Light pencil graffiti. How to draw graffiti with a pencil step by step. The phenomenon of graffiti and how it differs from other forms of visual art

Surely in your city or in any other city you paid attention to intricate inscriptions on fences, fences, garages or on concrete. Most often, these drawings are found in suburban areas, where you can express yourself without interference with the help of paints. Walls are graffitied by writers, and their drawings are called graffiti. For beginners unfamiliar with this, the images are often difficult to read. In fact, if you look closely, you can see that letters written in an ornate font are hidden behind incomprehensible symbols. In this article, we will describe how to learn how to apply graffiti step by step, for beginners.

Types of graffiti

Many countries perceive graffiti as vandalism. But there are cities in which the administration has allocated special places for applying inscriptions and images, for example, Copenhagen in Denmark, Warsaw in Poland, Melbourne in Australia. It is important to know that not every drawing can be called graffiti (especially for beginners) - this is a certain style that deserves attention and respect. Insults and vulgar inscriptions are inappropriate here.

Consider the most common types of image application:

Tagging is the signature of the graffiti writer;

Writing - presents beautiful and unusual inscriptions, as well as large paintings;

Bombing - drawings are applied in extreme places; here it is not the quality of the application that is more important, but the location of the inscription (these can be train cars or electric trains in the subway).

Newbie graffiti can start with tagging. This is the simplest type of image that a future artist can learn.

In the beginning there was a name

In order to learn how to draw graffiti in stages with a pencil, you need to decide what you want to write. In order not to rack your brains for a long time, use your name or nickname for training. Typically, writers sign their paintings with them. A common and uncomplicated font used to spell a name is bubble. This look is characterized by brightly puffed letters without sharp corners. Which font to choose is up to you. Maybe you love straight lines, then try writing the name in blockbuster style. In this case, the letters are depicted as straight lines with wide shadows. There is also a font called fro-up. This style draws regular letters with slightly elongated corners. This is the most suitable font to use when learning graffiti for beginners on paper.

The play of shadows and lines

Graffiti requires personality, so the more whimsical you create your lettering, the more your art will be appreciated. Do not be afraid of improvisation and unusual font. Take a white sheet and try to sketch your name on it. Play with the thickness and length of the lines. By applying graffiti in stages with a pencil, add three-dimensionality. Expand the borders of the letters by varying the thickness. Narrow down the beginning of the letter by increasing it towards the end. With a pencil, you can sketch, see mistakes and, as a result, correct inaccuracies or obstacles. You can use markers to darken the lines. If the line is wider in one place than you would like, do not be afraid to increase its volume. Select places in your sketch where dark or light color will be present. If there are letters in the edges, the inscription will acquire volume.

Adding color and effects

A work done in one color is considered a simple graffiti. If you want to create something more eccentric, add color. One letter may be colored, or several. Also, you can paint over only the shadow, and leave the outline without filling. Additional details can be drawn in a distinctive tone. Complicated by graffiti by the presence of such elements as stars, dots, crowns. Add fake smudges or highlights to make it look original. You can depict one of the letters in the form of a drop or lightning. Place the lettering in a large cartoon bubble or "spice up" the letters by painting on the eyes. It all depends on your imagination. Connect your imagination and do not be afraid of non-triviality.

First, decide what kind of inscription you will have. Easy to read or unrecognizable, whimsical.

Second, use plain white paper for the first sketches. You should not draw on notebook sheets that have a linear application.

Third, remember that graffiti is an abstraction. Consider perspective, volume, and jagged lines.

Fourthly, with the help of one simple pencil, you can apply different types of shading and shade.

Fifthly, cardboard stencils can be made to create smooth lines. Many artists use different patterns to achieve the desired result.

It is much easier to draw graffiti for beginners in stages on paper than to apply it on the wall without training. Try to sketch different letters, then words, moving from simple to complex, gradually developing your own individual style.

Sometimes, while walking along the street, you can see large, beautiful and not entirely understandable (at first glance) drawings on the walls of houses, on stone fences, in passages. You can stop and take a closer look at these drawings (it will not take much time) - and then incomprehensible lines will begin to form in your imagination in the inscription, the artist's handwriting will immediately become legible, and you will understand everything: what is drawn and how beautiful it really is.
Graffiti starts to like the more you get accustomed to it. Perhaps graffiti will become your favorite visual art.

