INDEX:
Foreword
Style
StyleevolutionTags,Cost88Throw-ups,KetPieces,SwetHowtomakegraffitilettersFunk,JurneComposition,AncePractise,TrackTrack’sstraightstyleTrack’sfunkystyleTrack’swildstyleStylehistoryQuotesEuropeanstyle,ShoeUgly-prettystyle,KatdogLetterdetailsDeltaabout3DWildstyle,Yes2Arrows,EgsDetails,KacaoFill-inandbackground
Materials
PaintSpraypaint
KaosaboutspraypaintMixingspraypaintAirbrush,SkenPaint,rollersandbrushesRogeraboutrollerpaintMarkersandinkAbyssaboutpensHNRaboutpensMixingmarkerpaintHowtobuildamarkerSurfacesVinoaboutsurfacesCakeaboutcanvasBuildyourownwallProtectiveequipment
Technique
HowtomakeapieceGraffitistepbystepMadCabouttechniqueDoesabouttechniqueSkilabouttechniquePaintingfast,NiroPhoto-realism,AkutCapsTipsandtricks,GougeHexcapMixedmediaLadyPinkaboutmixedmediaCanvas,ZombieSketching,RosyOneQuotes
Creatingisfun.It’sakicktomakesomethingandthencheckitout:Ididthis!Creativityiswhatledourforefatherstoimprovetheirdailylife.Creativityisthebasisforthecomputerusedforwritingthistext.Thecreativeprocessisunending,sinceitisperfectible.Whengraffiti
wasnew, fewpeople couldhave foreseen its triumphantmarchacross theworld. Even fewer could have foreseen a creative development of almostfiftyyears.
Graffiti is short-lived. A piece often only exists for a short while beforevanishing under layers of new ones. Unless, of course, it’s made on clothes,canvasor inasketchbook.Then its life isprolonged.But finally,mostgraffitiwillonlybepreservedinphotographsorbooks.
Graffiti isasharedcreativeprocess.You learnbydiscussingstyles,effects,techniques andmaterials with friends and relations. You collaborate around athemeorapiece.At theend, there isalsoanaudience thatwillhaveopinionsaboutthework.
Graffiti is an art form close to both music and dance, as well as otherexpressions like Chinese calligraphy andmartial arts.Most writers repeat thesamemovement,thesameshape,overandoveragaintogainasteadyhandandcreateapersonalstyle.
We, the writers of this book, all come from graffiti’s creative soil. Werepresentdifferentgenerationsofgraffitiwriters,butweallsharetheloveoftheswingingletters.
Whengraffitiwasfirstcirculated,itwasamongyouthsofthesameage.Themoreexperiencedonestookbeginnersundertheirwingsandactedasteachersormentors.
Overtime,thespanofageshasgrown.Today,theoldestwritersinNewYorkareintheirsixties,andtheyoungestintheirteens.Thenaturalmentoringsystemno longer exists in the same way, since writers have become such aheterogeneousgroup.
That’swhywethinktheGraffitiCookbookisnecessary.Here,for instance,areadviceandhintsforthosecuriousaboutgraffitibutwhohaveno-onetoask.Hereareinterviewswithsomeoftheworld’smostinterestingwriters,whosharetheirexperienceandgiveadvicetoothers,bothbeginnersandveterans.
Butit’sodd,really.Aren’trulesacontradictionintermswhenitcomestoafree art form like graffiti? Didn’t its origins lie precisely in a protest againstrules?
Asseveralofourintervieweessay:nevermindtherules.Themostimportantthingistohavefun.Creatingisfun!
STYLE
Graffiti is known as the largest artmovement in the world. It is anurban lettering style defined by rhythm and swing, reminiscent ofimprovisedmusicordance.Thejazzmusicianimprovisesatune,andthe jazz connoisseur recognizes him by his style. The graffiti writerimprovisesaword,andthegraffiticonnoisseurrecognizeshimbyhisletteringstyle.
Therearedifferentkindsofgraffiti.Thefundamentaltypesaretags,throw-upsandpieces.Eachtypehasseveraldifferentstyles.Thenameisthebasisof graffiti. The graffiti writer acquires or takes a word that becomes hisname.Thenameisconstantlydevelopedstylistically.Whengraffitiwritersworktogetherinagroup,theyformacrew.Crewsalsohavenames.Graffiti has developed from simple tags to complicated wildstyle pieces.Today,thereareseveralschoolsofstyle,eitherbasedonindividualwritersordifferentcities.Thegoalofawriter is todevelopapersonalstyle.But“Youdon’thavetodostraightletterstohavestyle,”asNoc167saysinthefilmStyleWars.
A
Vazz1doeshisversionofthe1970sNewYorkstyle.Berlin2007
STYLEEVOLUTION
Youcouldcallgraffitistreetcalligraphy.Graffitistyleisamixtureofcurvesandsharpanglesthatmakethelettersswing.Itsformallanguageiseasiesttofollowinatag.Inpieces,coloursandoutlinescanhidethebasicshapeoftheletters.
tag is one-dimensional. Thismeans it is created by a line. Throw-ups andpieces are two-dimensional. They have double contours with a space thatcreatesthevolume.Theintervals,thesurfaceofthepiece,arecalledgirders.
Alllettersarebuiltusingbasicshapes:oneorseveralgirderscreatetheletter.You can subdivide the letters into two basic styles. One is a logical and
precisearchitectonicstylehailingfromNewYork.Itwasdevelopedbywriterslike Phase 2, Lee and Dondi. In Europe, the architectonic style was furtherdevelopedbyBandoandShoe in themid-80s.They separated the letters from
each other, and kept the word together using arrows and external bars. Thelettersoftenhadenlargedupperparts.
Thearchitectonicstyleisdistinguishedbythefactthatthepartsoftheletteraremade of overlapping girders. It is a style that could be built using planks.Thatthestyleislogicalmeans,forinstance,thatthe“eye”ofanAendsupalongthegirders.Architectonicstyleislargelybasedonlogic.
BurnbySeque,Stockholm1986.AnexampleoftheBandostylethatspreadoverEurope
NemoandDizzyexperimentingwith1980sstyleinfluences.Berlin2007
GonefromSwedendoesaroundarchitectonicstyle.TheeyeintheletterEfollowsthegirders.CharacterbyGougeThearchitectonicstyleisoftenangular,butcanalsoberounded.Agoodexampleofthatstyleis
theclassiclogofortheDisneycomicDonaldDuck.
Theotherisaflowingorganicstylethatcanbeillogical.Thismeansthatthewritertakesmorelibertieswithlettershapes.InanillogicalA,theeyeendsupwhere thewriter choosesand thinks it fitsbest.Thegirders canbemore fluidandlooseinshape,andtheletterscanbebuiltinentirelyunexpectedways.Theorganicstylecanalsobeexpressionisticornaivistic.
ThisstylewaspractisedbymanyNewYorkwritersintheearly70s.Butthiswas due to ignorance of letter construction. In the early 90s, itwas reborn inScandinavia, when writers like Aman, Hiv and Ribe revolted against logicalstyleandsearchedforinspirationamongtherootsofgraffiti.CrewslikeNGandCP from Sweden andUT fromBerlin became known for painting letters thatwereconsideredcontroversialand“ugly”.
HezhtandDizzytakingittotheextreme.Berlin2007
TAGS
Cost88hasbeenwritinggraffitiinBerlinsincethe1980s.Heisknownforastronglypersonalstylewherethelettersoftenlosetheiroutlines.
Whatisatag?Atagisasignature.Thepersonaltouchistheinterestingthinginagoodtag.
Firstyoulearnthehistory,howtocommandthelineandthetag.Thenyouhavetoallowyourpersonalitytoinfluencethetagsoitfollowsyouthroughlife.
Whatisagoodtag?Asignaturethatconveysthepersonalityofthewriterisalwaysnice.Butatag
musthavestyle.Styleisclear–eitheryou’vegotit,oryoudon’t.Abadtagisonewherethewriterisstrivingforstylebutdoesn’thaveit.
Whatarethemostimportantcharacteristicsofthetag?Personality, uniqueness. Most good tags are well-crafted. There are a few
good tags that areunique.Thoseare tagswhere thehandwriting ispart of theperson’s worldview, philosophy of art, style, writing and quest for self-expression.
Whichareyourfavouritetags?InBerlin, I likepeople likePeps,BabboandClint,who isabitofananti-
style guy whose tags are reminiscent of Comet. Clint is graffiti’s Ol’ DirtyBastard.Itmaysoundpompous,butIactuallylikemyowntagstoo.
Ifyouhadaskedmeinthe90s,I’dhavesaidPhos.Butthenwewereallverytraditional.Forinstance,Ididn’tunderstandBlade.Wechewedpeopleupabout“Blade”.Today,I thinkthatBlade’s70sstuff is reallycool.That’s interesting,becauseyoucanaskyourselfwhatcomesfirst:understandingortaste?
EventuallyIgottoapointwhereIlearnttomasterthetraditions.Thenwhatdo you do?When Clint and Peps appeared, I realised I don’t have to proveanything anymore. It’s likewithpainting:whenphotographycamealong, thepaintingdidn’tfillthesamefunctionforrepresentationanymore.Itwasanewtimeoffreedomforwriting.
What’sthemostimportantthingaboutyourtags?Iwant to develop. If you allow other art to flow into graffiti, you develop
bothlinecommandandideas.WhenIwriteoutside,Iwanttoburneverytime,bothothersandmyself.Iworkedinsanelyhardforthat.NowIdon’twriteonthestreetanymoreandhavestarteddoingsomeprettyuncreativetags,mostlyasawayofmeditating.ThelessIworkonwriting,themorethestylestagnates.Youcanonlymakegoodartwithtotalfocusandpassion.
What’syouradviceforbeginners?Whenyou’reabeginner,youdon’tneedadvice.Thenyou’rerightinit,just
doingitandbeinghappy.It’s later,whenyouwant toimprove,getasgoodasthebest,thatyouneedgoodadvice.IstartedwhenIwastwelve.Icopiedotherpeople’s tagsawkwardlyandslowly.Nowadays Iwork theotherwayround. Isometimes try tocopya reallyugly toy tag,but Ican’t. It’smadebysomeonewhowantstocontrol thetagbutcan’t.Icontrol itbut trynot tocontrol it.It’shardtodosomethinguglyonpurpose,andevenhardertodouglystuffwell.It’sprettyabsurd.Itrytobreaktheframework,that’sprobablyjusthuman.
Ifyou’renot theworld’sgreatest talent,youhave todo itmyway: throughdogged,hard,focusedwork.Likeinmartialarts.NowthatI’vebeenpractisingtagsdailyfor25years,I’mburningpeopleIcouldn’teventouchbefore.
COST88DiamondsBerlin,Germany
THROW-UPS
Ket fromNewYork is known for both his pieces and throw-ups.He hasbeenwritingsincethe1980sandisoftentravelingabroadtopaint.
Whatisathrow-up?Athrow-upisanartist’snameinasortofbubblestyle that isdonequickly
andinaverylargescale.
