Step 4: Work with your cans. Buy a piece of plywood from Home Depot to practice on. At this point, colors and styles should be simple. Practice your can control and your techniques for painting and steps for putting together a clean "piece."

Step 5: Vary line thickness. You can make all the lines the same thickness, but you can approximate shading and a 3-D effect if the lines get thicker and narrower at different places (for example, the top and one side of an "o" might be very thick, while the bottom and other side is narrowed).

Step 6: Add details as desired. Once your letters are as you want them, you can add additional details. Perhaps a lightning bolt for the dot of an "i" would be good, or eyes peering out of the holes in your "b". You can put a bubble around the whole name, like in comic books. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Step 7: Add color to fill in your piece. Again, it's a good idea to look at examples before doing this, but really you can do anything you want. A very simple graffito (a single work of graffiti) can have only one color. You can also easily do each letter in a different color or make the added details a different color than the letters. While you might be tempted to go crazy with color, sometimes simplicity is best. Graffiti artists traditionally had to work secretly for fear of getting caught--many still do--and so they could carry only one or two different colors of spray paint at a time--a lot of very good graffiti is just one color.

Step 8: Try to meet experienced writers who can help you learn the ropes. (Remember, be safe and be legal.) Show your appreciation for their work and their skills. And whatever you do, do not paint over a respected artist or good artwork because you will also be called a toy.

Step 9: Keep practicing. If your graffiti turned out perfectly, congratulations. Now move on to different words and effects. If not, keep trying. Master the simple moves first and then work your way up--you'll soon develop your own style. Carry your own "black book" and don't copy people's art.
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April 2008