MirSovetov talks about graffiti in this article, shows the differences between graffiti and other types of visual art, and gives advice to beginners in graffiti.
The word "graffiti" comes from the Italian verb "to scratch". Graffiti is considered a relatively new type of visual art, which is attracting more and more people, among whom there are both young and not so, but most of all in this movement are teenagers. Graffiti was once called street art. After reading the article, you will understand what graffiti is in its essence and how to get started with this art.

The phenomenon of graffiti and how it differs from other forms of visual art

Graffiti art originated in New York in the early 70s. And the first writer who was really famous bore the nickname "Taki 183".

Writers are graffiti artists.

Taki 183 was the first to write his nickname on the wall with a marker, adding his block number to it. And it was after him that graffiti became what you know it now. The very pictures on the walls, the very "incomprehensible" signs that are often confused with the writer's signature.

There is a tradition among Russian writers to use “nickname” instead of the word “nickname” - and none of them is offended by this.

A distinctive feature of graffiti is that such "works" are drawn only on city walls and in entrances. Those. A graffiti drawing made by you on a wall in a room or, even funnier, on a Vkontakte wall, cannot be fully counted as graffiti.

Later, "advanced" teenagers from poor neighborhoods of New York began to invent nicknames for themselves and write them in an incomprehensible font on the walls. In the aforementioned poor neighborhoods, there was a huge testing ground for their talent: paint on any wall, no one will tell you anything.


Over time, teams began to be created that painted everything that came to hand, be it a car, a fence, or even a trash can!

Such teams, consisting of several people, are called "crew" in graffiti.

And some "extreme" people painted trains so that everyone could see and know what graffiti is. So the art of graffiti "dispersed" throughout the United States, it was included in the voluminous list of street art.

Street art is any street art, including graffiti.

Street art is treated differently in different countries. In France, for example, this kind of art is legalized, and on the territory of the Scandinavian Peninsula, drawings can be admired directly from train cars.

Officially, this art is called "graffiti-art".

Graffiti came to Russia quite recently, in the mid-90s, along with break dance, which is not surprising, because all this is traces of hip-hop and partly hippie culture. Russian writers showed their art at hip-hop festivals, and no one expected stunning drawings from them - they limited themselves to drawing their nicknames.
MirSovetov advises to start drawing graffiti just like this: do not take pictures that you cannot master, start with the nuances of your nickname, experiment with adding a "third" dimension, that is, tear your signature out of the plane, make it voluminous, do not hesitate to add arrows, bubbles , mix "in one barrel" paints from different cans - in general, at the first stage of "graffiti-growing" do whatever comes to mind. Make your drawing as incomprehensible and confusing as possible - then they will definitely pay attention to it.
But the first weapon of those who have just started graffiti is not a spray can, but a pencil. It is better to draw more at home on sheets of paper at first than ruin the drawing on the street. It is best to start drawing by sketching some drawings or coming up with your own characters.
Come up with a "tag" for yourself, come up with how you will portray it. Try several options. Practice until you can learn to put a tag in seconds.

A tag in the environment of graffiti fans is the signature that you will leave under your drawings. It is carried out monotonously with a marker or a spray can, black or white is used. The word "taggers" in the graffiti crowd refers to those who are mainly engaged in drawing their own tag. They are often not accepted as writers.

While at home, you will draw a lot of sheets of paper (all this is training) while in free flight. All this is called Sketch - a drawing on paper, which will later be transferred to the wall.

The advice that experienced writers usually give to beginners is this: you need to experiment with colors, because even a simple, multi-colored graffiti will look better than a complex black and white.

Graffiti art is unlikely to require more of you than a natural talent for drawing, or perhaps art college level skill. At first, when you are just learning to draw graffiti, you will not need to know how to make stencils for graffiti, how to correctly correlate the technique of shadow and bright colors ...
Stencils for graffiti are, as a rule, the faces of celebrities drawn and cut out of stiff paper or just drawings, then a drawing is applied along the contour of such a stencil and an excellent picture is obtained at the output. The stencil can then be applied countless times ...

The essence of stencil painting is that you use a stencil cut from cardboard to start with, on which you subsequently apply the drawing. When you are good enough with this drawing technique, you will not need stencils. You will use a piece of cardboard to emphasize the lines of the drawing, and that's it. Experienced graffiti artists have accumulated a large collection of stencils "for all occasions": some for broken lines, others for the outline of the hemispheres, and others for straight lines (a piece of cardboard with one perfectly flat side, when spray paint will be sprayed on the wall and on this sheet, pressed against the wall, then in the end there will be a perfectly straight line).

