ForumsArt, Music, and WritingGraffiti Art -Tags,Throw-ups,Pieces+Productions

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FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

I love graffiti and have done my whole life, so here's a thread about it.

Tagging is the calligraphic writing of one's name or alias. It is generally regarded as the earliest form of graffiti. No outline involved in the leter forms. Generally the fewer the syllables the better. Taggers write their own name/crew name. Some go for clarity, others let the can drip on purpose='drippers'.

Throw-ups consist of single letter outlines, executed at speed, sometimes just a single stroke and filled in with a solitary colour. There are tons of styles out there, most frequent is the 'bubble style' ie round forms.Block lettering from a can or with rollers or 'block busters' are in this category. Images eg faces/figures can be throw ups too.

Pieces are, in a nutshell, more detailed versions of throw ups. Very personal to the writers usually using modified letterforms of some kind. Can be done in 'wildstyle' - staright lettering, as in 70s NYC writers, but are seldom used nowadays.

Productions are pieces or a series of pieces tied together with a common background background. Often written by crews.

Here's an example of all of the above.

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8025/graffitiexamplesresizedvq3.jpg

(Footnote: Pieces and Productions are generally coloured in((but not always)), but due to laziness issues they remain in black and white.)

  • 152 Replies
FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

i originally heard this rule from a grammar textbook at my school about two weeks ago. Also, MS Word automatically puts spaces between ellipse dots through AutoCorrect.


But I guess it doesn't capitalise ''i'' for you.

Goodness, you two seem interested in the economics and resources of Australia!


Well economics is a third of my degree, so for me, this knowledge is a nescessity.
thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
9,824 posts
Shepherd

If you don't believe me, then believe the Modern Language Association!
The wikipedia article this quote is from.

The Modern Language Association (MLA) however, used to indicate that an ellipsis must include spaces before and after each dot in all uses.

In legal writing in the United States, Rule 5.3 in the Bluebook citation guide governs the use of ellipses and requires a space before the first dot and between the two subsequent dots. If an ellipsis ends the sentence, then there are three dots, each separated by a space, followed by the final punctuation.


So, it is apparently a formal rule, but one not commonly enforced.
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Basically, like you said before, it is a rule for the oberfuhrer of grammar Nazis.
thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
9,824 posts
Shepherd

But I guess it doesn't capitalise ''i'' for you.

I suck at typing. I usually have to edit my posts for a few minutes to get the typos out, and I guess I missed that one.
Strop
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Strop
10,816 posts
Bard

Hm, I see Word likes to follow the Bringhurst school of thought.

details of typesetting ellipses depend on the character and size of the font being set and the typographer's preference. Bringhurst writes that a full space between each dot is "another Victorian eccentricity. In most contexts, the Chicago ellipsis is much too wide" â" he recommends using flush dots, or thin-spaced dots (up to one-fifth of an em), or the prefabricated ellipsis character (Unicode U+2026, Latin entity &hellip. Bringhurst suggests that normally an ellipsis should be spaced fore-and-aft to separate it from the text, but when it combines with other punctuation, the leading space disappears and the other punctuation follows.


As far as I can tell, MLA used to recommend, and MLA rules are now obselete. Furthermore this is not legal writing, which begs the question as to what kind of writing forum posts are. Anybody insisting that we follow formal typographical rules that don't even apply to this context will be summarily ignored.
thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
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Shepherd

Meh, putting spaces between ellipses makes them prettier 8)
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So, it basically depends on the font used. . .but that begs the question as to what font forum writings are, and what sort of dots are used.

Strop
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Strop
10,816 posts
Bard

So, it basically depends on the font used


Well, I'm certainly not going to criticise you for putting spaces between your dots! I imagine ideally it wouldn't be necessary in a monospaced font, but forums don't generally use those. Most commonly it's a font like Arial or Helvetica or even Century Gothic.

I'm sorry to take up your space like this, FireFly. Think of this as incentive to post your lion pic faster so that we can actually comment on your work again
FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

Ha, not a problem. I think it's a rather amusing discussion you and alt have going. My lion picis pretty average by my standards. Tried to get a few bits to link up, but it didn't come out too well. Probably something that was destined for a wall not paper. Although the whole lion thing has inspired me to draw gorrillas of which I have 2. I'll post them later. My scanner's playing up again.

thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
9,824 posts
Shepherd

Helvetica is a cool font name 8| (hey, I may be able to participate in an intelligent debate, but I'm still 12 so I like shiny things and fancy letters :P)
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I enjoy discussions such as this one. Oh well, we're holding true to the art forum tradition of being off-topic until someone posts a pic, a story, or some music :3
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Also, the MLA is still a current authority in language. They're the leading name in works cited formatting!

FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

One last off topic post, could this discussion not have occured on each others profiles?

Strop
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Strop
10,816 posts
Bard

Yes, yes it could have. You heard the man, alt!

...but I bet the MLA isn't an authority on internet forum posts! >_>

FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

Well while my scanner isn't working, here's a pic while you wait. Me and my bro did this piece a while back. I quite like the shines though. Enjoy.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2209/ta2bro.jpg

thisisnotanalt
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thisisnotanalt
9,824 posts
Shepherd

Actually, I didn't hear him. . .seeing as I was in Ohio with family that day. Pwned XD
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That is a good pic. Nice characters.
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The MLA is GOD! It knows all. . .*shifts into zombielike disposition*

Strop
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Strop
10,816 posts
Bard

That piece has good composition- the black bold outlines are well defined but not intrusive. Quite often in Sydney, I saw pieces that assault one's eyes with overly heavy emphasis without proper attention given to contrast, making it look more like a giant tag than an actual work.

FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

That piece has good composition- the black bold outlines are well defined but not intrusive. Quite often in Sydney, I saw pieces that assault one's eyes with overly heavy emphasis without proper attention given to contrast, making it look more like a giant tag than an actual work.


Yea that's often a characteristic of a toy, someone quite new to piecing.

On a separate note, I just got back from a trip to Germany and took some pics of some graffiti there. I'll upload them when I can be arsed.
FireflyIV
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FireflyIV
3,224 posts
Nomad

Sorry for the delay. Anywho, here's a pretty cool piece I saw whilst n Germany. The lettering in the background is somehwat obscured by tags, but also pretty nice.

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1528/bigmedsmallgraff.jpg

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