Graffiti is commonly thought of as mere public vandalism. However, it is not just that. There is more to it than what meets the eye. It is an art. In fact in some places in the world, there are walls where you can legally put graffiti art. It entails great creativity if you want to learn to draw graffiti letters. However, there is no right way to do it. In this kind of art, you have to develop your own style. Hence, here are some of the basics for you to do so.
Get To Know The Art
It is important that you familiarize yourself with the different graffiti styles. It doesn’t matter where you come from or live, for sure there is some graffiti nearby. However, if there aren’t any, you can try visiting another city. If you can’t go on hunting for the real thing, then you could resort to the Internet. Try browsing for different pictures of graffiti art work from different places in the world. This could get you exposed with the different styles.
Write Down A Name
Get a sheet of paper and write down a name. It is best if you use your name to start out with. Most serious graffiti artists started out by simply writing their names in a unique manner. For starters, it’s easiest to have the letters printed in all capital forms. Use a pencil. Try to draw as light as you can so it would be easy to erase details you don't like. You should leave enough space between your letters. Remember that you'll be expanding the letters and this space would be filled in later. Make your writing big enough so that it would be easy to work with, but not too big that it’d take you forever to finish your work.
Choose A Style
Next, you should choose a style that you'd want to use for your name. One of the most famous styles would be bubble letters. However, there still a lot of other styles out there. Don’t be afraid to explore. You can use rounded or sharp edges, same sized letters or have some big and others small, etc. It would be easier for you to emulate a given style. Once you get to learn the basics, it’s easier for you to naturally develop your own.
Outline
Once you’ve chosen a style, outline the letters of your name. Try to approximate it with the style you've chosen. Use a pencil and make sure you write lightly. If you make mistakes, which for sure you’ll do for a number of times, use your eraser. Remember to make use original letters as your guide and not your prison. Also, do not be afraid to change your letters past all recognition.
Line Thickness
One good way to vary your letters is by varying its line thickness. This is good if you want your letters to have a 3-D effect. Try to make lines thicker and thinner at different points. This also gives a perception of space and depth.
Add Details
To give your work a personal touch, add more details to your letters. For instance, a lightning bolt for your i’s dot would be good, or a pair of eyes peering out of your B’s hole. If you want, you can also put a bubble around the whole word, just like in comic books. It all depends on your preference and imagination. Try to explore and don’t be afraid to mix colors.
Movies, Anime, cartoons, and 3D animations, these are modern day entertainment that people could choose from if they are bored or something like it. A lot of people have overlooked the original and classic form of entertainment back when still pictures were the hit. What are these? Comics of course!
Comics used to be the number one form of entertainment, back when TV did not exist yet. Reading comics is like having your own printed out movie. If you have a unique kind of sense of humor, and you like drawing, why not learn to draw comics? This would be very easy and fun at the same time!
Here are some of the things you should consider if you want to start your own comic strip.
What’s The Theme Of Your Comic Strip?
Before you go on drawing in little boxes, determine first the type of comic strip that you want. Do you want a satiric comic? What’s the main theme? Is it about teenage life? Is it about married life? How about school life? Who are your intended readers? Is it about a super hero? Factors like these are important.
Go ahead and brainstorm. If you are having a hard time on picking out a theme, get some inspiration with your surroundings. Observe people that you encounter daily or randomly. Try to come up with something new, fresh, interesting yet everyone could relate to. This would be a good basis of your whole comic strip.
Have Some Characters
You should also be equipped with a character line up. Have a main character and a couple of supporting characters. Map out the personality of each. Create their profiles, so that they could be unique from each other, yet you have had determined a working relationship for all of them. You do not really have to create a long list of characters. Just be ready with your main and a couple of staple characters. You can always add a new character to the gang in the future once you have a new idea for it.
Now, practice drawing your characters. Draw them in different kinds of facial expressions and actions.
Find A Setting
You should also decide on a specific setting. Would it be during the Jurassic age ala Flintstones? Would you want it to be in a high school, just like Archie? Do you want to have your own imaginary city like Gotham city in the Batman comics? It all depends on your imagination. Once you have all these things settled out, that is the only time that you can start drawing.
Draw Your Panel
The panel refers to the number of boxes you are going to have in one strip. You can have three or four boxes for short strips that usually showcase only one scene or you can have hundreds that cover many pages that usually showcase a whole storyline.
You can start out with short ones, just like the ones you see on your newspaper’s comic page. Have a plot for the scenes along with the dialogues you have in mind. Start plotting how you are going to fit your characters in the boxes, and then draw them. Put dialogue bubbles or boxes and write down their lines or thoughts.
Once you are content with your drawing, put it into ink and erase sketch marks. Add some color if you want to, and you’re done!
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