How Graffiti Becomes Beautiful Artwork

We've all seen it. The beautiful (if done right), illegal art on the side of the trains or walls in the city makes us all wonder "How did he do that?" Graffiti is very nice to look at, and a lot less complicated than it looks. If you are a beginner in the world of Graffiti, you won't be starting off by drawing the huge colorful tags that decorate the walls of many cities. But follow these suggestions and you'll be on your way to giving those taggers a run for their money.

Draw Your Base

When construction workers build a house, they don't immediately start making stain glass and throwing bricks together. They always start out with the wood base, which provides an outline of what they're trying to build. This applies to graffiti (and all art for that matter). So before you pick up your pencil, think about what word you are trying to write. Also, think about what sort of design you want to have. Do you want it to look sort of bubbly, like it's flowing on the paper? Do you want it to look sharp and bright? Try to keep it simple. Outline the letter based on how you want you drawing to look, and make sure that you keep enough space between the letters for when you begin to add the rest of it.

Begin to Add the Designs

After the base has been drawn, you can begin to add the stuff that separates graffiti from normal letter art. Your letters will need to end up being connected, so base your ideas around this principle. Begin with the simple lines, connection each letter to the other based on how you want it to look. After each letter has been connected, start shaping the outlines of the letters (this is why you use pencil). Graffiti looks the way it does because the letters are bent in creative ways. Remember, if you bend one letter one way, it's best to bend all the other letters the same way. Otherwise, the piece will look weird. Then begin bending the lines by distorting them; it's best to bend them the same way as you bent the letters. What you have now is a more advanced version of your original base. You can add little things like characters or symbols above and around the drawing to improve the look of it.

Coloring

When you color the drawing, you will probably end up using a variety of colors. Outline the drawing with whatever your main color will be. By this, I mean go around the outside of the drawing, the inside of the letters, and on the various parts of the drawing where this color will be used. This will help the end product look clean. Then just fill it in! It's pretty simple that way. As you progress, you may want to add three dimensional effects or bright spots. There are not really any guides on this on the internet (if you find some, send them to me! I'd love to read them), but using a guide for normal art works just as well.

There you have it! You're first piece of Graffiti-style art. Don't worry if your first drawing isn't very good; they'll improve as you progress. A good way to get better faster is by copying other people's graffiti. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this; all artists have done it at one time or another. Don't just trace it though; look at it and try to draw it free-hand. This will help you understand how graffiti is structured and colored. And remember to have fun with it! Don't' get frustrated if your drawings don't end up like you want them to. Everyone was a beginner at some point, so just go with the flow and get out of your way.