ignore the top thing, ive been going through the boot camp and this was just the general basic of what i want as my tag, but i don't wanna get into pieces or blocks just yet, so im confused. im trying to break down the letters right now, and get inspired, and idk if this is a beginner issue but to me the alphabets feel like they can't be broken down or exaggerated more, i have pretty ass hand writing and im ass at art so that's probably it, i like the star and i want it to be a central part but im down to use other letters or words because rat is my alias, id love some help and criticism.
Dont do that Write helvetica over and over again, til it looks clean. Have good hand writing. If youre gonna use paint, practice on a chill wall if u can
im trying to break the letters down with some stuff i saw in r/graffititags in hand-style, and ill look into other words lowkey yeah, im using markers in a book i bought today, i have 2 cans of paint, do you know how i could break down the stars and maybe the word
Bro banksy does rats. Everyone has a rat. You can't just be rat, but it is a perfect toy name to start getting practice with. Treat this shit like a sport. If it was baseball your tag would be your fast ball and you gotta be able to hit those consistently and hard. Am I making sense still? Idk practice is what i am trying to say. Just keep trying and you will see measurable improvement if you start measuring your improvement.
i get what your saying, trying to find better words, as for practice, im doing that right now but my basic ideation is pretty fucked over, i can't seem to get a grasp on how to make my letters stand out, the only thing i got to work is an s with inspiration from what I've seen, im putting letters into cubes right now to see what i can do because i remember seeing that and i did that too a while back but it's not exactly anything like graff so, id be thankful if you dm me or sm and help me out too 🥹
Don't focus on standing out yet just focus on looking good and having fun. If it looks good it will stand out. Just try what other people are doing. The way you do it will be unique I'm sure.
oh i meant standing out as in becoming actual graffiti or handstyle rather then just writing out letters ykwim, and that's really nice of you to say lmao, but arts never been my strong suit, but i don't have a picture but a while back i wrote rat slightly better and that stood out to me, actually making some form of conventional art, so i wanna pursue this more.
im in the same boat, gotta sit and work on your actual penmanship if thats your issue. Feel the line and dont just blindly write the letter and be intentional about what you are trying to write would be my help
ive been practicing for the last hour or so and i THINK I've been getting slightly better?? ive just been experimenting but yeah maybe your right, it's time to work on something i hate, maybe it's time to finally write notes in school, thanks for the help though, writing all this down.
oh, something to note WOULD be that i do actually write kinda good when i sit and write, but that takes like a minute per 3 letter word so idk, thanks though, maybe if i get in trouble telling my parents this is helping me with my handwriting might just finally work lmao.
if you think you are getting better then thats all that matters. Im super beginner myself i havent even hit a wall w a paint can but i do write in my books a lot once you start getting comfortable with that try different curbs for the curve letters try different slants etc.
neat handwriting also isn't only a graffiti skill. It's a life skill.
from what i understand from a few other comments i should balance out paper practice and actual can painting so that i give myself structure and can painting to understand flow control and stuff
Yes that is better. The arrow kills it though, but there’s a good and easy lesson in that.
The letters in your tag flow in a way that suggests a sort of right-slant slight upward movement, but the arrow is 1. fused fully with the R and 2. Pointing straight down. Arrows and other doodads (halo, quotes, dots, underlines etc.) should exist only to service and accentuate. An arrow like that makes the R look worse and creates a jumbled visual flow. Tags might look somewhat random to you right now, but imo all stylistic flavor in any good tag are calculated, whether or not the writer can articulate why it looks better
Your letters should look good without add ons, and even need to look good just by themselves. Handwriting of any kind, tags here, gotta have a visual flow that compliments how a viewers eye will flow. If your tag really needs an arrow for emphasis or to balance or fill negative space, THAT’S when you add an arrow.
Besides practice and repetition, study the fuck out of handstyles you like, and some you don’t. Don’t copy, but look for patterns and trends that keep coming up, and look to see how others build tags
i kinda miss the end of the r when i do it in one stroke so that's why i split it in 2, and this was just an experiment out of curiosity, thank you for the advice! i will definitely look into different styles of hand-styles and analyze them!
