Is there a standard height in lines for a drop cap?

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There is a package in LaTeX called lettrine, which allows you to use a drop cap. You can check an example here

I want to know how many lines of space should I give it for a one column technical document.

According to my friend designers, it’s usually a rule to do everything by 3, so I did:

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But for some reason I began to think that maybe the S is just too big (because of the “Chapter 1” and “Introduction”).

So I also went with 2 lines:

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Which one should I prefer?

Latest version

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Answer

The moment you create a drop cap, you also create an implied box for it to sit in. Its edges are defined by the text lines. In this case, the lines spacing you have used makes for a very awkward white gap below the 2-line drop capital. The ‘S’ looks as if it’s trying to grab on to the lowercase ‘u’ to prevent itself from falling into the gaping hole under it.

With the 3-line drop cap, the space below is much smaller in proportion to the ‘S’, so it looks well anchored and stable.

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Mario S. E. , Answer Author : Alan Gilbertson

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