HOW TO DRAW GRAFFITI NAMES ON PAPER

In the modern times, art of drawing graffiti took root and flourished in turbulent times throughout the history where people wanted to express themselves against the establishment. Revolutionaries across the world have greatly popularized this art form. However, graffiti drawing has a long history and it can be traced back to pre-historic times (as far as 30,000 BCE). The graffiti drawings of this period were in the form of cave paintings. The definition of graffiti is presented as scribbling or drawing on a flat surface. You can draw letters and different shapes in this form of art. Graffiti drawing is not bound by a set of rules or standard techniques. Therefore, you shouldn't rely on a specific technique or school of drawing.




Drawing Graffiti on Paper:

The following instructions should guide you through the process of drawing graffiti names on paper.
-Start drawing graffiti by selecting a word, preferably your name.
-Draw the letters with enough spacing between each of them. Maintaining proper spacing helps in their decoration.
-Make use of capital letters for graffiti drawing. There are many different styles and fonts you can choose from for this activity.
-Never try to copy the art work created by other artists; you can however, always use their style.
-It is possible to develop your own style of graffiti. However, it is requires a lot of practice and experimentation.
-Decide on the type of edges you are going to use in the graffiti. Bubble edges are commonly used. Use of sharp edges also gives the drawing a nice look.
-It is recommended to draw lightly in the beginning. Erasing and changing the design becomes easier with this approach.
-Don't create an outline that is too big in size.
-Start the activity of decorating and embellishing the graffiti after you have completed their basic outline.
-Try to vary the thickness of letters to give them an artistic look. A 3D-effect can also be added to these letters by shading the outline in varying proportions.
-There are many additional details you can make use of in graffiti drawing. Drawing bolts of lightning and blaze of fire around the words are some of the additional details. You can also create your own designs. One thing to be kept in mind here is that these embellishments should enhance the appearance of your drawing. Overdoing it would make the drawing appear tacky.
-As far as possible, make use of crayons. Coloring with these oil-based colors is easier in comparison to that with water colors (at least for beginners). Color pencils and markers also are suited for graffiti drawing.

GRAFFITI STREET ART

The word 'graffiti' has been derived from the Italian word graffiato, which means scratched or itched. Although there have been popular graffiti artists who have enjoyed tremendous popularity, graffiti is often synonymous with vandalism. Graffiti might have started out with simple scratch marks made on walls, but evolved with time to include colorful additions with spray paints and markers. Frowned upon by many, graffiti still continues to be an effective medium and a unique art form that can be used to depict social or political messages with a dash of confidence, bold colors, and witty messages. However, running a person's personal property or valuable public property by depicting wrong things at the wrong place can be considered as vandalism and is punishable by law in most of the countries.

History:
The word 'graffiti' was first used to refer to the inscriptions found on the walls of ancient sepulchers. The earliest instances of vandalistic graffiti were found in an ancient Greek city, which depicted a handprint, a footprint, and a number, which was supposed to be an advertisement for a brothel. During the Renaissance, artists such as Michelangelo Pinturicchio, Raphael, Filippino Lippi, and Ghirlandaio descended into the ruins of Nero's Domus Aurea and carved or painted their names, which is supposed to be similar to graffiti art, but not vandalistic in nature. The Signature Rock along the Oregon Trail is an example of graffiti in America. In1790, there were instances of French soldiers carving their names on monuments. There also exists Chinese graffiti on the Great Wall of China. By mid-1986 the Metro Transit Authority was putting in strong efforts to abolish graffiti. The Clean Train Movement in New York during 1989 aimed at removing all subway cars with graffiti out of the transit system. 

Some of the graffiti styles are:

-Piece Style:
This is a very complex form of graffiti and three colors are used to create the distinctness. It cannot be adopted so easily unless you have been taught. Thus, illegal use of 'piece' is rare. A lot of effort, patience and time is required to learn the piece art. Artists are either given permission to paint pieces or they are commissioned. Pieces have rugged elements in them.

-Tag Style:
According to the research conducted by The University of Minnesota, Duluth, tag style is the earliest version of graffiti. Curlicues and basic fonts are utilized to represent the graffiti. Tags are seen everywhere, having a stylish signature of the writer. They are done with markers, spray paints or sketch pens. The tags or the writer's name should not merge with other's graffiti.





-Stencil Style:
Using definite objects like stencils, creating different styles of graffiti gets simpler. By using spray cans, the evolved picture is still considered as a random image, but by holding a stencil against the wall and by merely spraying it, you can acquire a much more elaborated picture. In minimum time, a stencil graffiti style can be thrown up creating two or three layers of intricate pattern which you can quickly color. In modern days, this graffiti style has been taken hold by many graffiti writers, which was once made popular by Blek le rat and Banksy.

GRAFFITI STYLES

Graffiti style alphabets are customized today with different styles of fonts available online. Having a prior knowledge in art and painting will help you to expertise in the various forms of graffiti styles and techniques. Graffiti lettering styles are then colored with oil colors, water colors, spray paints, etc. Graffiti that is scribbled on walls is usually painted with sprays. You can also teach your children the simple fonts for writing their own graffiti. Explained below are common styles of graffiti that are popular across the world. 

BLECK LE RAT:

Blek le Rat is often described as the Father of Stencil Graffiti and is credited with creating the technique which has been adopted by artists such as Banksy. He has often said that he is motivated to create more art to spread social consciousness and to make art more accessible to people. 

His works often feature people who are alone than groups in chaos. Blek's work depicting the homeless, which he began in 2006, became extremely popular. When he began stenciling, he painted rats on walls, describing them as the "only free animals in the city... they spread plague everywhere, just like street art."

Some of the Famous Artists

BANKSY:
He is from Bristol, England.
Banksy is one of the most popular graffiti writers in the world. The fact that his actual identity remains unknown adds to the aura and hype surrounding his work. He has a distinctive style that uses the technique of stenciling. His works are often comments on the social and political situation of the world and have been featured on streets, walls and bridges in different cities. 

Some of his most famous works include the Naked Man which is created on the wall of a sexual health clinic in Bristol, and his recreation of an image from Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, wherein John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson are holding bananas instead of guns.

INTRODUCTION

Graffiti as an art form has existed for several centuries now, with evidence dating back to the Stone Age. Of course, over the years it has evolved tremendously. While for several decades graffiti was viewed as form of vandalism, today it is considered an art style with specific features, standards, and characteristics.