How to Draw 3D Letters

Drawing 3D letters is a simple way to give a decorative touch to a poster or other piece of text. The method is a bit complicated at first, but once you understand it you can easily apply it in any situation without really needing any artistic skills.

Things You'll Need

• Pen or color marker
• Ruler

Instructions

1. Draw your basic letters away from the top of the page because some of the 3D parts will be above them. The letters should be quite fat, with pointy corners (that is, not bubble letters, at least not until you get used to the method). Use a pencil for all the sketching stages.

2. Draw a dot some distance above the middle of your word. It can be on your paper or above it, although if it's above, be careful not to move your paper around. You need this dot for the next step, but it will not be part of your finished 3D letters.

3. Draw a light pencil line connecting each corner of each of your letters to the dot. For curves, draw a line from the part of the curve that is furthest to the side. For example, for a letter "s" you would draw lines from all the corners to the dot, and also a line from the furthest left point of the top curve, and one from the furthest right point of the bottom curve.

4. Erase all the parts of the pencil lines that go through your actual letters. At this point, you should be able to see that you have drawn basic 3D letters. Also erase any lines that are visible where they should not be, for example if the 3D part of one letter should be hidden behind the 3D part of another letter.

5. Crop the 3D portion of your letters if you don't want them to go off endlessly into the distance. For example, for a letter "T" draw a straight horizontal line across the lines going back from the two top corners of the letter, echoing the straight line that connects these two points in the actual letter. In each case you should draw lines that match the corresponding part of the letter that the 3D lines are connected to. For example, for the letter "o" you would draw a curved line instead of a straight one. Erase all the 3D lines that go past the places where you crop the letters.

6. Add color with a marker or go over your lines in pen to make them pop. Making the faces of the letters one color and the 3D parts another color can really make them stand out.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use this method to draw 3D bubble letters, but it's tougher because the letters have no corners. Try it a few times with regular letters to get a feel for the process, then switch to bubble letters.