RIBBON LETTERS! This is a simple technique for getting a ribbon style letter. There are a lot of different techniques out there, but this one makes sense for my 7th-8th graders who have never tried this before. It starts out by writing out a word in cursive. Then you extend the edges back in space. They must all be the same direction, and the same length. For example, if you draw from each edge up 1 inch at 45 degrees to the left, then they all go that same length and direction. For curves, you pick the outermost part of the curve you can find. See the top and bottom of the C in the "Carthage" example? You finish the drawing by drawing in the back edge of the ribbon, which should go the same direction as the front edge (the cursive letter.) Don't forget sometimes you have interior spaces that need to be addressed, like the o in Love in the below example. Color is different. You have lots of options, but I have my students use marker to outline, and colored pencils for shading. Shading can really make you ribbon drawing seem more real. You are trying to get the illusion of depth, and if you gradually shade from light to dark, to show overlap or distance, you can enhance the image. Here are some examples ...