About

...by taking away, lady, one puts
into hard and alpine stone
a figure that’s alive
and that grows larger wherever the stone decreases...
Michelangelo, Poem 152, 1538-44

Michelangelo’s David

Michelangelo was only 26 years old in 1501, when he accepted the challenge of creating a huge statue out of a single block of marble for the Cathedral of Florence. Previous artists found imperfections in the marble and declared it to be unusable. When Michelangelo approached the block, however, he saw David imprisoned within the stone. He viewed sculpture as art “which is made by the action of taking away [levare].” After two years of backbreaking work on the project, the fourteen-foot tall Biblical hero David was revealed.

Word David™

In the game Word David™ you will sculpt by subtraction, just like Michelangelo. Rather than carving marble, you will work with letters and words to create a story. First, travel to the ‘Quarry,’ where you will select the raw material for your word sculpture. Then, take away the excess letters to reveal the face and hands and feet of your story. When you have finished, save the artwork to your ‘Gallery’ and share it with fellow artists and patrons in the Word David™ community.

Subscription levels

Word David™ offers users options to participate in our community at multiple levels.

First, you may click “Try It Out” on our Home Page to carve your first word sculpture. This does not require creating a user account and is free to try. However, most features of Word David™ are not available, such as customizing the type of letter “block” you use to create your story and having the ability to save the stories you create.

The “Apprentice” level is intended for students younger than 18 years old. Users and/or their parents establish an account free of charge using a promotional code that is provided by your teacher. This level of account has restrictions in terms of the types of games that may be played, does not allow access to the Discussion forum, and has limitations on the number of sculptures that may be saved to your Collection.

The “Florentine” level is a free account type available to adult users 18 years of age and older. Game options also are limited at this level, but users have access to the Discussion forum and may save a limited number of completed word sculptures to their Collection.

The “Medici” level is our fully-enabled account type allowing access to all Word David™ features. Sign up to this level for $2.99 per month or $24.99 for a 12-month discounted subscription. All block creation privileges are enabled at this level, and Medici users may create and save up to 100 word sculptures per month.