Where can you practice drawing?

When going out to paint graffiti, you should take into account one circumstance related only to Russian reality: painting graffiti in public places is a criminal offense and is suppressed by law (the minimum penalty is a fine of up to 100,000 rubles, and the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to 10 years ). This is if we talk about public places ... but how many wastelands, abandoned construction sites, back streets - there are many such places in any city.

In addition, sometimes construction firms themselves invite graffiti artists to paint the fences erected around rising construction sites, sometimes the residents of apartment buildings themselves give graffiti artists complete freedom of action in their yards and entrances. There are also exceptions related to public places - these are days of graffiti festivals and other festivals related to hip-hop culture, various exhibitions of writers.

Required materials and equipment

It is imperative that you first take a closer look at the place where you plan to draw, assess whether you need a primer for the wall, mentally imagine where the drawing will be, you may need some additional equipment. will be needed if you have to paint on a porous wall: porous stones strongly absorb paint, in which case the drawing will have to be repainted over and over again.
Additional equipment for writers is a ladder or additional lighting if you are going to paint at night.
Also, you do not need to spare money on a respirator (a device for protecting against the ingress of aerosol vapors into the respiratory system), since paint vapors are very dangerous, and gloves - at the moment, black medical gloves are very popular among writers, in which the spray can is very well felt, becoming in in this case, an extension of the hand.
If you want to make a professional graffiti, you will also need markers and vandalizers (a marker with a flat end - the so-called mop marker) in order to leave your tag or fix small details in the drawing. Over time, you will appreciate the need for stencils: you can leave tags with them or make beautiful drawings.
MirSovetov does not recommend saving on paint, since cheap paint does not fit well and is washed off at the first rain, but you should not buy very expensive paint either - the quality of the drawings in this case does not depend on the high cost of paint, but on the skill of the artist. It is better to buy a couple of cans at an average price than one expensive one, and the drawing will come out more successful.
You should not paint in windy and cold weather, as the wind will blow out the paint, and in cold weather it is more difficult to press on the cap due to the cooling of the spray can and the freezing of the paint.
Cap - a nozzle on a can, through which paint is blown out. Smooth color transition, uniformity of solid pieces of the picture - these elements depend on the nozzle. The thickness of the filling line also depends on the attachment - it is measured in fingers (up to a thickness of 10 fingers - this is the so-called "fat cap"). Caps with a thin fill line are called "skunny" caps. Caps cost from 150 rubles (if they cannot be purchased in your city, you can easily order them via the Internet). There are 2 types of caps:

• male - there is a tube with a side hole at the bottom of the cap;
• female - there is a usual hole at the bottom of the cap instead of a tube (therefore, you need to buy a cylinder with a tube).

You can also use an airbrush when working. An airbrush is a special spray that allows you to add additional touches to your drawing along with the spray cans.

Working with a drawing

Your drawing will largely depend on the type of drawing. If it is BUBBLE STYLE, then the drawing will consist of "bubbles", from thick lines, a large number of weaves. If it is WILD STYLE, then the drawing will consist of a "wild" jumble of lines, it will be incredibly difficult. There is the so-called DAIM STYLE or 3D-style, when the image is obtained in three-dimensional.
Start drawing by applying a primer - this will simplify your work. There will be less smudges and the paint will not fade. Use enamel or water-based paint as a primer; it can also be used as a background. Then transfer the drawings from the sketches to the wall.
Having started the drawing, first draw the lines, the main outline of the drawing.


Then proceed to sharpen the outline of the contour, while using a balloon with a wider nozzle.

Many, starting to paint graffiti, are afraid of a wide stream of paint coming out of a spray can - they say that only professionals can get a high-quality drawing. In fact, this is not so: a little perseverance and everything will work out.

Bomb designs are usually done in two colors, such as black and silver.

Drawing "bomb" is officially called "to bomb", i.e. bombing, bombing, "throwing" pictures on the walls. Bombing is also used in hard-to-reach places where the graffiti artist has little time to draw (a "draw and run" technique).

In this case, the border is the outline, and the inner elements of the picture are fillins. First, fillins are drawn (drawn twice), then the artist proceeds to the border - outline.
Fillins are drawn with a 3-10 toe cap.