What’sthemostimportantdefiningcharacteristicofathrow-up?Ithas tobereadable. Ithas tobesomethingyoucandofast.Not toomany
letters: the purpose of them is to do them quickly and to repeat the throw-upmanytimestotakeoverspaceinafastway.FromwhatIcansee, thefirst throw-upguysinNewYork, theyweren’treallyartists.Theyweremorelikevandalsorwriters.Theyweren’t theguysthatdidthe fancy pieces. For some reason they decided not to compete stylistically.Insteadtheydidtwo-letternamesintwocoloursanddidthemalottotakeoverspaceandbecomefamousonthetrains.Alongtheway,thethrow-upbecameitsownartform.
Whatdoesathrow-upneedtostandoutstylistically?Goodcolourselection.Therehastobeacontrastbetweentheoutlinecolour
andthefill-in.Youshouldbeabletoreadit.Anditneedssomekindoffunkor
flair.Somestyle.Ialsobelieveithastobefat.Volumeisimportant.Thatwayitcanbebiggerandtakeupmorespace.Ithastobebig.Biggerisbetter.Ialsobelieveit’simportantforthethrow-uptosayyourname.Thereareguysthat onlydoone letter of their name. I don’t think that’s thebestway to takeoverspace.Ifyou’reverydeterminedandenergeticenoughtotakeoverstreetswithjustoneletteryouhavetodoitsomuchthateverybodythatseesthatletterthinksaboutyourname.Notaneasytask.I’m driving through the SouthBronxwhile speaking and I see lots of terriblethrow-upsandoneortwogoodonestoo.
Whatmakesathrow-upgood?The outline has to fully close the letters, both on the top and bottom. The
currenttrendforopenlettersmakethemlookmessy.Manyyoungkidsdothemfastandsloppy.Theybecomeveryhard to read, it’sasortofclutter,asortofvisual pollution. The tradition of legible throw-ups is changing; they do thempointierorlyingsideways.Butit’salsoanewstylethatismoreabstract.
What’sthemostimportantpartofyourhrow-up?Bigandfast.That’sit.Itshouldhaveuniformitywiththeheight.Uniformon
thetopandbottomandequalinsizewiththeotherletters.
Whyarethrow-upssuchanimportantpartofNewYorkgraffiti?Wehave a long traditionof throw-ups. In started around1973, anddid the
most throw-ups ever on trains. After him probably Iz theWiz and TOP-crewwere theoneswhoevolved the throw-ups. Inwas also amemberofTOPandtheywereknownfortwoletterthrow-ups,likeOiandTo.Theypushedthrow-upstobeawayforwriterstocommunicate.Someoftheoldguyshatedthrow-upsfornotbeingmasterpieces.Itwasatrendfirst,butnowit’sabigpartoftheNewYork City graffiti history. New York City has a bomber mentality, andthrow-upsareoneof the tricks togetup for abomber.Thecity is sobig andwidespreadandtobeabletogetyournameupquicklyinanenlargedwayyouneedtodothrow-ups.
HowdoIlearntodogoodthrow-upletters?Thebestwayistolookatthegoodthrow-upsthathavebeendonebeforeyou
and learn from those styles. Once you know how to do a good copy of yournameinastylelikeGhost,Blade,Seen,Kegr,Amazeorotherwriterslikethatyou can start tomodify the letters to your taste, give it your own flair.Get afoundation.Thengocrazy.
KET
KET
RIS,AOK,COD,MTK,WMD
NewYorkCity,USA
“
Apiecealwaysneedsattention.Itshouldbeshouting:Lookatme!
”
PIECES
SwetisoneofDenmark’smostknowngraffitiwriters.Hisstyleisahighlypersonal take of the classicNewYork stylewhere the letters have gottenmoreandmorefreedomthroughouttheyears.
Whatisapiece?Apieceisanumberoflettersthatmakeanametogether.Youcandrawand
paintthelettersanywayyoulike.Inhip-hopgraffiti,whichIcomefrom,lettershave a classic graffiti form. They are letters with a scaled-down, pure form,paintedinsimplecoloursandwithoutlines.
Whatisthemostimportantpartofthepiece?Themostimportantpartisthenameofthepersonwhodidthepiece.Then,if
it’s bubble letters, wildstyle, straightletters or something completely different,that’sup to thepersondoingthepiece. Inmygenerationofgraffitiwriters themost important thingwastohaveyourownstyle,oneyouhaven’tstolenfromanyotherwriter.Andyoushouldbeable towriteyournamewith lotsoffunkand boogie. That means life and movement in the letters. That’s the mostimportant thing for me. You could say that it should vibrate, have a kind ofhearbeatandbeinmotion.
Whatdoesapieceneedtostandoutfromthecrowd?A piece always needs attention. It should be shouting: Look at me! But
there’s also another thing I love about graffiti. The piece stands out from themassesinsociety.Mostpeoplelookdownongraffiti,andIhopetheycontinueto get provoked. Fortunately, it’ll never be entirely legal towrite graffiti, andyou’llneverbeable tobuy it inIKEA.Graffiticanbemainstreamsometimes,butrealgraffitichangesandmoveson.
Inmy generation, competitionwas an important feature from the start. It’saboutdoingthebestpieceonthewallortrain.Whenthepiecereallystandsoutand has that little extra thing that is so hard to achieve, the piece becomes aburner.
SWET
TWS
Copenhagen,Denmark
Howtomakegraffitiletters
Aletterconsistsofoneorseveralbasicelements.It’seasytounderstandthelogic of the letter by thinking in terms of girders. An A consists of twogirders leaning against each other and a reclining girder overlapping thetwostandingones.TheeyeoftheAisformedbetweenthegirders.Agirderthatoverlapsanothermustcomeoutonthesamelineitentered.
ThereareseveraltrickstogettheAtoswing.Thebasiconeistobendorbreakthe girders. They can be leaned in different directions to get energy. Onceyou’vefoundagoodbasicshape,youcanalsoexperimentwithallowingcertainpartsofthelettertogroworshrink,overlapotherpartsorbecutaway.Tomakethelettermoredynamic,youcangivethegirdersdifferentwidths.Tomaketheletterheavieryoucanaddserifs thatgive thegirdersdistinctends.Theendoftheletterisimportant.Nomatterhowgood-lookingorelegantaletteris,itcanberuinedbyanendthatdoesn’tknowwhereit’sgoing.
Bentgirders
Brokengirders
Differentwidegirders
Conicalgirders
Overblownporportions
Unlogicaleye
Itmayseemoddtosaythatlettersdance,butthefact is thatgraffiti lettersarequitereminiscentofpeople.Itcanbeusefultoknowabitaboutlifedrawing.
Differenttypesofserifs
Aloopinthreephases
Twotypesofgirderends
Graffitiseldomconsistsofasinglesign.Usually,anameisformedbythreetosixlettersornumerals.Thetrickistofindasimilarshapeforalltheletters.Theyare different but should still fit together stylistically, like gears in clockwork.Betweenthelettersinawordareintervals,whichareimportantforthefeelingasawhole.Hereyoucanexperimentwiththebalanceofthewordbymakingtheintervalsandeyesofthelettersbiggerorsmaller.
Youcanchoosebylettingthelettersoverlapeachother,meltintoeachotherorplacethemnexttoeachother.Sothegraffitipieceortagconsistsofthewhole(thename)and theunits (letters).Youhave to findagoodbalanceofunits sothatthewholehastherightkindofdynamics,rhythmandbalance.Therearenorightsorwrongs:graffiti, likeallaestheticexpression, isbasedonfeeling.Theonlywaytoexerciseyourfeelingandlearntomastergraffitiispractise,practise,practise.
Overlappingletters
Lettersmeltingintoeachothers
Lettersleaningindifferentdirections
Graffiticanbeanythingfromtagsusingstraightletterstoalmostillegiblepieces.Simplestylesaren’talwaystheeasiesttodraw.Thegoalistodevelopapersonalstyleofyourown thatyouandothers like.Yourownstyle isdefinedbyyourpersonalinterpretationoftheswingoftheletterandtheflourishontheelementsand letter parts. The simpler the letters, the more feeling and experience is
necessarytogivethemapersonalstyle.Once you discover that other graffiti writers are stealing elements from yourstyle, you’vemade it. Stealing style is called biting and is considered unfair.Taking inspiration from elsewhere is different from biting. Typography andcalligraphy,forinstance,arepopularsourcesofinspirationamongmany.Butingraffitiyoucanmixcapitalandlowercaselettersasyouwish.
LargespacingbetweenBandC
Amutualouterform
Themost important thing is toachievefluiditywhenyouwrite.Graffiti is likesport;it’sonceyou’vewarmedupbysketchingthatthereallygoodletterscome.For the beginner, it’s important to practise drawing a lot. For those who’vealreadycomequiteaway,itcanbegoodtolimityourselfsometimes.Limitingtheamountoftime,shapesorcoloursaregoodwaystochallengeyourself.Howgoodcanyoumakeitinthreeminutes?Howattractivecanyoumakeitwithtwocolours that don’t go together?How attractive can youmake letters that onlyhaveninety-degreeangles?
FUNK
Jurne’sfundamentisclassicgraffitistylefromwhereheventuresintonewterritories.Alwayswithfunk.
Inwhatsenseisfunkimportanttograffitiletters?Funk is personality, the spices that flavor the dish, the individual isms that
make a style unique. Funk is a looseness, comfortableness, confidence in thewaythelettersmove…apanache.
Whatcreatesflowandswing?
Thesinecurveisagoodstartingpointforflow.Thesinecurveisasmoothwaveform.Giving thegirdersof the letterssubtlesinecurvesandvariation inwidth will lead your eye through the piece. The sine curve, combined withvariation ingirderwidth,gives thepiecebothmomentsofquickmovementaswellasrestingpoints.
Whichisyourfavoriteform?Theoval,theeggshape.Thisisashapethatcanbeemployedinmanypartsofletters to give the piece some extra cool. The oval is a goodmidpoint shapebetweenstylizedformsandgoofyforms.
JURNE
YME,TGE
Oakland,USA
Right:Variousfunkypiecesfromaroundtheworld
COMPOSITION
Ance has been painting graffiti for almost thirty years. He makes well-composedandelegantletters.
Whatisyourthinkingregardingcompositioninyourpieces?Composition is getting the components to interact dynamically within a
frameworkso thatenergyarises. It’ssomethingI’maimingfor; Idon’thaveapiece or a sketchwhere I’ve succeeded in doing that. It’s like break-dancing,practise asmuch as you like, but it’s once you get something extra in that ithappens.
What are the most important parts in obtaining good balance andcomposition?
Themostimportantthingistofindtherightcomponentsforwhatyouwanttoexpress and touse them in theprecedingway, that is tohave them interact in
suchawaythatenergyarises.I’velearntalotfromDhemn;we’vesketchedalottogether and talked a lot about style. That makes you think about what it isyou’reafter.
