I’ve noticed that a lot of students are interested in drawing block letters. This project ties to a contemporary pop artist, and makes a nice Valentine card too.Robert Indiana made a famous sculpture in the sixties that came to symbolize the peace movement. Students can make a similar image while practicing their 3D shapes and shading. I started with my school’s diecutter and made about a dozen of each letter cut out of chipboard. I cut 9" squares of drawing paper to go with the 3" tall letters.
1. To begin, the students fold the paper in half both ways to make 4 equal squares. Following the diagram, show the students how to first trace each chipboard letter in the center of a square.
2. Next, they move the letter up and to the right a bit and trace again. And as true whenever overlapping shapes, the front shape needs to have all the lines inside it erased.
3. All the corners are connected. The remaining letters are to be repeated in the same manner. The letter “O” is a bit of an exception as there are no corners, so only curved lines need to be drawn.
4. When complete, the lines are traced with a black marker and the letters and backgrounds are colored in. Show the students that if they color with medium pressure on the letter fronts, and then press hard to make shadows on the sides, their block letters will look even more 3D.