Don't be afraid to change your drawing as you work. Improvise and the graffiti may turn out better than sketching.

After the fillins have been completed, feel free to complete the edging and then bring the picture to "shine", i.e. repaint several times to get a rich color. After that, the drawing can be considered complete.

Choosing a paint can

In fact, this process will take a little longer than you think. The difference between paint lies, of course, in quality.
The Krylon paint gets bad reviews from everyone who uses this paint - it is too watery, which results in a lot of smudges. Finnish-made Russian paint "Lada" has, on the contrary, many positive reviews - the color is very saturated (price from 150 rubles). In the West, American Fast Spray, ACE Hardware, Flexa paints are widespread and popular.
The paint "Motip" is very popular in the CIS, its cost is from 60 to 200 rubles. Experienced writers prefer cylinders with this particular paint (excellent palette, thick colors). The Abro paint is best known in Russia, its cost is from 30 to 100 rubles. If "Motype" is used for complex works, then "Abro" is an irreplaceable element of "bombing" and simple graffiti. "Abro" has a bunch of drawbacks: when you paint with this paint you will inevitably have smudges, plus it is unstable when the temperature changes (it cannot be called cold-resistant, the paint "Fiesta" has approximately similar qualities). “Montana” and “Sparvar” are in great circulation in the West, in Russia it is difficult to get them.
When drawing fillins, i.e. filling, an ordinary balloon is enough for 1-2 square meters. m of surface.


Rust-Oleum paint has such an important quality for graffiti as the color coverage. Those. It's not a secret for anyone that it is better to first paint over with blue, and then cover with black, i.e. black is more "covering". In addition, Rust-Oleum has a large selection of colors and a high-quality paint composition (Painter's Touch has similar properties).

Possible errors during operation

First of all, you must make the background of the future picture. Only after the background is made, the drawing is applied, otherwise you will get an unattractive graffiti with a half-painted background. Remember the sequence: first, a sketch of the future work is drawn in the background color, then the background, and then draw the outline. As soon as the described actions are completed, you can start “polishing” the picture, adding “author's” details, signatures ...
In the event that a smudge appears, you should wait until it dries, and then paint over it. If you work with a balloon and hold your hand a little, then you get a smudge, so when drawing, move quickly and do not stop in any case.
MirSovetov also recommends every time after you have finished drawing or your work for today, to clean the caps (nozzles on the spray can). This is done as follows: the can is turned over, and you keep the cap pressed until the paint stops coming out. If you do not do this, then you can safely throw out the cap, since it will be clogged with paint and you will not be able to reuse it.

There is an unspoken code of honor among writers. You should not leave your tags under other people's work and do not need to paint over them. If you respect other writers, they will respect you too.

A child, first of all, should not interfere in the business that he is engaged in or has already become seriously carried away.
Perhaps your child will use his own pocket money to buy cans and nozzles for them, a respirator, vandalizers, airbrushes ... On the other hand, you yourself can buy all this for him, only of a higher quality, taking into account your financial capabilities and the financial capabilities of your child ... Especially do not spare money for a respirator and gloves - the child's health is the most precious thing.
Also, the child should immediately clarify the issues related to regulations. Where can I draw and where not. It is best if you are familiar with the graffiti company that your child communicates with, the team to which he belongs.
It doesn't matter if the child disappears on the street all day and returns home, smeared with paint. In the end, a hobby over time can develop into a profession, the skills of an artist can serve as a guarantee of admission to an art academy or college.
If your child belongs to art, especially to a modern popular trend, this is a huge plus in his biography.


The fact that your child communicates in a graffiti get-together is another reason for him to avoid the web of social networks and fake "electronic" communication. Your son or daughter will have many friends - no doubt about it. As a team art form, graffiti is very helpful in building companionship and bringing people closer together.
MirSovetov recommends to indulge your child's hobby in every possible way.
Graffiti will give you a lot more than you will give this art. For you - a few hours of work, for the world - unforgettable drawings in the most unexpected places of this industrial century.

Graffiti is a style that stands out for its freedom. He gained popularity among young people. You can often see similar images on the walls of houses, fences. Many teenagers want to learn how to create drawings like this. Everything can be learned, so if you want to, you can figure out how to draw graffiti for beginners. The best place to start is with simple images.

How to draw beautiful graffiti?

First, you need to carefully consider the drawings of already established writers, that is, artists who paint in this style. This will help you find your direction.