Cantoomuchbalancegetboring?Yes,definitely.Therearefartoomanyexamplesofboringpiecesortextsin
advertising that are extremely balanced and dead as doornails. In short, youcouldsaythatitgetsboringifit’simpersonal,thatisifyourpersonalitydoesn’tcome through in thework you’ve done.You could say that style is howyourpersonality is reflected in theworkyou’vedone. If that’s not there, it’s like abodywithoutsoul,orapiecewithoutstyle.Graffitiisallaboutstyle.
ANCE
TP
Södertälje,Sweden
PRACTISE
TrackfromStockholmhasbeenwritinggraffitisincethemid-80s.Hisstyleischaracterizedbycarefullyshaped,elegantandfunkyletters.
Howdoyoubecomeagoodgraffitiwriter?Youlookatpiecesalot,studythem.Todevelopyoutrytomixwhatyousee
withyourownexperiencesandimagesfromdifferentcontexts.Byyourownexperiences,Imeantryingtomixgraffitiyoulikewithyourownexperienceinordertocreateyourownuniquestyle.We’realluniqueindifferentrespects.
Howhaveyouintroducedyourexperiencesintoyourstyle?WhenIstartedwriting,IwasveryimpressedbyCircleandSlice.Itriedtodo
their pieces. That just ended up in bad versions of Circle and Slice pieces.Eventually, I could admit tomy flaws and then I beganusing them.After all,
thosearemyownexperiencesandperspectivesI’veintroduced,andthatmakesitmyownstyle.
TRACKBB,TDSStockholm,Sweden
Whatisastyleofone’sown?Yourownrhythmandswing.Youphraseandscan,it’slikehavingourown
language,ourowntonewhenwespeak.
Howmanyyearsdidittakeyoutolearntomasterletters?That depends onwhat youmean by ‘master’. If youwere fully taught you
mightgettiredofit.I’vehadgraffitistudentswholearnedquicklyandgottired
quickly. It’s probably all aboutmore haste and less speed, and never thinkingyou’llbereallyfullytaught.IrememberthefirstyearsIusedtosketch.WhatIthoughtwerereallygoodsketchesoneweekwouldbeembarrassingfailuresthefollowingweek.It’sallaboutdeveloping.Idon’tfeelthatwayanymore:nowIcansee thequality in letters thatare twentyyearsold.But for the first twoorthree years, anything older than a couple of weeks was dated. That was aschoolingphaseinmytimeasatoy.Themostimportantthingistakingyourselfandwhatyoudoseriously.Havefun!Havingfunisserious!
“Themostimportantthingistakingyourselfandwhat
youdoseriously.”
STRAIGHTSTYLE
Track’sstraighlettershaveagentleswing.They’recompletelywithoutornamentsbesidesafewsmallserifsandotherdiscreeteffects.Todosimpleletterswithyourownstyleishard.Thereareveryfewthings
todevelop.
FUNKYSTYLE
HereTrackgivesthelettersmorefunk.Theswingismorevisibleandsomelettershaveornamentslikearrowsorlittleloosebits.Thedifferencebetweenthewidthofthegirdersincreasetheenergyintheletter.
WILDSTYLE
Wildstyle-letterswitharrows,loosebits,overthetopswingandsometimesapartoftheletterthatoverlapstheother.Wildstyleisevenmoreillegiblewhenthelettersareconnected.
SnakeIfromNewYorkshowsasketchfrom1975
BonustakestheBandostyletotheburnerlevel.Stockholm1989
P
STYLEHISTORY
Whenthegraffitimovementaroseinthelate1960s,therewasnotemplate.TheyoungpeopleofNewYorkwhowrotetheirnamestriedtodesignthemwith as much impact as possible. They drew inspiration from letters onrecordcovers,posters,comicsandads,andthenstoleideasfromeachotheranddevelopedthem.EarlytagswereoftenwritteninsimplecapitallettersorthehandwritingtaughtinNewYorkschools,butwithastreetflourish:sharperangles, loops,arrowsat theendsof lettersanddetailsaround thetag. Eventually, the tags became larger and received contours, so-calledsignaturepieces.
hase2isknownasoneoftheearlywriterstodevelopdifferentstyles,forinstancethebubblestyle.Bubblelettersdevelopedintothrow-ups,aquickandoftensomewhatmessystyle.Indidmorethan10,000throw-upsonthesubwaycarsofNewYorkduringthe70s.Otherwritersdevelopedsimple
but angular letters, so-called blockbusters. Themost common tried to find anexpressioninthelettersbuiltonfeeling.Lettershapesbecamemoreorganicandlesslogical.InEurope,therehaveexistedseveralparallelstylisticschoolssincethen: some are faithful to the 80s New York style, some to modern-dayEuropeanstyle,otherspreferBandostyleandstillotherstrytofindinspirationintoypieces.Anoteworthystyleschool is thenaivistic,orugly-prettyschool, inwhichwriterspurposefullymakelettersasuglyastheycan.
Graffitiisbothartandcompetition.Manygraffitiwritersmeasureuptoeachother and closely watch that no-one else is stealing their ideas and style.Competition – bothwanting to be seen and to do the best style – has spurredgraffiti development. Graffiti is developed and renewed in the same way asmusicandfashion,andagraffitiwriterisonlyeverasgoodashislastpiece.
The graffiti style is easy to recognise.Graffitiwriterswho don’t speak thesame languagecaneasilywrite together. Just likemusic,graffiti isauniversallanguage with a common framework. As in music, the graffiti writer writingstyleeventuallybecamewildstyle,lettersthatarealmostrhythmicallydrawnout,squashedtogether,bunchedupandwovenintoeachother.
“Graffitiisdevelopedandrenewedinthesamewayas
musicandfashion,andagraffitiwriterisonlyeverasgoodashislastpiece.
”Inthemid-80s,graffitiwasexportedfromNewYorktotherestoftheworld.
InEurope,thegraffitimovementwasinitiallyinfluencedbyNewYork.Afterafew years, the first European graffiti style emerged. The Bando style, as it iscalled, is reminiscent of architecture or spaceship constructions. Technique,logicandattitudewereimportant.Piecesbecamelargerandmorestriking.
Intheearly90s,writersinScandinaviabrokeofffromBandostyle.Insteadoftechnical letterconstruction, theybuildshis individualstyleupthroughout life.Themore you practise, themore personal the style.And personal style is thebasisofgraffiti.Anyonecanwrite aword.Butnot everyonecanwrite itwithstyle.
When graffiti was new, many writers looked for inspiration in popularculture.When graffiti spread across theworld in themid-80s, popular culturewasstill the inspiration formany.Movieheroes,cartooncharactersandmusicgroups often occurred in pieces. Today, popular culture ingredients are lesscommon.Graffitihasbecomesuchahugemovementthatitmostlyusesitsownframesofreference.
“Iwouldsaystyleisthepersonalityyouputintowhat
youdo.Whenpeopleknowyoudidsomethingevenifitdoesn’tsayyourname,that’sstyle.
“Nastee,GSC,Caracas,Venezuela
Whatisgraffiti?Ultimate creative freedom.Graffiti has the great advantage that you can
paint what you like where you like. The drawback is that people who dograffiti are so busy coming upwith rules about how towrite andwhat youcan’tdo.Ofcourseyoushouldrespectoldpiecesandthosethatarebetterthanyou,andnotpaintoverthem.Otherthanthatyoushoulddowhatyouwant.Justgocrazy!Doandpaintwhateveryoufeellike.Ifsomeoldguyinblacksneakersshowsupbehindyouandgoes:‘that’snotgraffiti’,youcanreply:‘No,fortunately.’Or:‘Ofcourseitis,butitisn’tgraffitifromyesterday,likeyouare.’
Swet,TWS,Copenhagen,Denmark
Whatisyourfavoritedetailingraffiti?Aletterneedstohaveagoodswing.Evenifit’sasimpleplainletterwithnograff stuff, itonlyneeds the rightmove.Afinalpieceneedsa focus for thewatcher.Justoneparticularthing,likeanarroworaflash,intherightspot,isenough.IloveflashlightsandEgshasbeenmyreferenceforthatbackinthedays.
Chob,THE,Italy
Whatisgraffiti?I have always been wondering, why do I do this? Competition is a good
motivator, but the basic primal urge to do stuff like that is to prove yourexistance.You don’twant to remain nameless.Writing your name is provingthatyouexist.
Shoe,USA,CIA,CTK,Amsterdam,Netherlands
Whichisyourfavoritedetailinaletter?Idon’tseemygraffitiwiththatkindofvision.It’swaymoreinstinctive.I
can’t tell you what part of my shapes I prefer cause I see my pieces as awhole.ItwouldbealieorbullshittotellyouIlovetheupperpartofmyF.Itdoesn’tmattertome.
Func187um,Ultraboyz,Grimteam,Paris,France
Whatisstyle?Mystyleismychild.AsIstartedtopainthewasababy.Yearbyyearhe
grows, getting smarter and stronger. Like all children he imitates, followtrendswhile trying to findhisown.Forotherpeoplehemaynotbespecial,butformemystyleismyeverything.
Bios,FAT315,SM,Odessa,Ukraine
Whatisstyle?Acharacteristic,distinctiveformofexpression.
Whatarethemostimportantconstituentpartsofstyle?Personalityandauthenticity.
Howdoyouseeifsomethingisgoodorbad?Personally,Ilikepiecesthatshowsomethingnew,thatIhaven’tseenbefore.
I focus on writers who present new ideas and approaches. It’s unimportantwhetheritappealstomytastestylistically.
Howfarcanyoutakegraffitibeforeitstopsbeinggraff?Toanswerthatquestion,we’dfirstneedtodefinewheregraffitibegins.
Wheredoyoufindstylisticinfluences?Firstandforemostbyassimilatingthehistory,andthenbyworkingforwards
withwhatI’velearnt.
HowdoIlearnastyleasquicklyaspossible?I for one have never experienced anyone developing a relevant style
“quickly”. Inorder toachievean independentandinterestingstyle,youshouldtrytounderstandexactlywhysomethinglooksthewayitdoesandanalysethereasons for the creator working in that way. This knowledge should theninfluenceyourownworkandnotjustcopythesurface.
SMASH137Basel,Switzerland
ShoeinfrontofJazzbyBando.OntheSeine-quaiinParisinthesummerof1985
“
DondiandthoseguysinNewYorktookitseriouslytoo.ButBandotookitastepfurther.That’swhathe
broughttothetable.”
EUROPEANSTYLE
SHOE
USA,CIA,CTKAmsterdam,Netherlands
Shoe is part of the first generation of Amsterdamwriters. TogetherwithBandoherevolutionizedEuropeangraffitiinthemid-80s.
HowdidthefirstEuropeanstyledevelope?WehadabiggraffitisceneinAmsterdamwhichstartedduringthepunkerain
thelate70s.Thepunk-graffitidevelopedfurtherwhenwefoundoutofabouttheNewYorktrainwriting.Many,butnotall,madethetransitiontotheNewYorkstyle.Idid.
