Doodle Letter Silhouette

More Creative Lettering

Posted by GMC Group

About

I love to doodle flowers and floral patterns, which tend to be more on the girly side. This project combines that with my love for using the shapes as letters in my art.

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You Will Need (10 things)

  • White Copy Paper
  • Mechanical Pencil
  • White heavyweight Paper
  • watercolors
  • Water
  • Small Paintbrush
  • Eraser
  • Gel Pen(s) in assorted colors
  • Colored Pencils
  • Water-soluble Graphite pencil

Steps (7 steps, 10 minutes)

  1. 1

    On a piece of white copy paper, use a mechanical pencil to sketch out your letter of choice. I made an M in script but you can use any letter you like, with or without serifs. Thicken or plump your letter, making the lines at least ⅛ to ¼ inch (3 to 6 mm) thick. This doesn’t have to be super neat because it’s just going to be your example (A).

  2. 2

    Using your sketch as your guide, use a mechanical pencil to draw the outlines of your letter very, very lightly on the heavyweight paper.

  3. 3

    Using watercolors and a small paintbrush, create a messy wash in the area around your letter, leaving the space inside the letter white. You can extend the watercolors to the edge of your paper or have it fade out in an organic shape. Let the paint dry.

  4. 4

    Erase any remaining pencil marks.

  5. 5

    Using gel pens in assorted colors, add doodles and patterns to your watercolor background. Add more washes of watercolor in between the doodles, and use colored pencils to create faint patterns. Be careful not to get any of the doodling and coloring inside the body of the white letter.

  6. 6

    Use the graphite pencil to draw a drop shadow on the bottom and left sides of your letter.

  7. 7

    Dip a small paintbrush in water and lightly wash over your pencil marks, creating a slightly transparent shadow.