You should not practice the visual arts on city buildings, fences. The best place to start is by learning how to draw graffiti on paper.

Option 1

To begin with, you can learn how to portray the word "muSic" in the style you like.

It's so easy to figure out on your own how to draw beautifully graffiti with a pencil. This is an easy way for a beginner to get through.

Option 2

You can try creating another image, for example, the word "peace" with a rainbow.

That's all, now you know how to beautifully draw graffiti with a pencil. As a result, you will get a beautiful multi-colored picture that can be presented to someone to cheer up.

Option 3

Those who already easily cope with the simplest options would like to know how to draw graffiti in 3d. You can try writing the simple word "Josh". Similarly, you can learn to draw your name in a beautiful format.

This is the easiest way for which you do not need a lot of drawing experience.

"A painting is a painting, and graffiti is a movement!"

Drawing graffiti is a real art, rooted in ancient times. Even the Egyptians recorded the course of their history by scratching figures on the walls.

Remember: you have probably seen in historical films various mysterious symbols, pictures and texts depicted on the walls. This is graffiti!

Now this art is so developed that you can even paint volumetric 3D graffiti with all sorts of effects and bright colors.

How can a beginner quickly master drawing graffiti?

There is no strict sequence and rules when drawing graffiti. Each work is an individuality. Everyone has their own style and you too will have it over time. First you need to learn basic skills, and after that everything will come by itself.

Don't waste time experimenting on your own. It is worth looking at the professionals right away, as they will quickly teach you what could be learned for a long time. Here are some general guidelines:

• Search the internet, forums, and other resources for other graffiti artists. They will help you quickly navigate this environment. First, learn to redraw other people's work on paper. This will train your hand well and help in the future. We advise you to take a simple job, without any "chips" and complex details;
• Be sure to watch the video tutorials from the masters of their craft. This is the lion's share of invaluable experience!

5 tools any aspiring graffist should not do without

To start learning graffiti, there is no need to immediately run to the store for a can of paint. Surely you already have everything you need:

1. Sketchbook or thick A4 sheets separately;
2. Plain and colored pencils;
3. Colored helium pens, markers;
4. Eraser;
5. Markers.

Of course, you can take a lot more tools. Even pastels and paints are suitable for graffiti. To each his own.

Although graffiti is more of a street art form, paper is the best canvas for an aspiring graffiti artist. Aerobatics - walls, and already a real graffist (writer) will need completely different tools for work:

1. High-quality paint (preferably from a domestic manufacturer - "Motip" or foreign - "Lada");
2. Spray nozzle;
3. Airbrush for spraying paint;
4. Vandalizers for image tag *;
5. Respirator;
6. Lantern and ladder for night painting.

Start training from the basics

To master the basics of graffiti, you should start by drawing art writing. All experienced craftsmen started with this and advise all beginners
learn to draw text graffiti on paper. You can choose any text, but it's always fun to mock your name. By the way, you can immediately
come up with your tag and portray it. Do not rush to immediately draw in volume, everything has its time.

So, the first steps with which you can start learning right now:

Learn to write letters the same

Step 1... On a piece of paper, just write the text in pencil. Let it be a simple text with an ordinary font, you do not need to immediately twist the letters and draw mysterious arrows. Your goal is to learn how to write straight, respecting the kerning, height and size of all letters. Try to paint with strokes to make it easier to correct defects in the event of a mistake. After the letters start to get straight, start leaving small spaces between the letters, so that later they will increase in volume.

Step 2... Outline your letters. To do this, you need to choose the style that will be the easiest for you to portray. "Old-timers" advise all newcomers to learn to draw graffiti on paper from style bubble(bubbles). The letters made in this style really resemble inflated bubbles, and they are the easiest to depict. Although there are many more styles:

• Wild (wild)- the letters are intertwined and confused. Lots of details and additional elements;
• Blockbusters- huge and wide letters on the background;
• Character- Suitable for experienced or talented graffiti artists. Draw comics and cartoon characters with this style;
• Messiah- multi-layered text overlaid with one another. Also for advanced writers.

One style is enough for now. Change letters beyond recognition, because this is a free practice!

Step 3... Once you're happy with the sketch, you can make several copies. When coloring, you can not be afraid to ruin the sketch, since you will always have more in stock. Sketch - sketch, sketch, sketch.