In the summerof ‘85 Iwenton an interrail tour throughEurope. Iwent toParis and I sawa lot ofpieceson thequaiof theSeine.Theyblewmeaway.ThesepieceshadabigeffectonmyperceptionofgraffitiandwhereIwantedtogowithmyownletterstyle.ThepieceswerebyBando,whichIdidn’tknowatthattime.Lateronwegottoknoweachother.
Bandocameoutwiththisstyle.Formytastethebestonesarefromtheriverbank in 1985. He was influenced by Futura, but Futura was doing moredecorativestuffthanletterstyles.Idon’treallyknowhowBandodevelopedhisstyle.Thetypicalbarsaroundthelettersforexample.I thinkhemadethemuphimself.Togetherwedevelopedthisstylefurther,Bando,Mode2andme.
Bandowasveryserious.InParis,wealwaysdidsketcheswithleadpenstype2H,reallyhardandverysharpened. Itwasquiteextreme.Dondiand thoseguys inNewYorktookitseriouslytoo.ButBandotookitastepfurther.That’swhathebroughttothetable.
Whatisthemaincharacteristicsforthisstyle?Myletterswerereallyfat.Asfatastheycouldgetandwithsmalldifferences
betweenthethickandthinletterparts.IfyoulookatCIA-style,Dondi-style,ithas more difference between thick and thin parts. Bando’s style has extremedifferences between thick and thin. Thats the most important characteristics.When I left theBando-style around 1987my outlines got thicker and thicker.Andmypiecesgotmoreofalogo-style.
WhatBandoandIalsodidwastoputalotofhumorinthepiece.Wewrotereallystupidquotesfrommovieslike‘Yourmotherisahamster,yourfatherisaduck’.Haha!
Asakid,IdreamtabouttypedesignandhavemyfontintheLetrasetbook.But eventually I got more and more into painting, instead of drawing. Afteraboutfourorfiveveryactiveyearsofwritinggraffiti,Istoppedusingsketchesforpieces.SuddenlyIhadtheconfidencetodosomethingonawallstraightoutof my head. That’s when it stops being drawings and starts being paintings.Paintingmakesmefeelkindoffree,andmyrealstylecomesout, insteadofapre-designed style. You can see that with every writer. They stop makingdesignsandstartpainting.Thatprocessstartsonceyou leave the leadpenanderaserandstartsusinaballpointpeninstead.
UGLY-PRETTYSTYLE
KATDOG
NVE
Eisenhüttenstadt,Germany
Katdog fromBerlin likesgraffiti that israwandspon-tanious.He tries topaintasnaivaspossible.
Whatisuglystyle?There’saninfinityofdifferentidealsingraffiti.Thereisaconcreteaesthetic,
like the interplay with letters and shapes and location, but alsomore abstractviews in which you explore and build on the systems of graffiti. A famousexampleisOdem,whoinhisautobiographyrecountsthathisstyleshouldlooklikeanelegant,fully-rigged17th-centurybattleship.Othersmayhavesomekindof science fiction idea and make tons of effects, or totalitarianism with veryquickpiecesthatareopenontop(it’scalledcabstyleinGermany).Stillothersareextremelycomplicatedonthesurface,makingthousandsofconnectionsandarrows,sothatthepiecelookslikehalfathesisintheend.
Whenyou can see a certain attitude to life in pieces, like the dreamof thebattleship,thenIthinkthat’sgreat.That’sgoodstyle.Uglystylemightbewhenyounoticethatit’snotreal,justimitated.Buthowyouperceivethatisofcoursedifferentforeveryone.
One of the graffiti ideals you can espouse is something like authenticity,naivety,childishness.Sobeingabituninhibited,relaxed,unworldly.Ilikethatalot.Maybe it’s because I know that in real life, that stage is as far gone andunattainableasOdem’sbattleshipistoday.It’sthatEde-nicidealyoucanseeinchildren’s drawings, in the clumsy handwriting of soccer hooligans, in theamorousscrawlsofteenageloversatbusstopsandsoon.
On graffiti photos of the late 60s and early 70s, it’s clear that some of thestylisticpioneersof the time,whoweremostlystillchildren,wererelaxedand
had a swing, though their work also looks very cramped. This is for severalreasons:First,thesekidsdiscoveredanddevelopedthewholething.Cans,lettersandwheretowritearecommonknowledgenowadays.Secondly,theyobviouslyalways triedmaking something attractive. I don’t think anywriter is happy tohear that his stuff looks like daubs or is ugly. Most of them want to dosomethingbeautiful.Someofthemevenwanttomaketheworldmorebeautiful.It is beautifulwhenyou can see how thepieces aremade.When everything’scleanandfreshandcutathousandtimes,Ithinkthepiecelosespower.Ithinkit’s coolwhen thepaint spatters anddrips.Sometimes, pieces like that have apainterlyquality.Ilovethedirty,hardjetfromastandardcap.Ithinkit’scoolwhen the contour was done in one swoop and I think the piece grows whenerrors and mistakes that took place during the act of painting are allowed toremain.Itmakesapieceverylikeable.It’sevenbetterwhenyoudotheoutlinefirstanddon’ttouchitagainlater.Ilikeitwhenpiecescommunicatewiththeirenvirons;choosingagoodspotispartofstyle.AndIalwaysthinkit’scoolwhensomeonewritessomethinginsidetheirpiece,regardlessofwhatsortofrubbishitis.
“
A
Ongraffitiphotosofthelate60sandearly70s,it’sclearthatsomeofthestylisticpioneersofthetime,whoweremostlystillchildren,wererelaxedandhadaswing,
thoughtheirworkalsolooksverycramped.”
LETTERDETAILS
Graffiti consists of letters or numerals. But in addition to the basic sign,different details appear around or in the letters. They are small designelementsthathighlightapieceortag.Themostcommondetailisthearrow.“Everybodygottheirownarrow,”asNoc167saysinthefilmStyleWars.
rrowscanbetheprolongationofalettergirder.Theycanemergefromthesideoftheletterorshootoutfromtheletterinazig-zagshape.Thearrowcanbe triangularorhaveedges. Itcanbeshallowandflat,ordrawnoutandelongated.
Anotherpopulardetail is the freestandingbar.These are rectangularblocksbehind or under letters. These bars fills no real purpose, but strengthens or
camouflagestheletter.Often,thebarisjoinedtotheletterbyathinconnection.Starsoccur frequently, both as entirely external features in thebackground,
butalsoaspartofaletter,forinstancethedotontheI.Similarly,thecrownisalsoapopularexternaldetail.Thecrowniscockier–itsaysyou’rethebest.Youcanalsoaddcracksor rips in the letters,andbitsof the letterscanevencomeloose.
Lines around the letter contour are taken from comics and indicatemovement. There are two tricks to give the word weight. One is to place ashadowbehindtheletters.Theotheristogivethembodies,tomakethemthree-dimensional.
To shade letters, you must imagine that the light is coming from onedirection, and that the opposite side of the letters leave a shadow on thebackground.
Toachievea3Deffect,drawstraightlines,paralleltoeachotherandofequallength, from the outer corners of the letter in a given direction.Then join theletterswitha linegoingparallel to the letter.Heypresto, the letterhasanotherside!
DELTAINC,TFP
Amsterdam,Netherlands
Delta started writing in the 1980s. Ten years later his 3D-letters becameknownovertheworld.
Canyouexplainhowshadowand3Dworksonletters?In themid-80s thereused tobe threeoptions for finishing the lookofyour
outlines.Firstyoucouldmakeacontouraroundthepiecewiththesamecolourasthe
outline.Yourletterdesignswouldpopmorethisway.Simpleandeffective.Secondyoucoulddoashadow.Thatistooffsetyouroutlineinonedirection
withthesamecolourastheoutlineandfillitin.Youcouldalsodothiswithlightcolours although technically shadows are dark. Itwould look like an invertedshadow.Thisisnotseensooftenanymoreexceptonthrow-upsorquickies.
Third you could add a 3D effect to your outline. It’s almost similar to theshadoweffect, but the space in betweenyour offset outlinewouldbe filled inwith another colour. Then you could do design inside the 3D, or round thecornersofyouroutlineinsideyour3D.Iloveclassic3D.Itaddsweighttoyourletterdesigns“Iloveclassic3D.Itaddsweighttoyourletterdesigns
”
Howdidyouevolveyourfamous3D-letters?–Ipreferedtheclassic3Dwhichhasthesameshapeastheletter.OnedayI
triedtoaddextrashapetothe3D.SuddenlyIrealizedthattheletterorthenameisanobjectyoucoulddesign.AlthoughIhavetoincorporatethe3Dinthefirststagesofsketchingsothatitbecomespartofthedesign.ThenIcouldchoosetoaddanotherdoubleoutlineorshadow,orboth.
Inthebeginningitboiledmyheadhowtodoit.Ittookmethreedaystogetthefirstdoneproperly.
WILDSTYLE
Yes2fromtheBronxispartoftheclassicNewYork-school.Hisspecialityiswildstyle.
Whatiswildstyle?Wild style are letters that have been adorned with complimentary regalia,
armor, weaponry, or other supporting structural enhancements whichsimultaniouslygivethelettertheflairofapimpandthestealthofaninja.Thecamouflagedletteringcanbeseenasasymbolofgraffition thewhole,almosttransformingtheromanalphabetintoaforeigntextthatonlygraffitiwriterscanread,asSkemedeclaredinStyleWars“….itsformeandothergraffitiwriters.”
Wild style can be studied, dissected, deciphered, theorized about andreplicated.But to really be able to create it you have to live it.All graffiti isabouttheactoractionoflivingit,breathingitanddoingit.Enteringplacesyouare not permitted to be, havingyour heart pumping from fear and excitement,
being in horrific heat or crazy cold. Ignoring all these obstacles and create amasterpiece.Doing thisyearafteryear,seeingwhoelse isburningandgettinghypedtogopaintmoreandbetter.
Mostwriterswhodowildstyle letteringwillprobablyadmit that theyhavespent countless hours thinking about different ways to change letters andcombine shapes, bars and arrows. All these hours thinking and doing graffiticreatesyourpersonaintheculture.TheStylepartoftheequationcanbelearned,theWildgottabelived.
Howdoyougiveyourlettersswing?Theswingcomesfromtheletteritselfwiththetopleaningonewayandthe
bottom stepping out the other way. Swing requires none of the additions thatmaybeaddedlatertocamouflagetheletter.
Many early tags were written fast because they were done illegally andneeded to be reproduced asmany times as possible in the shortest amount oftime.Thesewordsbegantotakeonanaturalleanandflowthatalmostmadetheletters appear to be on the go.Turnoneof these one-dimensional into a threedimensionalstructurewiththesameflairandstyleandyougotalltheswingyou
needtodoyourthing.Youcanaddfiftythousandarrowsandeverychipbitbarorstaryoucanimaginebutifyoubaseletteriswack,youronthewrongtrack.
Whatdefinesawackletter?Aletterstrippedofalltheadditionsthatcamouflageshouldstilllookfresh.It
mustbeable to lookgoodon itsown.Thatbase letter is thefoundationof thehouseandifitsweakthehousewillcrumble.Masteringthebasicsinanythingisnecessarybeforeadvancingtothenextlevelsofcomplexity.