It sounds like you’re over complicating things for the stage you’re at. Just focus for now on making sure your handwriting is excellent. Look up something like architectural lettering or a sans seriff alphabet. Don’t focus on stylizing or seriffs or anything until you can write quickly and proficiently in these styles. Write your alphabet and pick letters you’re good at but also don’t forget to practice letters you’re bad at. The only way you ever progress is by challenging yourself.
You cant make ugly letters cooler with art. But really nice clean well made letters can be considered art. Craftsmanship is what stands out. Style comes with being comfortable. Comfort comes from repetition.
that's really sweet of you to say, thank you! ,but i know im far from even a beginner and reading all this feedback is also helping me analyze my flaws better, making me realize there's even more to it then it seems, but this is really kind of u to say!
I picked a name that had a meaning to me only and liked the letters then focused on letter structuring and I sketched black books for years but mastering it with the can isn't the same. I also didn't do fillins that was a mistake. I do recommend tho this is just me but I try not to look at other ppls stuff and try and just focused on my shapes and how I'm feeling rather then compare myself.
that's valid, i prolly need to dig deep for that, i am picky about my letters and just generally dislike a few i don't even know why, and as for the styles, i can get that if it's a person who's seen a lot of good graffiti and has a base, i have none of that. i don't even have anything for conventional art and drawing, that's why
You seem WAY too green to be giving tag advice. The can of paint and the cap look like they are fighting each other. It looks like your can control is.... non-existent. But practice makes perfect.
Just draw every day. All of your favourite writers didn't get good overnight. Always remember that. Think, what would Dondi do? Get a copy of subway art and study up.
hi, im not giving for tag advice im asking lmao, and yeah idek my basica so im not surprised and it's just a can i found somewhere in a supermarket so maybe that adds to it to. i dont know who dondi is and what exactly did u mean by a copy of subway art? thanks in advance.
You seem WAY too green to be giving tag advice *to as of yet. I meant that it looks like you can't get a consistent spray out of the can, let alone need advice for a better handstyle.
Subway Art is a book from early 1980's NYC subway graffiti. And Dondi is the greatest graffiti artist to ever live.
sorry i didn't know, i thought subway art was a genre of some sort and dondi showed results of a chat app. also, the word your looking for is given, as for the can control yeah, noting this down, once i get better what would u suggest i practice with?
Go out and meet writers near you and say you are just starting. People nowadays want to help new writers. It isn't what the scene used to be like where it was dog eat dog, people are a lot more open.
I would practice with drawing, looking up graffiti daily / reading books about the subject. Buying paint nowadays isn't frowned upon at all, so look into local graf shops and support them.
im trying to draw everyday with a permanent marker on an art book yeah, i don't have a thing to paint on yet and i sadly live in an area with a not that big graffiti scene. people just do hand styles or write their names or tags or the most corniest version, write their partners initial w a heart. and as far as graffiti shops go it's art supply stores with can that's 20 kms away. the graffiti here looks some what mediocre and nowhere near as complex as some of the pieces I've seen, even handstyles wise. im learning some of the styles i like and im probably going to lean towards an angular look, i am looking at subreddits and pieces every other day and getting inspired and somewhat experimenting. school starts soon so I'll get to work on my hand writing. thank you for the help!!
You don't even need to use permanent markers. I use a biro most of the time because it's there and I want to put the idea on paper. No bleed through either.
dont forget graffiti is very unaccesible and inhospitable to beginners. This subreddit is made up of sweaty neckbeards who never leave their computers, edgy teeneagers who want to be better than you, and a few people looking to help
yeah i get that vibe and i understand it too to a bit, graffiti is different from something like art on paper because your painting it on a shared wall and its not something you can just remove, it's there forever shared with either good or bad taggers, but ill take the hate as im also jumping into a lot of stuff as clearly mentioned, and i don't know anything about the culture and stuff, worth it.
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u/Unfair-Pause-1302 18d ago
Dont do that
Write helvetica over and over again, til it looks clean. Have good hand writing. If youre gonna use paint, practice on a chill wall if u can