How to draw bubble letters, plus a free generator

Where bubble letters come from

The bubble style most people picture took shape on New York subway trains in the early 1970s. The writer known as Phase 2, whose New York Times obituary describes him as one of the most inventive and widely copied writers of that period, is generally credited with popularising "softies", the soft, inflated letters other writers quickly adapted. Today the same shapes turn up on birthday banners, school posters and journal headings.

How to draw bubble letters step by step

1. Plan the space. Count the letters and lightly mark where each one goes. Bubble letters are about twice as wide as normal letters, so leave a gap of at least one letter-width between skeleton letters.
2. Write a thin skeleton. Write the word in simple capitals with a light pencil. Use single strokes, no serifs.
3. Draw the outline. Trace around every stroke at the same distance, about a finger's width, keeping all corners round. Where two strokes meet, the outline flows around the outside of both.
4. Keep the holes open. Letters such as A, B, D, O, P, Q and R have enclosed spaces (type designers call them counters). Draw a small rounded hole in each so the letter can still be read.
5. Erase and ink. Rub out the skeleton and go over the outline with a felt-tip pen.
6. Add details. A short curved shine line near the top left of each letter makes it look round. Then add a shadow (below).

Tips for tricky letters

• A and R: keep the hole small and high. If the bar of the A sits too low, the hole closes.
• B: make the top bump a little smaller than the bottom one, with a hole in each.
• M and W: these get very wide. Make the middle V shallow and the outside posts close together.
• S: draw the skeleton as one smooth curve, then outline it in one go; stop-start outlines go lumpy.
• E and F: round off the ends of every arm so they look puffy rather than square.
• Lowercase i and j: give the dot its own big round bubble.

Spacing and overlapping

The gaps between letters matter as much as the letters. Type designers adjust the spacing of awkward pairs, a process called kerning; with bubble letters you do it by eye. Two looks work well: letters that just touch, or letters that overlap slightly with each one tucked behind the letter before it. For overlapping, draw the front letter first and stop the outline of the next letter where it meets it. Whichever you choose, keep it the same across the whole word.

Shading and 3D shadows

1. Decide where the light comes from, for example the top left.
2. On every letter, draw a second outline offset a few millimetres down and to the right.
3. Join the corners and fill the shadow in a darker colour or grey.
4. Add the shine marks on the side facing the light.

The most common mistake is putting shadows on different sides of different letters. Same direction, same depth, every time.

Bubble letters with children

Bubble letters make a good first lettering style because every letter is a closed shape with an inside to colour and an outline to follow. Start with a child's own name. Younger children can colour ready-made bubble letters, or trace dashed ones, before drawing their own. Older children enjoy filling letters with patterns: stripes, dots, stars or a different colour for each letter.

Using the free bubble letter generator

Our bubble letter generator draws up to three lines of text in round bubble letters that fill the page. You can choose outline letters to colour, 3D letters with a drop shadow, or dashed letters to trace, pick portrait or landscape, colour it on screen, print it, or download a PDF for US Letter or A4. What you type is drawn in your browser and isn't sent to us. Below the generator there are ready-made pages for every letter from A to Z, the whole alphabet and the numbers 0 to 9.