“Wildstylecanbestudied,dissected,deciphered,
theorizedaboutandreplicated.Buttoreallybeabletocreateityouhavetoliveit.
”
Yes2NewYorkCity,USA
Overleaf:Erse,Stockholm2013
ARROWS
EGS
CDC,TPG,MSN,WMD
Helsinki,Finland
Egs has been painting graffiti in many countries. He makes both classicgraffitiaswellasbreakingbarrierswithinkandbrush.
Whyisthearrowsoimportantingraffiti?Formeit’sthemostsignificantelementingraf.Thearrowisoneofthefirst
thingsyouusetomakesomethinglooklikegraff.Itgivestheletterpower,it’saweapontomaketheletterdynamic.Thearrowdrawsattention,notonlyinthepiece,butalsointags.It’slikeanexclamationmark,itaddsalotofeffect.Forsomereasonalsoalotofbandlogoshavearrows.
Whichisyourfavoritearrow?Idon’tknow.Iusequiteafewdifferentarrowsmyself.Theyhavedifferent
aesthetics. If you look at arrows in pieces they can be everything from deadserious to funny and funky and evenboring.The arrow is a bit like a smiley.Youset the toneofyourpiecewith it.Youcanchoose tomake it lookfunny,curious, aggressive, friendly or pokey.The arrowchanges the attitude of yourpiece.BandoandDondihavemadesomeofthenicestarrows.GhostandReashavemade funandexperimentalones, and if you lookatPhase2 andKase2theyhavereallystrongandhiddenarrows.
DETAILS
Kacao77isfromBerlin.Heisknownforhistechnicalburnerswithsuperheroandsciencefictionthemes.
Tellmeaboutyourgraffiti!I like futuristic stuff with technical and machine-like parts. I work with
geometriclinesandforms.Straightlinesandneonmagicspacedust.
Why?That’smyuniverse!
Itseemsyoudoalotofdetailsaroundtheletters.Yesandno.Thedetailsinsidearepartoftheletters.Theyhaveanoutline,are
connected and have a function for the complete piece. The details in thebackgroundarelittlethingsthatlooksinterestingaroundthepiece.Forexamplelogos, titlesandmessages,characters,barcodesaresomeofthesethingswhich
aresometimesaroundmypieces.Thesmall,personaldetailsgivethepieceyourownflavor.Theyarethefingerprintsyouareleavingwhenyouareworking.
Whatdoyouwanttoshowinyourpieces?Me.
Howdoyouknowwhenyou’refinished?Myfeelingsayswhenitcomestotheend.AfterdoingthelastlinesIenjoy
lookingat thepieceand to feel it’s finished!Then I let itgoonceand forall.Regardlessifit’sonawall,paper,canvas,orsomethingelse.
KACAO77KSB,LaboratoriumX.2,TDS,TKKG
Berlin,Germany
T
FILL-INANDBACKGROUND
Inordertoputmoreeffectintoapiece,youcanadddifferentcoloursbothinsidethelettersandaroundthem,inthebackground.Earlygraffitiwritersdidn’thavethatmanyshadestochoosefrom.That’swhyalotofoldpiecesaresimple:black,white,blue,yellowandredarethemostcommoncolours.Today,youcanchoosebetweenthousandsofcoloursfromdozensofpaintbrands.It’sthesamewithmarkers.
o understand how colours connect, it’s a good idea to learn the colourwheel.Thisincludesmostoftheshades.
Thereareafewsimplerulesforcoloureffects.Ifyouputtwocoloursnext to eachother from theopposite sideof thecolourwheel, a contrast
occurs.Thismeansthatthecoloursbounceagainsteachotherandakindof3Deffectoccurswheretheymeet.
Thereisatheorythatwarmcolours,containingalotofred,areopticallyseenintheforeground,whilecoldcolours,containingalotofblue,retirebackwards.If you write the word in reddish hues and the background in blue, the wordwould then be given greater distance to the background, lending depth to thepiece.
Thereareafewbasicfill-insandbackgroundsthateverywriterdoeshisownversionof.Fill-inscanbemadewithlyingorstandingbandsofcolour.Oftenthecoloursare faded intoeachother.Theymaygofromlight todark in thesametone,orbecompletelydifferenthues.Sometimeseachletterhasitsowncolour.Oftendetailsareaddedtodetailsonthefieldsofcolour.Dots,rings,stars,linesor spirals are common. The colours of the details often match the fields ofcolour.Aclassicfill-inisthechromeeffect,whichyoucreatewithblue,brown,beigeandwhitehues.
Backgrounds have a few standard forms. Clouds or bubbles, splashes orslime, a wall or brickwork. Some do the background as a rectangular fieldbehindthewholepiece.Othersjustputinsomespotshereandthere.Sometimesthe background is completely absent, other times it is thematic and the worditselfisjustasmallpartofawholescenario.
For both fill-ins and backgrounds, the same thing applies as for letters: themoreyoupractise,themorepersonalsolutionsyouwillfind,andthemoreyourstylewillbeoriginal.
TECHNIQUE
Graffitiisacraft.Inordertomastergraffiti,youmustknow“thetoolsof the trade”. When you do your first graffiti piece, the greatestchallenge is tocontrol thespraycan.Youhavetothinkabouthowtohold the can, its angleagainst thewall,howclose it is to the surface,how quickly you are moving your hand, the shape of the letter andwhich cap suits you best. Eventually, you will learn which tools suityourwayofpaintingthebest.
You’lllearntomastereverythingfrom600-mlhigh-pressurespraycanstosmall,low-pressuredetailcaps.Practicemakes perfect. The best way to learn is to test your way along.Everyfailureisanexperience.Repeatdifficultstepsseveraltimes.Practisedrawing eachoutline in the air several timesbefore actually applying theline. Practise fiddly detail jobs, sketching up large letters at speed andfadingcoloursintoeachother.Soonyou’llfeelsteadyandsureofhand.
Howtomakeapiece
Onceyou’vepreparedtheareayouaregoingtopainton,it’salwaysgoodtostudy the surface to think about where to place the piece.Many writersbringasketchormemoriseone.
First,sketchupthelettersinalightcolour.Thenfill intheletters.Youcandocolourcombinationinmanyways.Mostpeoplepreferoutlinesthatcontrastwiththe fill-in and background so that the letters are clearly visible. Spray evenly,moving the can back and forth over the area you want to cover. The morecontrolled the movement, the smoother the colour fill and the calmer theimpressiongivenbythepiece.Abackgroundframestheletters.Classicbackgroundsincludeclouds,bubblesora splash. They can be anything from a field of colour to a landscape with
characters that becomes part of the piece. The background is often done incoloursthatstrengthenandsupportthepiece.Onceyourlettersarefilledinandthebackgroundisfinished,it’stimeforoutlines.Practisethemovementacoupleoftimesbeforeapplyingthepaintforreal.Theoutlineisdrawninoneswoop,from one corner to the next, where you can finish the line without its beingvisible.Ifyouletgoofthelineinthemiddleofastraightorcurvedshape,it’llbe visiblewhen you continue the line. A relaxed but firm arm gives the bestresults. Ifyou’reusingdifferentbrandsofspraycan, it’sagood idea tocheckthattheoutlinecoversthefill-in.Differentbrandsdon’talwayscovereachother.Aftertheoutlines,it’stimefortheeffects.Themostcommonareshadowsor3Deffectsontheletters,ofteninthesamecolourastheoutlines.Another detail is the second outline, an outline on the outside of the originaloutlinearoundthewholelettershape.Thesecondoutlinetracesthepiecemorefirmlyagainstthebackground.Highlights make the letters shine and sparkle. How you do them depends onyour style and taste, thin ones close to the outline or broad ones towards thecentre of the letters.When everything’s ready, you usually sign thework andwriteoutyourcrewandtheyear,andperhapsgreetsomeone.Lastbutnotleast:photographthepiece.Mostgraffitiisshort-lived.
1.Gouge’ssketchingupwithalightcolourtocreateanoverview.
2.Oftentheletterneedssomeadjustmentsbeforethefill-in.
3.Fastfill-inmakestheletterlookraw.
4.Whenthefill-incoversbettertheletterlooksmorecalm.
5.Beige,orangeandyellowarethebasicfill-in.
6.Wine-reddotsmakesthefill-inmoreinteresting.
7.Bluedotsontopofthewine-redones.
8.Layersofdotsgivesthefill-indepth.
9.Timefor3D.Allbasiclinesshouldbeofthesamelengthandinthesameangle.Theyareboundtogetherbylinesparallellwiththeletterform.
10.Greyshadowsinthe3Dgivesthelettermorevolume.
11.Pinkbubblesarepartofthebackground.
12.Agreencloudmadewithfatcapgivesmorebackgroundeffects.
13.Theouterbackgroundisfinished.
14.Thepinkbubblesarefilled-in.
15.Outlineandshadowsonthebubblesaremadewithasoftcap.
16.Thebackgroundiscompletewithadrip-effectonthebubbles.
17.Blackoutlinesonboththeletterandthe3D.
18.Cracksandotherdetailsgivesanextrafinishtothepiece.
19.Theoutlinesaresharpenedbycuttingthebackgroundcolour.
20.Whitehighligtsmakethelettershine.
21.AWhitesecondoutlinearoundthefirstblackoutlinemakesthelettermorevisibleagainstthebackground.
22.Whitesecondoutlinemadewithsoftorskinnycap.
23.Astartothehighlightgivestheletteranextrabling!
24.Finished!
MADCBandits,Wallnuts,StickUpKids
Germany
Mad C comes from eastern Germany and has been writing graffiti forfifteenyears.Shehasworkedwithartforevenlonger,abackgroundthatisvisible inhergraffitipieces.Sheisknownforhermanylargemuralswithphotorealisticfeaturesandherexceptionalsenseofcomposition,colourandtechnique.
IhavestudiedperspectiveandproportionsinceIwasa teenager.I tooklotsofdrawingclasses;Ispeed-drewactorsonstage,didperspectivesofbuildingsandstudiedtheproportionsofanimalsbydrawingtheminthezoo.
When you paint photorealistically, you can’t hide. If you don’t get theproportionsright thewhole thing looks terrible,nomatterhowperfectyougot
theskintonesandshading.That’swhythemainfocusofeverypieceshouldbethefirstlines.Makethatsketchonthewallperfect,evenifittakesyouadayanddon’tstartworkingonfillinginandshadingbeforeyougetthoselinesinperfectproportionsandperspective.
Howhaveyoudevelopedtechnicallysinceyoustartedwritinggraffiti?In the beginning I painted commissions to get paint and for awhile I also
financedmy studies thatway.There’s notmuch creativity in it, but thanks tothat,IpaintedalotofimagesthatIneverwouldhavepaintedotherwise.SinceIhadtofindsolutionsforalotofdifferentimages,Ilearnedhowtohandlespraycansandcapsandalsoaboutcolour,proportionsandperspective.Todaythere’sreallynoimagethatIcouldn’tpaintwithspraycans.Ilovethatbecauseitgivesmetotalcreativefreedom.
