l/

Check out the beauty and character inherent in hand-drawn lettering. It's something that can't be duplicated in a typeface...which I think is the whole point.