Sunday, April 29, 2012

bubble letters tutorial - fruit store sign

This is from last summer.
 
 
I wish I could say the girls made it, but it wouldn't be exactly true. I taught them how to make the lettering but I also ended up doing the entire lettering. However, the fruit was almost entirely their work.
 
I showed them first how to make a big arc across the page by swinging your arm like a compass with your elbow staying put. (Is there a simpler way to describe it?) Then we planned where to place each letter... I got their input re how much width to allow for each letter. I made the bubble letters by tracing a bottle cover for the round corners and then drawing lines by eye to connect those round corners. The kids outlined the letters in marker and later colored them in crayon.


 
I told them we'd draw five smiling fruits possibly holding hands. I chose the cover of a big yogurt to estimate the size of the fruits. The girls positioned and then traced the cover lightly in pencil five times. Then they drew each fruit. (I pointed out first that they should think about how the shapes and colors would look together, before deciding where to put what.) It was E's idea to trace a bottle cover for each grape (the same cover I'd used for the bubble letters) -- I was so proud! I had a bit of input in drawing the fruit (the pomegranate's crown and the dimple-stem of the orange) but the smiley faces are totally theirs. I knew they could do cuter smiles than I could but I was blown away by the actual cuteness of the finished product!
 
Anyhow I let them finish coloring the whole thing that night although it was really time for bed. No time for a background, although I'm not sure what kind of background would look good anyway. What do you think?

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