Step 4... Before coloring, lines drawn with a pencil can be darkened with a pen or marker. There are so many ways to color the letters. Get new ideas on the Internet, look at other works. The easiest option is to sketch the letters in one color. But good graffiti should be catchy and bright, but in moderation! Therefore, the colors can be alternated or you can make each letter a different color.

Tip: Use moderation in colors and additional elements so that your graffiti does not turn into chaos.

What will others think?

One correspondent of the Russian TV channel somehow joined the team of writers and found out: according to them, 9 out of 10 people love what they paint. The latter usually calls the police.

This was a good indicator. Now he has fallen due to the fact that there are "writers" who do not care what kind of glory to chase - good or bad. More often the first. How many mutilated store walls, shop windows, garages or houses are there in your city? Banal inscriptions that do not carry any emotions and thoughts simply spoil the appearance of the city. You will find few real masterpieces. Because of this phenomenon, many began to associate graffiti as vandalism rather than art.

Therefore, many writers prefer to work only at night and as quickly as possible. And some are limited to drawing graffiti on paper and are completely satisfied. It is a pity that in our country there are no specially designated places for the work of writers, as, for example, there is in France and the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Learn and develop your talents. Become a sought-after writer and participate in various hip-hop festivals!

This is generally art. Be that as it may, with the emergence of this basic element of hip-hop culture, walls on the streets around the world were covered with colorful inscriptions, tags and even real paintings by artists who call themselves graffiti-writers. Probably every hip-hop fan in his youth dreamed of “bombing” a wall in his hometown, just as the New York style pioneers did. Many have even tried it. But in reality, everything was not as simple as it seemed at first, and novice writers abandoned this occupation, in fact, without really starting. Why is that? Because in order to draw a worthwhile drawing you need to study long and hard. Or at least know the basics. We will talk about them today.

To date, you can find on the network many different instructions and video tutorials that tell you about the basic techniques of drawing various. Many of them, however, are far from the truth and demonstrate some absolutely outrageous requirements for a novice writer. But what if you've never painted graffiti before? We will help you by explaining the basic things a beginner needs to know. We warn you right away that the text of this article is unlikely to be useful for experienced artists, since the information provided here is probably already known to them.

We will not delve into the intricacies of complex works of street art, we will concentrate on the classic examples, namely inscriptions and tags, because this is what usually begins to draw graffiti. So let's go.

What it takes to paint graffiti if you're a beginner

First, let's talk about what you need to do in order to draw the first sketches of your future drawing (it might look stupid, but don't forget, we're newbies). Even the greatest writers don't paint without having done a sketch. Therefore, you need:

• Pencil
• Notebook or just a sheet of paper
• Eraser for erasing
• A drawing that can be redrawn. It is important that the structure of the letters is clearly visible in it (google search will help here)

It is not shameful for a beginner to take someone else's work as a basis, but on the contrary it is commendable. This makes it possible to see and understand the main techniques used by an experienced writer. Perhaps at the beginning you will need several attempts to repeat someone else's drawing, but if you study hard, then the result will definitely come.

How to draw your first tag

After you have drawn your first graffiti on paper, we advise you to move on to the study of tags. A tag is an artist's signature by which others will recognize his work. They are drawn with markers and balloons, depending on the place or personal preference. At this point, it's worth thinking about your artistic name. If there are no interesting ideas, then you can start with your real name.

To draw a tag, you also need to study the structure of the letters. Nowadays, it is very easy to do this, you just need to enter the appropriate query in a search engine. For example, we provide a link.

After you have chosen the letters that suit you, you need to connect them into one whole. We advise you to start simple: use base letters without giving them any non-standard shapes (like in the example above). If you want to refine your tag, you can add various serifs, drips or arrows to it, as in the example below.

Attention: If you use graffiti markers and draw on a regular sheet of paper, we strongly recommend placing something under it, because the marker is very likely to break onto the surface of the table.

How to draw your first graffiti

At the beginning of the article, we “agreed” that we would learn to draw more or less classic versions of graffiti. Let's take the work of the writer Chino BYI as an example.

Based on this figure, we will define the main components of any inscription, which is considered to be a classic:

• Fill (The Fill-In) - the filled area inside the letters.
• Outline - a black or colored stroke around the fill.
• 3-D shadow.
• A second contour around the entire drawing.
• Optional: tag with the artist's name.
• Optional: additional effects (Highlights).
• Optional: the year the drawing was created.

Now let's go through each of the components separately.

