It’s easier to practice writing your bubble letters individually before you create them all smashed together in typical throwie style. Throwies usually spell out some version of the artist’s name, nickname, or initials in 3-4 letters, but you can make your throwie spell out anything you like with any number of letters you prefer.
You may want to practice creating an entire bubble alphabet so you can create different names or words in throwie style.
This squashed together look is a key component of a typical throwie.
Once you’ve practiced creating your throwie many times, you’ll be able to skip using the pencil and go straight to making the darker outline and interior overlaps. This is also how you’d start with a can of spray paint on a wall.
You can also thicken the outline along the entire top or bottom, or on either side, but don’t thicken both sides or both top and bottom. This will ruin the 3D effect.
You can make this second outline using the same color as the first, or choose a different one.
Choose a lighter fill color that stands apart from your outline color and 3D shading—for example, black outline and 3D and white fill, or dark blue outline, medium blue 3D, and yellow fill. Feel free to switch things up and color vertically (with an up-and-down motion), but the throwie will likely look better if you are consistent and color all the letters either horizontally or vertically.
For example, you could use dark blue for the outline, white for the letter fill, light blue for the 3D shading, and gray for the space between the inner and outer outlines. You can also use your main outline color to create a few small curved lines on and beyond the bubble letters to give the impression that they’re expanding and about to burst.
For instance, if you’re throwie is “OMG,” you only need to create the single outline around all three smashed-together letters, and not any of the lines between or inside the letters (e. g. , the middle of “O”). Any kind of thin cardboard will do, but the front or back covers of a spiral-bound notebook are good choices.
The remaining cardboard sheet with the throwie-shaped hole in the middle is your stencil. You can discard the piece of cardboard (that’s in the shape of your throwie’s outline) that you cut out.
Choose a lighter fill color to complement the darker outline color you’ll use next—for instance, gray fill and dark red outline.
Try switching up the fill colors of your throwies to add some visual interest, or even using multiple fill colors (like yellow and green) within a single throwie.
