Abecedary to color: S

 S  can be simple or complex, though its shape is so distinctive that it has given its name to the "ess curve."  In classical Roman letter design, and many of today's type designs, the upper curve is slightly smaller than the lower, to keep it from looking top-heavy.   

In honor of tomorrow, the first day of the Kwanzaa holiday, this angular S is settled amid an angular background modeled on Kuba cloth from the Congo.  You can choose characteristic earth colors like brown, yellow ochre, and brick red; where you place them can either complicate or clarify the image.  Don't worry about irregularities in the pattern's "repeat." African textiles do not aim at such predictability.   



To evoke the texture of cloth, lay the paper over a rough surface, such as a cloth-bound book as in the example shown here, and use a soft colored pencil worn down to a blunt end.  

Click here for the high-res, S-page printable.