The skeleton
Think of it as an O with the right side removed. The two terminals — the top and bottom ends of the stroke — should sit on the same vertical line, one directly above the other, and the opening between them should be about a third of the letter height.
What happens when you inflate it
Inflation pushes the mid-back outward and thickens both terminals into rounded blobs, which narrows the opening. Over-inflate and the two blobs touch, at which point C has become an O and the word stops being readable. Watch the gap, not the curve.
What usually goes wrong: Making the terminals flat. A squared-off terminal is what makes a hand-drawn C look like a broken bracket. Keep them rounded and roughly the same size, or deliberately different sizes — never accidentally different.
Letters C sits next to
C pairs with G, L and E, where the flat bars give the curve something to oppose. It is also the cheapest letter to connect into a throw-up, because its two terminals can both be extended into the neighboring letter without changing the shape.
One thing to try
Rotate the opening a few degrees upward. Real handstyles open slightly above horizontal, which makes the letter look like it is leaning into the word rather than sitting flat.
How to draw the letter C in four steps
- Sketch the skeleton. Think of it as an O with the right side removed. The two terminals — the top and bottom ends of the stroke — should sit on the same vertical line, one directly above the other, and the opening between them should be about a third of the letter height.
- Inflate the strokes. Inflation pushes the mid-back outward and thickens both terminals into rounded blobs, which narrows the opening. Over-inflate and the two blobs touch, at which point C has become an O and the word stops being readable. Watch the gap, not the curve.
- Check the neighbors. C pairs with G, L and E, where the flat bars give the curve something to oppose. It is also the cheapest letter to connect into a throw-up, because its two terminals can both be extended into the neighboring letter without changing the shape.
- Add your own twist. Rotate the opening a few degrees upward. Real handstyles open slightly above horizontal, which makes the letter look like it is leaning into the word rather than sitting flat.
Questions about the letter C
Why does my C keep turning into an O?
The opening is too narrow for the stroke weight. In flat styles the gap should be at least as wide as the stroke itself; in bubble styles it needs to be wider still, because every edge grows when you inflate.
Should a graffiti C have a serif?
No. Serifs belong to typefaces, not to lettering. In a C, any flat detail at the terminals reads as a rendering artifact rather than a design choice.