Forums → Art, Music, and Writing → Graffiti Art -Tags,Throw-ups,Pieces+Productions

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted February 19, '09 11:44pm UTC

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.

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

I love graffiti and have done my whole life, so here's a thread about it.\r\n\r\n[b]Tagging[/b] 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'.\r\n\r\n[b]Throw-ups[/b] 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.\r\n\r\n[b]Pieces[/b] 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.\r\n\r\n[b]Productions[/b] are  pieces or a series of pieces tied together with a common background background. Often written by crews.\r\n\r\nHere's an example of all of the above.\r\n\r\n[img]http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8025/graffitiexamplesresizedvq3.jpg[/img]\r\n\r\n(Footnote: Pieces and Productions are generally coloured in((but not always)), but due to laziness issues they remain in black and white.)

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted February 27, '09 8:03am UTC

And where as you are a new writer...(Slang: Toy :P)

Ha, a toy isn't nescessarily a newcomer, just someone who isn't particularly skilled. A newjack is normally what newcomers are called.

How long does it normally take you to finish a piece or production? Do you have to do one layer one day, and then come back to it?

Well it depends on various factors. Distance from the law, other writers or local residents can be key in determining how long you have to make a piece. I know a couple of guys who will climb to heavens to do their pieces undisturbed. Although having the pressure of being caught makes me work better and faster. I have been in a couple of productions that have taken 2 or 3 days to complete, but they are relatively rare. Most pieces I do take me around 2-3 hours depending on the size.

It also depends if you work off sketches. I might take 8 hours to do a sketch, and so I would know exactly what I wanted to do when I got to the wall. Although I have stopped doing that, mainly because the sketches would be very intricate and so I would stand there wondering which line went where. So generally I tend to come up with it in my head and just do it there. So it's a lot quicker.

As for the setting I love it. LA has a great distinctive style, much better than NYC or any other US city I have seen. They also have a great history of cholo graffiti which is very distinctive which suits the gang part of your story very well. I'll post an example of the LA cholo style later.

[quote]And where as you are a new writer...(Slang: Toy :P) [/quote]\r\n\r\nHa, a toy isn't nescessarily a newcomer, just someone who isn't particularly skilled. A newjack is normally what newcomers are called.\r\n\r\n[quote]How long does it normally take you to finish a piece or production? Do you have to do one layer one day, and then come back to it?[/quote]\r\n\r\nWell it depends on various factors. Distance from the law, other writers or local residents can be key in determining how long you have to make a piece. I know a couple of guys who will climb to [i]heavens[/i] to do their pieces undisturbed. Although having the pressure of being caught makes me work better and faster. I have been in a couple of productions that have taken 2 or 3 days to complete, but they are relatively rare. Most pieces I do take me around 2-3 hours depending on the size.\r\n\r\nIt also depends if you work off sketches. I might take 8 hours to do a sketch, and so I would know exactly what I wanted to do when I got to the wall. Although I have stopped doing that, mainly because the sketches would be very intricate and so I would stand there wondering which line went where. So generally I tend to come up with it in my head and just do it there. So it's a lot quicker.\r\n\r\nAs for the setting I love it. LA has a great distinctive style, much better than NYC or any other US city I have seen. They also have a great history of [i]cholo[/i] graffiti which is very distinctive which suits the gang part of your story very well. I'll post an example of the LA cholo style later.

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Strop

10,817 posts

Bard

Posted March 1, '09 5:01am UTC

That'd be great to have some examples. To be sure though, I'm not actually setting the story in LA...actually I'm aiming to make it a bit of a mishmash, mix it up, maybe make it up as I go along...the characters themselves are very cartoonish, I'll show you what I mean when I get more on the page!

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted March 1, '09 10:24am UTC

I see. Sorry about the delay by the way. Scanner problems. I'd like to see what you've got.

I will get somehting on here today if my scanner starts working again.

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Strop

10,817 posts

Bard

Posted March 1, '09 10:29am UTC

Oh, take your time take your time, it's not as if I'm going to be working on this project now. It's second on the &quotersonal graphic novel project" list and that in itself isn't very high on my life priority list either...lemme see if I can slap out a character sheet to give you an idea.

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted March 1, '09 11:04am UTC

Ok. The character sheet would be nice to see.

I have your example, but my scanner is playing up. I'll try and get it on when it's back running again.

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Strop

10,817 posts

Bard

Posted March 1, '09 12:53pm UTC

Well, I've been slow in getting them out but here are three of the sheets:

Nes (the main character)
Crimsonfire (peripheral character belonging to a friend, has a cameo role)
'Aeryn' (another major character)

I'm gradually settling on a style, but you can see what's in common in those three sheets.

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted March 1, '09 1:01pm UTC

Impressive.

Here is the example of Cholo Style:

In case you can't read the message, it says 'example of cholo style font.

It is always pretty easu to differentiate between gang writers and independant artists because of the colour. Cholo style is nearly always in black and white and usually on a large scale. It's like that to be in your face, aggressive and domineering, like 'this is our turf biatch'. The characters in it are usually symbolic of the gang, but normally with violent undertones, hence the skull ie death.

The font is very symbolic and partially legible. It normally looks like some kind of pseudo religious/cult text with odd symbols making up the bulk of the words, although for this example I used mostly legible lettering.

Anyways enjoy.

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted March 1, '09 1:03pm UTC

Sorry, hopefully this one should work.

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Strop

10,817 posts

Bard

Posted March 1, '09 1:21pm UTC

Man, that is sweet! I just figured out what I should do- I'm going to (eventually) draw up the cast including the various gangs and major players, then brainstorm what kind of colours they're going to be hoisting.

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FireflyIV

3,224 posts

Nomad

Posted March 1, '09 1:29pm UTC

Ha sounds good, feel free to ask if you need more help. I like drawing cholo, it's a great style.

Anyways, I have received numerous requests to put up more pics so here is one from waaay back in the day. Here's a tube I bombed. It says 'yeah'. The tags around it were not my doing. Again terrible picture quality but hey.