Whatshouldyouthinkaboutwhenmakingreallylargepieces?Whenyoupaint invery largeformatsyoucan’tuse theenergypurelyfrom
themovementofyourbody.Alineorcurvecanbetwentytimeslongerthanthespan of your arm.You should eitherwork from a sketch, ideally drawn on aphotoof thewalloragridof thewall. It isveryhardtofreestyleandgoback
andforthwithmassivewalls.Youcandoit,butitwilltakeages.
Howdoyoumanagetomakethatlongoutlines?Depending on the angle, you can either hold your arm very still andwalk
while you do the line, or you can stitch it together step by step, about half ametreatatime.
Whatpaintdoyouworkwith?Mypreferred spray paint brand isBeltonMolotow. This paint has an inky
feelingandcoverswellenoughbutisstillalittletranslucent,whichisperfectforthelayersIampaintingin.Idon’tneedtodustthecoloursthatmuchontopofeachotherwhichhelpsmetokeeptheimageclean.Ialsofinditthebestspraypaint for making sharp lines. Molotow also has the widest collection oftranslucentcolourswhichIuseextensivelyonwalls,canvas,andevenonpaper.
Iusefourdifferenttypesofcaps.TheblackMolotowskinnywithagreydotismymaintool.Icanmakemillimetrethinlineswiththat.ThenIusetheBlackfatcapwithapinkdot for fastworkand forperfect fadings.FormediumsizeareasorthickeroutlinesIusetheNewYorkfatcaporthegreyBananaCapwithblackdot.
Howdoyouworkwithtranslucentcolours?Ioftenpainta face in justoneor twocoloursand thenadd theshadeswith
transparenttones,layerbylayer.Mixingpaintthatcoverswell,bydustingthemovereachother,takesalotlonger.WhenIusetranslucentpaintinpiecesoroncanvastheyaddmoredepthtoacertaincolourorshape.Thepaintparticlesarealsomuchsmallerorharder tomakeout, therefore thegradient ismuchsofterandlooksfantasticevenfromupclose.
What should you think about when painting portraits or photorealisticimages?
Itisveryimportanttostudycolour.Afaceisneverbeige,butamixofolivegreens, red tones and purple tones,. Also, most things in nature are slightlytranslucent,likeskinforexample.That’swhyIworkwithalotoflayers,fadingsandtransparentpaintingeneral.
Doesyourtechnicalknow-howplayabigpartinyourwork?Ithinkso,yes.Ittakesawaythefearofnotbeingabletopaintacertainidea.
InmyearlyyearsIneverlikedtheoutcomeofmywalls,becausemytechnicalpossibilitiesdidn’tmatchtheideainmyhead.That’snotaproblemanymoreandthereforeIcanfocusonmyideascompletely.Itislikedrivingacar.Whenyousit in a new car, you have to learn how to handle it properly, so you can’tconcentratethatwellonthetrafficandstreetsandyou’llbemuchmorestressedwhenyou arrive at your destination.Withmanyyears experience youdrive itsubconsciouslyandjustfocusonthetrafficandstreets.I’minthatoldcar,sotospeak.
Spraypaintdriesupfast.Bycuttingandmakingintersectionsyoucanbepreciseandaccurateinyourformsandshapes.
DOESLoveLetters,F1,
Sittard,Netherlands
Doeshasbeenwritinggraffitisince1996.Hisworkischaracterizedbystyleandtechnicalskillsonbigmuralsaroundtheworld.
Forhowlonghaveyoubeenwritinggraffiti?Ididmyfirstpiecein1997.
Howdoyoupreparebeforeyoudoapiece?Ibringaroughoutlineoftheletterstothewall.TherestIdecideatthewall
and the colours are often a mixture of what is available and what suits thesurroundingarea.
Whattoolsdoyouprefertoworkwith?Besidesthecan,Ilovetoworkwithbrushandacrylicsormarkers.
Whatcapsdoyouprefer?AtthemomentIquiteliketheNewYorkfatcaps.Theyarefastandhavea
goodthickness.
Whattechniqualadvicewouldyougivetoabeginner?Themost important lesson is to sketch a lot. Don’tworry toomuch about
techniquewhenyouarejuststarting.
Whatisthemostcommonmistakesabeginnermakes?Gettingarrested.
Therearemanywaysofmakingagraffitipiece.Nomatterifyouareworkinginlargescaleorwithdetails,youneedtoknowbeforehandinwhatordercertaindetailsshouldbedone.Whatlinesandfadeshavetobedoneinadvance,whatshouldbecutawaylateron?Youneedtohaveforesightandunderstandhowshape
andcolourwillaffectthepiece.
Workingwithlargescalemuralprojectsreacquirespreparationsandasketchprocess.Photomontage,mockupsandsmallconceptsketchesarewaystolookatperspective,dispositionandsymmetry.Experience
iscriticalandyoulearnbydoing.
SKILTopDogs
Stockholm,Sweden
Skil is one of Stockholm’smost technically assured graffiti writers.He isknownforhisthorough,cleanproductionsontrainsinthe1990s.
Technique has always been important tome. From the very start, I’ve alwaysbeenmostimpressedbypiecesthatwerestylisticallycleanandsimple.WhenIstartedout,itfeltasthoughtherewasn’tanyexcusenottodoapiecethatwasasclean as possible. Doing dusty, crooked lines was toy stuff, we thought backthen.NowadaysImightnotbesoconcernedifit’sabitdrippyordustyhereandthere, other things are important. It can be quite charming to mix a bit ofcarelessnesswithclinicalcorrectness.
Howdoyouprepare?Notverymuch,butmorethanbefore.Itrytobringasketcheverytimethese
days, even if the resultmost often doesn’t turn out like the original sketch. IusuallybringfartoomanycanssinceInormallydon’thaveanexactplanforthecolourscheme.
WhenIwaswritingmost,Iseldomdidthoroughsketchesbeforegoingoutto
paint.NowadaysIspendfarmoreenergyonsketchingandtrytocomeupwithnewbindingsornewwaysofdeformingaletter.
Butsketchingrunsinperiodsandwhentheflow’scoming,IkeepgoinganddoasmanyasIcanbeforerunningoutofinspiration.
Sketchingisanimportantpartinself-development.IfI’vehadalongbreak,itfeelsasifIhavetostartoveragainandbuildupsomefeelingofselfsothatmysketchescanflowagain.
Howdoesthechoiceofspraycanaffectyourwork?Thegraffiti-adapted canswehave todaymake it a bit easier.Nowyou can
paintinyellow,redandorangewithoutworryingaboutthecover.Youcanevenpaintyellowoverblackoutlines,whichwasimpossiblebefore.
Whatouterfactorsaffectyourtechnique?Ofcourse,theweatherandthelightplayapartinhowapiececanbebetteror
worse.Uphere in the northwherewehave longwinters,we’re used to usingcertain tricks likewarming the cans under our belts so that theywon’t freeze.That,combinedwithbigclumsyconstructiongloves,makesthefeelinginyourfingertipsgowhenyou’redoingdetails or outlines.You canmake technicallygood pieces that way too, you just need to be used to it and not be toodemanding.
Youoftenpaintlargepartsofyourpiecesusingfatcaps.I seldomuse too fat caps, likeAstro, for filling the piece. Sometimes I go
withPinky,ortheonethatisnowtheoriginalcapontheBlackcans,blackwithanorangedot.It’sagreatall-roundcap,Ithink.Youcouldreallydothewholepiecewiththat,andgetboththinandfatdetails.Ifyoudon’tchickenoutwhenyou’redrawing linesorashiningwithafatcap,youcanget lotsoutof it.Gowith the flow!You can strangle anAstro fat cap andget thin lines.TheNewYorkfatcapisareliablestandby.Noothercapgetssuchcreamyhighlights.
Howdoyoudoagoodoutline?It’s in your spinal marrow. Years and years of practice give the self-
confidenceyouneed.Maybeyouneedabuilt-inspirit levelinyourheadtodolong,straightlines.IfIdon’tpaintmuchforawhile,Imaybeabitrustydoingthefirstlines,butthenitcomesloose.It’slikeridingabike,onceyou’velearneditstaysthere.
What techniques are necessary for layer-upon-layer painting with fillins,outlines,highlightsanddetails?
Itdependsonwhattheletterslooklike.Fat, thinorboth?Ipainttraditionalgraffitiwhichbuildsonsymmetryandthatthepieceshouldstandoutfromthewall,eitherbyusingashadowora3D.NowadaysIfiddlearoundasmuchasIcan with small final effects. I work with different light sources. It’s good tocombinethickandthinwithsharpanddiffusetomakethepiececomealive.Thegoalisforthepiecetobeasluxuriantandblingyasitcanget.Whenindoubt,usemorewhite.
A good technical tip is to learn to strangle the can. Back in the days, weturnedthecanupsidedownandsprayeduntilthepressureinthecanwentdown.Thenwegotafaintthinlineforawhile.
Youcanusemostofthecapstogetthinlinesbutmyabsolutefavouriteistheso-calledMa’Claim cap. There’s no notch in the tube, just a thin transparentplastictube.It’sgreattostranglecapswith.Anothergoodcaptodoeffectswith,I think, is the one called Belton original. It’s great for sketching, drawingoutlinesorshiningsandgreatonglitter.Sinceitdoesn’thaveaconcentratedjetorring,yougetmoreevencolourtonewhenyouspray.
Whatareyourtechnicaltipsforthebeginner?Practise! Try out how fat caps work and the best way to use them in
combinationwithskinnycaps,orafavouriteoutlinecapyouliketouse.Therearetoomanycapstochoosefrom.IusuallyusetwooratthemostthreewhenI
paint.Thebestistodecideonthreethatyoulikeandlearntomasterthem.Asabeginner,youusuallydon’thavemuchcontrolover theproportions.It
can easily get lopsided and rigid when you’re enlarging your sketch onto thewall. It canbeagood idea to sketchup thepiecewith severaldifferentpaintsuntilyoufindtheflowintheletters.
Inthebeginning,you’llprobablybeafraidtodrawlonglinesbecauseyou’reafraidthey’llgetdustyorlopsided.Alotofpeopletrytolengthenthelinewithalotofshortlines,butthatgivesabadresult,Ithink.
You should also dare to challenge yourself and perhaps go in a differentdirectionthanyouhadoriginallyplanned.Idon’tmeanyoushouldlimityourselftowhatyou feel everybodyelse thinks is right.Try toget apersonal touch towhatyoudo.What’spersonalissomethingyou’llfigureoutwhenyou’vebeenwritingforawhile.
ForthispieceNirohasusedabouthalfanhour
PAINTINGFAST
Colourpiece
We’llstartwiththecolourpiece.Aclassicgraffitipieceusuallyconsistsoffill-in,background,outlinesandhighlights.
