Draw Shadow Effect 3D Block Letters

3-D Block, or "shadow effect," as the title suggests, are a great alternative to your ordinary letters. This article will show you how to draw them.

Steps

Sample Alphabets

Doc:Shadow Effect Block Alphabet,Serif Shadow Effect Block Alphabet

Drawing Shadow Effect 3D Block Letters

  1. Start with simply drawing out your desired letter. Try to make the lines as straight as possible, or you can use a ruler. Just be sure that the lines are light, as you are only using them as a guide and will erase them later. (note: the lines will appear dark in the illustration, for visual purposes.)
  2. Outline the outside of your letter. Don't forget to do the inside "holes" in A,B,D,O,P,Q,R,etc.
  3. Draw a line off of either every right, left or down facing corner of your letter, making them all the same length. (Don't forget the inside holes!)
  4. Connect all of the lines as shown in this illustration.
  5. Erase your guidelines that you drew in step 1. and remember draw it on paper first
  6. You can stop here if you would like, or you can shade the sides in and/or outline the edges, as shown here:
  7. Finished.

Tips

  • Curvy letters, such as "S" can prove to be especially difficult to use this effect on, especially for beginners without much experience.
  • Start by going light with a pencil. That way you can always erase things if you make a mistake and then when you're happy with it, you can go over it with a pen or marker.
  • Work on shading the side parts for a more 3D effect.
  • Try making a rough draft before you do the real thing.
  • You can do this the opposite way. Making it a different dimension.
  • If you happen to have some spare time in a seminar class, you can always pull out a notebook and a pencil and practice!
  • The "shadowing effect" can be drawn from any direction, So experiment!
  • Try making some lines into arrows or other shapes.
  • For realistic detail, add gradient shadow behind the letter, not on the letter. If your finding this difficult, just search up how to draw shadows on Wiki.

Warnings

  • Make sure when your drawing it you double check that you're doing it correct.

Things You'll Need

  • Pencil
  • A good eraser
  • Pen or SHARPIE Marker for outlining (optional)
  • Crayons, colored pencils, colored markers, etc. (optional)
  • Paper
  • Ruler (optional)

Related Articles

  • Make 3D Letters