Create Your Own Graffiti Style

Graffiti is a way to express your feelings through the art of typographic design, but be aware as it is often illegal when done on buildings you do not own. Look at other artists' graffiti and work on improving your own.

Steps

  1. Get a lot of paper, some pencils, and a variety of color markers. Don't just get your favorite colors; get your least favorite ones, too. Everything can have a purpose in art, and that's what graffiti is. When you are first learning the basics, look up pictures of graffiti on the Internet and try to duplicate them with pencil and paper. This improves hand-eye coordination as well as ads to your "muscle memory" of basic graffiti shapes. However, this should only be used for practice when you're mastering the basics of graffiti. Once you've got those down, you should move on to developing your own unique style.)
  2. Learn the basics of graffiti and practice lots of different styles. When you start trying to draw graffiti it will help you form your own style.
  3. Start by lightly drawing some block letters in pencil. Use a good eraser to remove anything that doesn't quite work and then redraw and refine your design. Keeping it simple at this stage will help you in the next step.
  4. Erase some parts and add arrows, cracks, bubbles, dents, stars, chips, or whatever you think would suit your design. Try to keep one style per word or sentence, as mixing up styles can get distracting.
  5. Tweak the letters in all kinds of places. Try different shapes and variations on ornaments and decorative elements. When you are done perfecting your word, use a black or blue pen or Sharpie to go over the basic letters and color in with highlighters, Sharpies, crayons and colored pencils. Try not to get too extravagant yet, just do what you really want to do.
  6. Make some letters hook up with others, and just go crazy! If you don't like your style now, start over—maybe even by tracing or redrawing the parts you do like form the old design and using that as a starting point. Keep trying and work hard to get what you want out of your art. Practice makes perfect, they say, and perfection can't be rushed. So have patience—and have fun!
  7. Finished.

Tips

  • When making graffiti art, remember: If you can imagine it, you can make it. Go crazy and use tons of colors.
  • Think outside the box. Start basic in pencil and tweak it later—it will help you if you mess up. Even Michelangelo made use of preliminary drawings... and Banksy, too!
  • Don't be afraid if you can't read it—what matters most is that it looks cool!

Warnings

  • Do realize though that it is illegal to do graffiti on buildings so stick to paper and canvas.

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