Blackisagoodoutlinecoloursinceitcoverswellandexistsinseveralversions.Thehighlightswillbewhite.For the fill-in, I’ll chooseacolourwithasmuchcovering ability as possible. All colours containing a lot of white, like pastel
shades, cover well.My favourite is light blue. Tomake the piece a bit moreadvancedIwilldoonecolourontopofthelightblue.There’llbeafewredballsontheletters.The background colour should both coverwell and fit the fill-in. I’ll gowithlightbeige.
Ingredients:2lightblue1lightbeige1red1black1white
NIRONiro of the crew WUFCSDK in Stockholm has much experience inpaintingwithveryshorttimeconstraints.Here,hetalksusthroughdoingacolourpieceinlessthantenminutes,andasilverpieceinhalfthattime.
In order to make the actual painting as efficient as possible, I minimise thenumberoftimesIneedtochangecansandcaps.Beforestarting,Iputcapsonallthecans.Capsareamatteroftaste,asiswhatyouconsidertobeafatcap,butifyou’regoingtomovefast,thewidestjetisthewaytogo.For light blue and light beige, I’ll choose something like Level 6, Astrofat,Goldcap,Silverfatorsimilar.Forthered,I’llchooseasomewhatthinnercap,forinstanceLevel4or5,Pinky,Orangeorothermediumfatcap.Outline caps are a matter of habit. If it’s going to be quick, I would choosesomethingalongthelinesofwhatIchoseforred.Whenitcomestohighlights,itdoesn’tmatterthatmuch.AlotofpeopleliketheNewYorkfatcaporBel-tonOriginal,forinstance.
Niroistakinghistimewiththisfifteenminutessilverpiece
OnceI’monsite, I takeablue ineachhandanduseone for sketchingup. I’mdoing simple letters so I don’t have to think toomuch. Then I fill thewholepieceinwithbothcanssimultaneously.Foroptimumcontrol,Ikeepmyhandsclosetoeachotherandfillinslowlyandmethodically.Thelayerofpaintcan’tbetoothickwheretheoutlineisgoingbecausethepaintwon’thavetimetodry.While the fill-in dries, I do the background. Clouds, balls orwhatever you’reputtingin-what’simportantisnottoputpaintwherethere’stobeanoutlineorashadow.ThenIswitchtotheredcananddrawballsattheverybottom,verytop or here and there. It’s easiest if you have a systemwhen you’re paintingreally fast: you can’t stand around thinking about where to put things! Noweverything’sfinishedexceptforoutlinesandhighlights.Thefill-inisnowsodrythatIcanaddoutlineswithoutdripping.Ifthere’salittletimeleftover,Imightdooutlinesonthebackgroundinblackandaddafewwhitehighlightstheretoo.IfI’minahurry,Ineverlaydowntheblackcanbutkeepitinhandwhiledoinghighlights; thenIcansimplyaddwhat Iwantwithouthaving tobenddowntogetit.Youcandothingsinreverseorder,doingthebackgroundafter theoutlineandfinishingwithasecondoutline.Thenitwon’tbevisibleif thebackgroundisabitremovedfromtheoutline.However,there’sariskthatthefill-inmaystillbe
wet.
Silverpiece
Silvercoversbetterthananyothercolour,butitdriesabitslower.Ifyoufillinwithsilveranddoabackground,thefill-inwillstillbewetlater.Ordinaryblackwon’tbeenoughtoobtaincoveringoutlines.InsteadIuseunder-bodyseal.Thisexists indifferentversions.MontanahasTarblack,MolotowhasCoversall1-3andMTNhasNitro.YoucanfindCarostabil,Carosol,Dinitrolandallthatstuffatservicestations.Thedrawbacktothesepaintsisthattheycontainalotofoil,sotheygetverybrown.
PHOTOREALISM
Akut from Germany is part of one of the foremost graffiti groups,Ma’Claim.HeisalsoonehalfoftheduoHerakut.These are his essential tips for painting photorealistic images with spraycans.
Thefoundationforphotorealisticspraypaintingisthesameastheonesinothertechniques.It’simportanttonotuseyourheadtoomuch.Itmeans:Don’tthinktoomuchaboutwhatyousee.Thinkincoloursandproportions,notinobjectsorfigures.Analyzedetails,nottheentity.Ifyouthinkinclichés,youwillstart to
simplify.Thehumaninstinctlooksforrhythmsinstructures,thatisanobstaclefor painting photorealistic.No eyelash looks like the other, nature is chaos. Ifyoupaintaneye,ignoretheobjectsthatreflectsinthepupil.Imitatethecolourarrangement,intheendthereflectiveobjectswillbeinthepainting.Ifyoupainttheobjectconsciouslyitwillnotlookrealistic.
Thisisofcoursenotthewholetruth,it’sjustmywayofworking.Everybodyneedstofindtheirownway,theirtruth.
To use a sufficient colour range is also important. I have seen a lot ofportraits,wholookunrealbecausetherearetoofewgradients.Askintonepalettdoesn’treallyexist.Ifyouwanttopaintaportrait,itdependsonwhat’saroundtheperson.Everysurfacereflectsthesurroundingcolourstoacertainlevel.
Some people say that there’s no black orwhite in nature. I don’t agree onthat.Forme,it’sveryimportanttoreachbothendsofthecolourpallet.UsuallyIpaint from thedarkest to thebrightest colour–white shouldbe the last– andfromthebackgroundtotheforeground.Usingspraypaint,it’simportanttopaintfromthetopdowntothebottom,becausethepaintcoulddrip.Butit’strickytofollowalltheserulesandintheenditdependsonthemotif.
AKUTMa’Claim,Herakut
Germany
Whattoolsdoyouuse?WithHerakutIonlyusespraypaint,MontanaGold,Ihaveabasictravelset
withfortytofiftycolours.BesidesthisIuse:- About ten cardboard stencils in different shapes, curves and angles, to
controlthespraycolouroutput.- A little portable photo printer, the ‘selphyCP900’, is superb. It provides
water repellency reference photos in a handy post card size. It’s perfect fortraveling.
-Ma’ClaimSkinnys are theonly caps I use.There is nobetter cap formykindofwork.
During a particular stage of the painting process I listen to audio books orpodcasts.InotherphasesIneedmusicforpainting.So,agoodaudiosystemis
alsoimportanttoolforme.
CAPS
Once graffiti writers used caps, or nozzles, from cleaning products, car careproducts,hairsprayorperfumestogettherightwidthandpressureoftheaerosoljet.Today,awiderangeofcapsisavailablefordifferentspraybrands.
The nozzle is key to the result. The classic NewYork fat cap is good foroutlines, covers largeareasefficientlyandworksonmost spraycans.Thecapyouchoosedependsonhowyouwanttopaintorwhatyoucangetholdof.It’seasy to choose in specialist stores, but you can also make your own caps,adaptedtoyourstyleandtaste.
Differentcapsmakedifferentlines.Ontopafatcapwhichgivesabroadbutnotsodenseline.Nextismadewithasoftcapwhichgivessharplinesthatcovers.Thetwolinesatthebottomaremadewithskinnycaps
whomakesthinandsharplines.
TIPSANDTRICKS
Gougemastersbothlettersandcharacters.Hisstyleiscleanandhealways
showsacleanandcontrolledtechnique.
WhatshouldIthinkaboutwhenI’mpaintingquickly?Don’t worry about getting it wrong. You won’t have time to change it
anyway.Practisegettingasmuchaspossibleright.Beunafraidandabitcasual.It’sgoodtolimityourtimeandpractisetonothesitate.Chooseamongthemostimportantcolourstogetyourform,detailsorexpressionrightanddon’tinvolveotherstuff.
HowdoIavoiddripping?Paintfastandwithouthesitating.Ifitdrips,blowonitorremoveitwithyour
finger,butabitofdripisrarelyvisibleatadistanceoronthephoto.
Howmuchdoyouhavetopractisetogetgoodatgraffiti?Graffitiisacraft.Ifyouenjoyitandgetdeeperintoit,yourdevelopmentwill
bequicker.Somepeoplehaveitfromtheget-go,othershavetostruggle.
Whatareyourtechniquetipsforbeginners?Paint a lot and try different styles and expressions. Don’t worry about the
resultbeingbad.Paintalot,morewithyourheartthanyourbrain.
Paintingcharacters
When you paint characters and people, it’s important to think of theirrelationshipwiththepublic.Howdoyouwantacharactertobeperceivedbytheviewer? Angry and dangerous or fun and smart? The eyes are important: thecharacterlooksoutattheviewer.
Sketchthefigureupsothattheposeandattitudeappear.Doasuitablefill-inand then comes the most important: outlines that follow and highlight thedifferent parts of the body. The outlines should make the character clearer.That’swhy caricatures and comic book characters,who always have outlines,workparticularlywellforgraffiti.
FadingUse fat caps. Start by painting the darkest shade in the gradation and fill aslightlylargerareathanyouneed.Takealightershade(pic.1).Thecloseryoucometothefading,thefurtheryouholdthecanfromthewallsothatthepaintgetsdustierandcoversless(pic.2).Workwithlargearmmovementsandholdthecanfurtherawayfromthewall.Thelightercolourdustsoverthedarkone,
lightening it up (pic. 3). Check the transition now and then from a few stepsbeyond.Whenthefadeissoftandevenitisfinished(pic.4).
Pic.1
Pic.2
Pic.3
Pic.4
Tips:A spray can usually contains 400ml and weighs a third of a kilo. After a
while, the canmay feel heavy.Take short breaks and change your positionnowandthen.
Ifyourpaintingfingerstartstohurt,change.Boththumb,indexandmiddlefingersarefinetopaintwith.Usuallyyoupaintwithyourarmoutstretchedsoyou can maintain maximum mobility, get an overview and keep the paintawayfromyourface.
Cuttingthedust
Dustiscleared
CuttingdustIusuallyappreciateitwhenitgetsdusty,butifIwanttoavoidthatIgobackandcut away the dusty bit. I avoid cutting out parts that went wrong inside theshading.It’spartlyhardtodo,andpartlytime-consuming.
GOUGECAS
Stockholm,Sweden
CuttinglinesThebestwaytocutlinesistowaituntilthesurfaceiscompletelydry.Thengobackandusethebasiccolourandacapthatcanprovidesharpedges,andpaintover theparts tobedeleted.This cancreatebothdynamismandamoreexactexpression. Some choose not to cut their lines to give the painting a rougherlook.
StrangelingthespraycanjetStranglingmeans you press the cap down about halfway, so that only a littlepaintcomesout.Thiswayyougetathin,somewhatmuddylinewhichisgoodfor details and characters. The caps I like strangling the best are Level 1, 94,SilverfatcapandNewYorkfatcap.
Thinlinesandfinedetails
Whenyouuse skinny caps, theygradually get blockedup.Theygive out lessandlesspaint,whichisusefulforsmalldetails.Iftheholegetstoosmall,thejetwillbelesscohesiveandhardertocontrol.Colddecreasesthepressureinthecans.Somepaintsworkalotbetterwhentheyaren’tcompletelyfullandabitcold.Thenthelinesareat their thinnest. If it’scoldoutside,youcanput themonthegroundor in thesnow,so theycancooluntilit’stimetodotheoutlines.
