The skeleton
Draw the ring first and get it right, then decide about the tail. It usually starts inside the ring or at its lower-right edge and cuts outward and down. It should leave at an angle that agrees with the ring’s curve rather than contradicting it.
What happens when you inflate it
Inflation closes the gap between the tail and the ring and turns both into one mass, which is exactly how Q stops being identifiable. Keep the tail distinct — heavier, longer, or offset — or it disappears into the bowl.
What usually goes wrong: Bolting the tail on afterwards. A Q where the ring is designed and the tail is added looks like two decisions by two different people. Decide the tail’s angle before you draw anything.
Letters Q sits next to
Q is one of the few letters that must be kept away from its own family — two Qs next to each other give the word two competing tails. It sits best with U, A and O.
One thing to try
In bubble styles, let the tail thicken toward its end and stop it dead. A tapering tail looks like a drip; a tail that gets fatter and ends bluntly looks like a squeegee stroke, which is what actual Q tails look like.
How to draw the letter Q in four steps
- Sketch the skeleton. Draw the ring first and get it right, then decide about the tail. It usually starts inside the ring or at its lower-right edge and cuts outward and down. It should leave at an angle that agrees with the ring’s curve rather than contradicting it.
- Inflate the strokes. Inflation closes the gap between the tail and the ring and turns both into one mass, which is exactly how Q stops being identifiable. Keep the tail distinct — heavier, longer, or offset — or it disappears into the bowl.
- Check the neighbors. Q is one of the few letters that must be kept away from its own family — two Qs next to each other give the word two competing tails. It sits best with U, A and O.
- Add your own twist. In bubble styles, let the tail thicken toward its end and stop it dead. A tapering tail looks like a drip; a tail that gets fatter and ends bluntly looks like a squeegee stroke, which is what actual Q tails look like.
Questions about the letter Q
Where should the tail of a graffiti Q go?
Out through the lower right, at roughly four or five o’clock. It can start inside the counter for a closed feel or outside the ring for an open one, but it should not start halfway through the stroke.
Why does my Q tail disappear when I make the letters fat?
Because the ring grew into the tail. Fix it by pushing the tail further out before you inflate, or by giving it extra weight so it survives.