E in Bubble Letters
By Maya Chen, lettering designer and type educator · Checked by Jordan Hale · · How we review content
Rendered in the Bagel Fat One typeface, an open-source font. It is a reference shape, not a hand-drawn letter.
E has three arms stacked on a stem, and that stack is the problem: each arm gains an outline, the gaps between them shrink, and a bubble E can end up looking like a comb with its teeth glued shut. The lowercase e is a different animal, a circle with a bar across the middle and an opening on the lower right. Both forms need breathing room.
Outline version to colour or trace
How to draw a bubble capital E
- 1Draw a vertical stem and three horizontal arms at the top, middle and bottom, with the middle arm a little shorter than the others.
- 2Space the arms further apart than normal, because each will grow a rounded tube and the gaps will shrink.
- 3Inflate the stem and each arm, ending every arm in a full semicircle instead of a square cut.
- 4Join the arms to the stem with a smooth inner curve in each corner, so the two gaps look like rounded slots.
- 5Outline in pen, erase the skeleton and add shadow under each arm, which turns the three bars into three separate pillows.
Tip: Draw the two gaps as little tunnel-shaped slots first. If those slots are wide enough to colour, the three arms will inflate without fusing.
How to draw a bubble lowercase e
- 1Draw a circle at x-height and a horizontal bar through its middle from the left edge to the right edge.
- 2Break the circle at the lower right, removing about a quarter, so the letter's tail has an opening to curl toward.
- 3Inflate the whole path into one tube, with a rounded end on the crossbar side and another at the tail.
- 4Draw the upper eye of the e as a small half-moon hole, which should stay open and visible.
- 5Erase the skeleton and shade the lower curve and the underside of the crossbar.
Tip: The eye of the lowercase e is the first thing to disappear. Make it a half-moon about as tall as the stroke is thick, and ink it before shading anything else.
What makes E awkward or easy
Three arms on one stem means two gaps and three outlines competing for the same few millimetres. A bubble E with arms of equal length also looks more like a stack of sausages than a letter, so the middle arm is usually shorter. The lowercase e hides its weakness in the eye: when the outline fills the crossbar, the small upper counter vanishes and the letter reads as a blob or a c.
Variations
A graffiti E may drop the stem and just curl three bubbles into a spiral. A kids' version draws the arms as three fat fingers. For a printable outline, leave the two slots white. In 3D, extrude to the bottom right and add a thin line under each arm so they look like stacked cushions. A wide E reads as friendly, while a narrow one looks cramped.
Common mistakes with bubble E
The two gaps between the arms fill in.
Increase the spacing of the skeleton arms by about half a stroke width before inflating, then check the slots stay open.
All three arms are exactly the same length.
Shorten the middle arm by about a quarter and let it end in a round cap. This tells the eye it is an E, not a comb.
The arm ends are squared off.
Cap each end with a semicircle drawn first as a small circle, then join it to the rest of the arm.
The lowercase e closes its eye and looks like a filled disc.
Draw the eye as a small crescent before you outline the crossbar, and keep a pencil width of white around it.
Ideas for bubble E
E is the first letter of names such as Emma, Ethan and Eli, and a bubble E sits well at the start of EAT and EXIT signs on a playroom wall. The three arms can carry small decorations, like a star on each tip. An initial E in a monogram often gets a shortened middle arm, which leaves a place for a smaller initial or a heart.
Printable bubble E sheet
Trace the outlines, then fill the empty rows with your own bubble letters.
Bubble letter E e Name: ____________________ · coolletteringgenerator.com
Bubble E you can copy and paste
Ⓔ and ⓔ are the circled letters, and 🅔 is the filled circle for capitals only. As a plain character, E carries no arms or slots. If you paste it in a username it can look like a stray letter, which is worth checking before you rely on it.
Bubble E: questions
How do you draw a bubble letter E?
How do you keep the arms of a bubble E from merging?
What does a lowercase bubble e look like?
Should the middle arm of a bubble E be shorter?
Keep going
- Bubble Letters AlphabetThe bubble letters alphabet is the full A to Z of thick, rounded, inflated-looking letters, in uppercase and lowercase, with the numbers 0 to 9. Everything here is free to view, print and trace, with no sign-up. Pick a letter to learn how to draw it, or print the outline sheet to colour.
- Printable Bubble Letter GeneratorThis bubble letter generator turns your word into hollow outline letters in four fat fonts. Download the PNG, then print it to trace over or colour in.
- How to Draw Bubble Letters, Step by StepHow to draw bubble letters: write the word in thin capitals, draw a rounded outline around each as if inflated, ink it, erase the skeleton, then shade, highlight and colour. Round every corner and keep the outline thickness even.
- How to Write E in Cursive
- E in Different Fonts
- Graffiti AlphabetThe graffiti alphabet is a set of bold, connected letters that are deliberately distorted so they look fast, large and hard to copy. This page gives an A to Z reference, explains how graffiti letters are built in layers, and tells tags, throw-ups, pieces and wildstyle apart before you draw your own.