Graffiti Styles and Techniques

Graffiti occurs from an Italian word 'Graffiato', which signifies ("scratched"). It is an art form produced by scrawling, scratching, marking or painting assorted designs or images on any surface or property. In ancient times, sharp objects like chalk or coal were used to carve graffiti markings on walls and rocks.

In modern times, graffiti artists are compulsorily found with accessories, like spray paint in aerosol cans, markers, normal paints, chalks and even stencils which facilitates them, to carry out different styles, techniques and imagination to form visual and aesthetic graffiti art.

For people, this art is at its discretion, some find it worthy to display in photo galleries and exhibitions, and others comprehend it as an exemplary art of vandalism.

Graffiti is an opposition only when it's practiced illegally, that is by unconventional presentation on private or public properties without legal permission. Be rest assured that, whenever you are pursuing with this art, you don't harm anyone's property. Try to choose a site like, any one wall of your room, the front door or a wall in your backyard.

They would be handy and effective. To me, this artistry sounds quite interesting and trendy! Don't you agree? So, let's learn more about different graffiti styles in this article.

Many times, you may wonder, how would you differentiate two pieces of graffiti artwork from each other, when everything looks the same. Just as I realized the explanation of all the points given below, I stopped to wonder!

◾ Tag - Tagging is used as the basic form of calligraphy to render an artist's name in a uniform color. It also depicts a writer's signature. If the artist or the writer is associated with a crew, then the crew's name or initials are contributed too.

Graffiti tags are often spotted on the New York City subway trains and many freeways surrounding the city. Tags are created by spray paints, sketch pens or even markers.

◾ Throw-ups - Throw-ups is an artwork, not nearly as elaborate as a piece, but created by using few colors and are done very quickly and repeatedly.

These styles of graffiti writing are done in bubble letters that are large-rounded, using one color that displays a uniform sync in the image. Of course the outlines are variably emblazoned.

◾ Wild-Style - Wild-style uplifts a work piece. It is honorably popularized even more by the graffiti artists like Tracy 168 and Zephyr in New York City.

This style of graffiti writing implies the use of arrows, spikes, curves and connecting points and also interlocks different letters and designs to yield an image. Wild-style frequently are in the forms of 3D and for a naive to identify this form of style would take a historic period.

◾ Blockbuster - As the name suggests, this is the form of graffiti which makes large bold-block letters by covering maximum area. The art of painting blockbuster graffiti can be attained with two or more colors of paint using commodities like paint rollers.

◾ Heaven - Heaven! The name itself, does not give us a feeling which is anywhere touching the earth-level. In fact, it elevates our imagination to a very high level location. Well that's right! These graffiti styles are scrawled on the tops of tall buildings, houses or even on freeway hoardings.

This artwork sounds so risky and inexplicable, that graffiti artists pulling off to get such a master piece, must be bestowing mutual respect from their adversaries.

◾ Stencil - 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 elaborate 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.

◾ Piece - Short for (masterpiece) is a painting consisting of at least three colors put so well together, that the efforts evolved to gain a piece for a masterpiece has earned respect as a legitimate art form. Compared to tags, pieces are much more complex, and are hard to do due to the efforts that the artists have put up with this graffiti style.

◾ Hip-Hop Graffiti - Hip-Hop that indicates the culture of the African-American population, is the most traditional form of graffiti.

◾ Challenge Graffiti - This graffiti style denotes that, someone "was here."

◾ Invisible Graffiti - This form consists of sketched logos basically it's symbolic.

◾ Poster Graffiti - This type of graffiti style is practiced on pictures or posters that shows faces of people; for instance: drawing hair on a bald celebrity's head.

◾ Tree Graffiti - Graffiti that is carved on trees.

Each type of the above graffiti techniques are used on different platforms like the train cars, subways, freeways or they're even showed up on walls.

◾ Study the history of graffiti and the work of early writers.
◾ Initiate your graffiti art first on letters and then pick up a complicated work.

◾ Practice the drawings and paintings on your sketch book with pencils,sketch pens and note down your ideas in it.
◾ Be creative, imaginative and develop your own art style.
◾ For practice, you can try the graffiti on your computer's paint program or on a plank of wood found in spare.

WARNING: Do not resort to illegal graffiti, you can get arrested exercising it. Strictly practice it legally.