Drawing an alphabet – ‘C’

Initial idea: sprocket

One of those random ideas where I imagined the ‘C’ made out of some rusty old machine part.

Inventing rules

I could have made this easier by making it more geometrically regular (e.g. curves based on concentric circles) but what’s the point of that? I’d already done geometry with ‘A’ so made this a more interesting shape.

The advantages of a strictly geometric shape is that the rules are clearer – elements are aligned, their sizes are related. And graphics software makes working with simple shapes, straight lines and repetition really easy.

For less regular shapes you have to invent (or borrow) rules and the software is less helpful. Here my main uncertainty was sizing and aligning the holes.

Back to the egg

I didn’t like my first design and made the basic error of trying to improve it by adding stuff. I added a thin offset outline but this was taking things in the wrong direction.

I went back to my original idea (usually a good plan), removed the outline and made the holes smaller. This gave it a bit more heft.

Don’t underestimate the power of detail

The biggest improvement was made by the smallest change. I rounded the previously sharp corners. This also added the feeling of increased weight. I’m not sure why. Perhaps this made the shape less delicate, the sharp corners being a weak point on an otherwise strong shape. Or it may have suggested industrial type printing, the ink spreading on absorbent cardboard.

This is part of a project to draw the letters of the alphabet in different styles.