Y in Bubble Letters

Outline version to colour or trace

How to draw a bubble capital Y

1. 1Draw top and baseline guides. Pencil two thin diagonals from the top corners that meet at the centre, a little above the halfway line, then a vertical stem down to the baseline.
2. 2Inflate the left arm as a capsule from its top end down to the meeting point, with a rounded top.
3. 3Inflate the right arm the same way, so the two arms are mirror images with equal thickness.
4. 4Inflate the stem as a capsule starting inside the join and ending with a round foot on the baseline, as thick as the arms.
5. 5Merge the three capsules, round the notch between the arms, and erase all lines inside the merged shape.

Tip: Let the arms meet at about 45 to 55 percent of the letter's height from the top. Meeting much lower makes the stem too short, and the Y turns into a V on a stub.

How to draw a bubble lowercase y

1. 1Draw three guidelines: the x-height, the baseline and a descender line about one x-height below the baseline.
2. 2Pencil a thin V in the x-height band, with the right arm longer and continuing down past the baseline as a tail to the descender line.
3. 3Inflate the left arm as a short capsule and the right arm as a long one, with the tail running to the descender line.
4. 4Round the bottom of the tail into a half-circle, or add a gentle curl to the left like a lowercase g for a decorative version.
5. 5Merge the arms where they meet, open the top notch with a soft curve and erase the interior lines.

Tip: Keep the descender of lowercase y about as long as the x-height. If it is much longer, it will clash with letters on the line below, and if it is shorter the y looks stunted.

What makes Y awkward or easy

Y has two junctions: the notch between the arms and the merge into the stem. A common failure is a stem that looks pasted on because the arms stop at the meeting point and the stem starts separately. Inflate them as one shape. Lowercase y adds a different challenge. The longer right stroke is a straight diagonal that crosses the baseline, so it has to be drawn at the right angle to line up with the shorter arm, and the join looks like a v with its right arm extended.

Variations

A Y with a very deep V looks like a slingshot or a cheerleader's pose. A narrow Y with a short top is a goblet shape. A graffiti Y can use a curved tail that swings under the neighbouring letters. Kid-friendly Y can be drawn as a smiling stick figure with arms up. In 3D, extrude downwards so the arms and stem share one shadow. Outline-only Y is a good colouring shape because it has three clear regions.

Common mistakes with bubble Y

• The stem looks pasted on, with a visible line where it meets the arms.

  Erase every line inside the junction and ink only the outer silhouette plus the notch.

• The arms meet too low, so the Y looks like a V with a toothpick.

  Raise the meeting point to about half the letter's height and thicken the stem to match the arms.

• Lowercase y's tail stops at the baseline.

  Extend the stroke to a descender guideline, roughly an x-height below the baseline.

• The two arms differ in thickness.

  Mirror the left arm by measuring from the vertical centre line, and match the widths at the top and the join.

Ideas for bubble Y

Y suits names like Yara, Yusuf and Yvonne, words such as 'Yes', 'Yay' and 'Yummy', and happy lettering on cards, where its raised arms look like cheering. Lowercase y pairs with p and q in teaching examples about descenders. A bubble Y can also hold a smiley face in the notch between the arms.

Bubble Y: questions