Pic.1
Pic.2
Pic.3
Pic.4
Hexcap
TheHexcaporstencilcapisanozzle inventedbyHexinLosAngeles.Makeyourown like this: takea spraycan lid, remove the topanddrill a smallhole(like0,5mm)throughonewall.Placethelidonthecan(pic.1-2).Placeacapon the can and point it at the drilled hole. There’ll just be a thin jet comingthroughthehole(pic.3-4).Therestofthepaintwillcollectinthelid.Nowandthenthelidmustbeemptiedoffthecolourrests.Hexcapsareanexcellenttoolforsmalldetails,butneedpracticeandclothesthatcantakepaintstains.
T
Left:Partofthepiece“Ulligångest,ruskigvirkning(WoollyAngst,ShiveryCrochet)”byRuskig,ÅngestandKerstinSimonsson
Above:ApiecebyÅngestandRuskig,partsknittedbyKerstinSimonsson
MIXEDMEDIA
oday’sgraffiti scenehasappropriatedseveralnew tools,even though thespray can is still central. Rollers, brushes, airbrushes, fire extinguishers,spraymachinesandpensinvariousshapesandsizesareused,alltocreatepersonal expressions. In order to paint murals, you need tools to cover
large areas. In order to do canvases or other small-scale works, computers,brushesandpensareused.
LADYPINKTC5,TPA
NewYorkCity,USA
LadyPinkbecame famous in theglobalgraffiti communitywhen shewasfeatured in the book Subway art and themovieWild Style. She has beenworking as an artist for over thirty years and paints both murals andcanvases.
Idon’tknowwhatmycreativeprocessis…IjustdowhatIdo.IthinkstuffupandIpaintit.Icanpaintondemandandunderimmensepressure,that’sallthegraffiti trainingearlyinlifebut theartclassesI tookatHighSchoolalsohavebeenuseful.
Mymuralsareinstalledusingtraditionaltechnics.I’llusemath!Whenit’saninformalmuraljustforkicks,we’llmeasurethespaceoutbyusingthesidewalkboxes or a normal man’s step.When I’m doing a commission job or a verycomplexdesignI’lluseatapemeasureandI’llsnapatraditionalchalklinegrid.Thiscomesinhandywhenworkingwithassistants,everythingiscalculatedandmeasuredprecisely.AtajobsiteI’llusepainter’stapeanddropclothliberally.
I’llusuallyfillinamuralusingbrushesandrollerswithexteriorlatexhousepaint. It’s more economical and sensible to cover the space with solid basecolours.Itwouldcostfivetimesasmuchtodoitallinspraypaint,andwouldn’tlast as long. Painting a major production and relying solely on spray paint
because of some misguided sense of loyalty to the graffiti culture is costly,idealistic and foolish. I run a commercial mural company where profit is mygoal.
Thefinalcoatofpaintonexteriorwalls isspraypaint togive it theshades,highlights and outlines. The final coat of interior walls is either brush orairbrush.Ihardlyeverusespraypaintindoors,it’stoomessyandtootoxicevenwitharespirator.
Mymuralsarealldonefromsketcheswithpencilsmostly.I’lldoaninformalsketchwhenit’samuralforfunbecauseIliketoknowexactlywhatI’mdoing.Fora jobIdosophisticatedillustrations,elevations toscale, infullcolouralsowithpencils. It’ssubmittedforapprovalbyaclientbefore thepaintingbegins.I’ll sometimes projectmy own sketches for a precise design using an opaqueprojector.
My canvases are also worked from sketches, studies that are sometimesfinishedpiecesthemselves.Allmycanvasesaredonewithacrylicsandbrushes.SometimesI’llusespraypaintontopofacrylicsbutnottheotherwayaround.You just can’tputwater-basedpainton topofoil-basedpaint andexpect it tolast. I paint my fine art using quality materials always, so it will last forcenturies.
CANVAS
ZOMBIEDUA
Copenhagen,Denmark
Zombie from the Danish crew DUA boys paints in a classic style, cleanlettersandwideoutlines.
Makingacanvasisoftenalongprocess.Istartacanvaswithanideainmyheadbutafterdoingthefirstoutlineandabitoffill-inIlosemyconcentrationandputitaway.AfteracoupleofweeksItakeoutthecanvasagainandfinishthefill-inand start the outline. Forme, themost interesting part is getting the idea andstartingtheprocess.Thenit’smorelikework–somethingthathastobedone.Ialsoreallyenjoydoingthelastpartoftheoutlinesandthehighlights,butit’salotofworkbeforeyougetthere.Whattoolsdoyouuse?
Imainlyusemarkersandbrushes.IfIwantsomespecialeffectsIusethingslike cleaning sponges and scrapers. I think Iwill usemore spray in the futurebecausedoingthefill-inwithmarkerstakeslotsoftime.Doesyourstylechangeoncanvascomparedtoawall?
Notmuch.Ialmostdothesamestuffasonwalls,justsmaller.MaybeIwillstart todomoreexperimentingstuffoncanvas in thefuture,butuntilnowmycanvasworkhasmainlybeenmoretraditionalgraffiti.Whatformatandsizedoyoupreferoncanvas?
Inormallydosmallcanvases,like20x40cmor15x35cm.It’sagoodsizeforapieceandmaybeacharacter.LatelyIhavedoneacoupleofmoresquaresizecanvases, like50x50cm.That’smoreofachallengeasit’snotatypicalgraffitiformat.What’syouradviceforthebeginner?
Idon’t think there isone ‘right’way todo it.Whatworks formedoesnotnecessarilyworks for someone else.But in general I think it’s a good idea tokeepitsimpleinthebeginning.It’stemptingtostartwithsomethingfancyandcomplex,butyouneedtomasterbasicletters,charactersandtechniquesfirst.
All thegoodwritersIknowhavespentcountlessofhoursdrawing.Agoodpersonal style is nothing you’re born with – it’s something achieved throughhardwork.Dolotofworkonpaper.Thiswillgiveyouanideaaboutwhereyouwanttogo.It’smucheasiertofreestylewhenyoubecomemoreexperiencedandhaveanideaabouthowdifferentletters,coloursandeffectsworktogether.
SKETCHING
RosyOneONT,StyleAnimal,DPP
Biel-Bienne,Switzerland
RosyOnefromSwitzerlandiswellknownforhercolourfulcharactersandlettersonwalls,clothing,canvasesandonpaper.
Istartedsketchingin1989atagetwelve.ItookalotofphotosofgraffitiinBiel,Solothurn,Basel,BerlinandParis,andthenIwenthomeandstartedtore-draweverything I liked. Opposed to most people, I think that copying is veryimportantinthebeginning.People,whowantstostartdoinggraffitishouldfirstlearnthelanguageofgraffitiandthendeveloptheirstyle.
IletthepenfinditsownwaywhenIstartasketch.ThebestideasariseifI’minameditativeor ruminant condition. I first try to findan idea throughdoingscrabbles ina smallbook.Very fast,blackandwhite.Thesekindof scrabbleshave tobeunpretentious.The fearof abad result is oneof themost commonpreventionofmakingprogress.
If I do a colour sketch, I start to work with a pencil. But if you want toprogress it is better to keep the pencil away and drawwith markers directly,withoutthinkingtoomuch.
When I teachgraffiti lessons forkids, I ask them todraw; fiveminutes foroneword,withcharactersandbackground.Thefasterandmoreeasytheydraw,thebettertheresult.
Sketchingtomeissortofwritingadiary,meditativeandrelaxing,aswellasthepreparationtogooutandpaint.
I loveitcolourful,butagoodsketchshouldalsohaveaniceideabehindit.The style of the letters got to be good, but the surroundings, like characters,backgroundanddedicationsarealsoimportantpartsofapiece.
“
”
Figureoutwhatcoloursyouwanttopaintwithbeforeyoustart.Thatsavestime and paint. The best exercise for learning that is doing full coloursketchesbeforeyoustartwithspraycans.
Ialwaysstartedtoosmallinthebeginning,becauseIdidn’thavealotofpaint.Butitisveryhardtopaintafacewithalotofdetailsifyoudoitinatoosmallsize.
Keepitsimpleinthebeginning.WhenIyougotthefeelingyoucanaddmorestufftoit.Goodluckandhavefuneveryone!
-Riot,OSK,ZNC,Germany
“
”
Usually I do my sketches with just any pen in an A4-sized book that IalwaysbringwithmewhenIpaintonawall.Iusedtodorealstrictoutlinesketches that Iwould follow fromA toZ.Nowadays I sketchmore looseandfastsincetherewillbetimetomakemoresketches.OnceatthewallI
usethesketchmoreasaguidelinethanamanual.Thenatural process toget started is to learnhow thebasic letters look and
then move on. Markers, pens and other tools are just a matter of taste.Everybodyhastheirownfavorite.
-Soten,SSH,SDT,Copenhagen,Denmark
“Sketching a lot is the most important thing in developing. At first it’simportant to paint and sketch in tandem, so that you don’t make overlydifficult shapes onpaper that you can’t dowith a spray can. I don’t use aneraser, but paintwithmarkerpens straight away. If I need to change it, it’sbettertostartoveronanewsheetofpaper.Isketchupwithalightpen,andthenmakeoutlineswithathinblackone.
It’simportanttosketchdifferentletters,texts,backgroundsandcharacterstodevelop.”
-Gouge,CAS,Stockholm,Sweden
Credits:
The photographs in this book are taken in, amongst others: Alvesta,Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Bucarest, Caracas, Helsinki,Johannesburg, Kiev, Copenhagen, Lima, London, Malmö, Munich, NewYork, Odessa, Paris, Philadelphia, Prague, San Francisco, Sao Paulo,Sarajevo,Sittard,Stockholm,SödertäljeandÅrhus.
P9top: ChristophePelc
Pp12-13: Cost88
Pp16-17: Ket
Pp20-21: Swet
P28: Jurne
Pp30-31: Ance
Pp32-33: Track
P40top: JacobKimvall
P42: Swet
P43top: Smash137
P44: NielsShoeMeulman
Pp46-47: MoritzZeller
P48: Cave
P49: Delta
Pp50-51: Yes2
Pp54-55: Egs
P56: Kacao77
P57Left: Egs
Pp64-65: Kaos
Pp74-75: Abyss
Pp76-77: HNR
Pp84-85: Vino
P86: Cake
P94: FrederikEmilHøyer-Christensen
P97: Jeks
Pp102-105: MadC
Pp106-107: Does
Pp108-109: Skil
Pp110-111: Niro
Pp112-113: Akut
Pp120-121: KerstinSimonsson
Pp122-123: LadyPink
Pp124-125: Zombie
Pp126-128: RosyOne
P129left: Riot
P129right: Soten
AllotherphotosareshotbyBjörnAlmqvist,TobiasBarenthinLindblad,MikaelNyströmandTorkelSjöstrand.