Fill (The Fill-In)

Once you've drawn your tag, it may well serve as the basis for your first full-fledged graffiti. So, with the help of a pencil, you can simply sketch the same tag, but make the letters wider, leaving space for filling between the lines. This will make them look more voluminous. The drawing will look something like this.

As you can see, the structure of this graffiti is far from perfect. For example, the first letter "E" is striking, the dimensions of which are not proportional to all the others. Therefore, the drawing needs to be slightly changed. To do this, you can again use the sample fonts.

In graffiti, the shape of the drawing is very important. In our example, you can see that the first letter "E" is significantly larger than the last "R". By decreasing "E" and adding arrows on both sides (highlighted in red), the author made the drawing compact and proportional. With the serifs (highlighted in blue) and additional shapes (green), this sketch is made more complex.

After this stage is completed, we will get a more or less intelligible drawing, which will serve as the basis for further work. It should be said that creating a sketch is not an easy task. Most likely, it will take you a lot of time until the drawing is the way you would like to see it. At this stage, you will be using the eraser frequently and redoing almost every letter. But even venerable writers spend a lot of time on their sketches, so don't be discouraged.

The next task will not be as difficult as the previous one. You just need to take a marker and trace the lines previously drawn with a pencil. After the marker is dry, you should take the eraser and erase the excess (that is, the initial sketch with a pencil). You end up with something like this.

Advice: copy your sketch just in case. If it happens that you are not happy with the colors chosen for the drawing or spoil it in another way, then you will not need to draw all over again. Any (even the cheapest) printer with a copy function is suitable for this.

Now we come to color selection and direct sketch filling... If you are not sure what color your letters should be, we recommend using a gradient. This fill technique allows you to gradually change the hue and makes it possible to change the color of the drawing as you work. If you want to make your graffiti more complex, you can use different gradients for each letter, but this technique is more suitable for experienced artists. Since the drawing in our example is made on a sheet of paper, it is advisable to use special markers for filling.

Color selection is another essential component in creating beautiful graffiti. For beginners, the best option would be to use two or three colors. It is best if they complement each other. For example, different shades of the same color for the background and foreground, or for shadows and fills. In principle, colors that are at opposite ends of the color gamut also look good. The combinations here can be different, depending on the taste. If difficulties arise with this, then you can take the work of other artists as an example. For a start, this would be a good option.

How to draw shadows

Experienced artists can paint eye shadow with amazing precision. But for beginners, there is a good trick to achieve the desired result. It will take some time, but it is guaranteed to add quality to your drawing.

First, decide on the size of the blocks that will serve as a shadow for the letters. For example, let's take 1.5 cm. Take a ruler and measure 1.5 cm from each corner that your letters have and draw lines. After that, connect them with lines parallel to the outline of the picture. You get blocks that you can paint over and make a shadow out of them.

You can paint the blocks either black (the simplest and most common option), or add complex elements like light areas in the middle or transitions to darker colors at the bottom (example below).

Outer outline and background

The outer path is the path that distinguishes the letters from the background of the drawing. The author of our drawing chose a blue color for it, which goes well with orange. As a background, he added streaks and so-called “bubbles” of the same color. It turned out pretty well.

Highlights, year of creation and tag

Perhaps the fill seems a little boring to you and you want to add complexity to your drawing. Then you can use additional lines or geometric inserts inside the fill. Usually bubbles, rectangles or triangles are used. Basically, they are painted over with darker colors than the fill color. Also, highlights are sometimes added to the background of the picture.

The year of creation and your own signature will be the final touches of your graffiti. If you represent a team of writers, you can add a tag with its name.

Despite the fact that above we have provided you with the basic information in order to draw the first graffiti, in the end I would like to summarize all this with a few more tips:

• Practice simple fonts first. When you start to get them “on the machine”, then move on to more difficult tasks.
• Forget about “wild style” and other delights, all this will come later. Draw more or less straight letters in order to understand their structure, this is one of the most important aspects of graffiti.
• If you want to complicate the drawing, do it using basic techniques (drips, bubbles, simple highlights). Do not experiment with crazy angles, curves, bends and arrows at first, because the result will not be what you expected.
• When drawing, keep in mind the basic “rules” of drawing, resist the temptation to draw “like Futura or Kase2”. To draw the way they are, you need to learn all your life, and you are just a beginner.
• Draw-draw-draw! The main thing is practice.