Are They Art Or Vandalism?

Regardless of which part of the world you live in, it's almost guaranteed at one point or another you've encountered graffiti while walking throughout your town. Perhaps you love it, perhaps you hate it and maybe you've even done a little graffiti yourself. Some people consider it art while others consider it vandalism. Those involved in the graffiti scene understand it to be more than just senseless vandalism.

The graffiti characters, tags and memorials that get painted everywhere are an expression of oneself and an art. Not all graffiti is illegal, therefore it could be said not all graffiti is art. Thankfully, many councils have set up areas that are deemed graffiti friendly where artists can come and spray paint to their hearts content. This has given some artists such as Banksy notoriety outside the scene and made some artists very rich.

There are many different types of graffiti. As mentioned earlier, some people create graffiti characters to paint onto trains, tunnels and highways that run across the country. Tags or tagging is a very popular form of graffiti and it is often the name of the graffiti artist. Tags are used to show "I was here" or gangs have been known to use them to mark their territory.

With the growth of the hip hop movement, memorials dedicated to friends who have passed on have sprung up. One of the more popular memorial pieces of art is the Biggie Smalls portrait in Brooklyn. Graffiti memorials are not just for superstars though as there are many memorials painted around the world for those involved in the graffiti scene who would be unknown outside of the niche. There's usually a good story behind each piece of work so don't be quick to misjudge them as vandalism.

While some graffiti is placed on walls where it is illegal to paint such things, it's considered highly offensive if another artist paints of another persons graffiti. This has lead to competition amongst graffiti groups to cover up as much of their competitors art as possible. Often this leads to mass attacks of graffiti where individuals or parties will go out and spray their own tags and "bomb" other peoples graffiti.

Graffiti has always been some what of an interesting culture to participate in or just observe. No doubt it will continue to be for some time into the future as attitudes change and mature towards this art form.

Graffiti Style Writing

Today, graffiti is considered a form of art which is primarily used to express social or political views. The word originates from Italian and literally means scratched. Even in ancient times, graffiti was used as we can see in cave drawings, ruins, sepulchers and even pictographs. Some languages have originated for graffiti. One example is the Safaitic language, which is an ancient Arabic dialect.

The first modern graffiti style of writing was found in ancient Greece, in the city of Ephesus. This city is today located in Turkey. Similar sites have been found in Guatemala and Ireland.

Many people think that this art of writing is a complete waste of time and is not an art at all. However, this style helps us to understand the modern lifestyle and language. Writings invariably showcase the social condition in any era, and this style actually helps to showcase the mood of a particular period in history throw its graphical depictions.

In today's world, this style of writing is seen as street art and has huge potential. However, defacing public property with this art or writing offensive messages is a crime and you should never indulge in it.

You can write in this style using chalk, spray paint, pastels or sparkles, but one of the most beautiful work of art can be created in the following manner.

First write the text in a fluid motion not sticking to any convention, uniformity or spacing between letters. Then thicken the letters by using double lines or making them into blocks. You can add a bit of artistry here by allowing the letters to overlap. Each letter should be legible but should not be a separate entity.

If you want, you can patterns to the letters while writing. Some common patterns used are serif or simple tail lines. However, if you use shadow lines, you can really bring out the written text to the forefront. You can use shadowing only on one side of the letter or add a shadow on every alternate letter on both sides. The choice is yours. Some graffiti artists use geometric shapes in such a way that they end up reading as text.

Once you have finished writing your text and adding all the special effects, it is time to color it. Use the same color to highlight similar patterns in the text. This will add life to your art.

After that, you can add special effects by using sparkle pens. And then, you are all set to stand back and admire your art.

In the US, in some cities, corporations are paying graffiti artists to advertise their products and services through this art. For many street artists, it has become a lucrative business. However, these advertisements cannot be done in public places. Some companies using legal form of this art for advertisement are Coca Cola, McDonald's and Toyota.

Creativity at Its Best

Graffiti is not an art that is limited to streets only, with the time it has evolved as the professional art form with some great feedback from the customers. Graffiti is a kind of an art form which is a medium of people to express their feelings and regressions through colors and paints. It could be on walls or any other public property. Some people consider it as the nuisance and a serious form of vandalism. But graffiti leaves a long lasting impact on the mind of the viewer. Graffiti designs are usually very loud, vibrant and engaging. They are meant to depict the mind and thought of the creator.

Graffiti is still considered as the negative part of the creativity as its creators often use public property as the space or canvas for their designs. So, people don't consider it as the respected form of art. But Graffiti is the depiction of the urban youth and their thought process. It displays their discontentment with present social norms and scenario. Graffiti is generally innocuous, lively and prolific paintings that often brightens up walls and buildings. Graffiti has enormous forms and styles but the more popular forms are tagging and Hip Hop.

Hip hop graffiti is created with the aerosol spray paints. It comprises of cartoon sketch or complex mix of letters. To design hip hop graffiti is usually a long process as it needs lot of designing and planning.

Tagging graffiti is the most common form to be acquainted. Tagging is the racial form of graffiti and is quite uncomplicated, and not very flashy. Hence it doesn't require much time to create, and does not occupy a lot of space either. It is usually racially motivated or politically inspired.

But with all negativity to its side, Graffiti if directed positively can earn remarkable results for the society. Like if instead of ignoring and opposing the graffiti creators, we try to understand their point of view and try to spread their message to the society in some more creative and non damaging way. You can see many street graffiti designers have turned themselves and evolved themselves as the professional in graffiti art. And people also has broaden up their mind and accepting this form of art by painting on their home walls, vehicles, doors, clothes, hats etc. This show that society is trying to respect and accept this form of art which was once called vandalism.

These days you will find reputed companies endorsing graffiti art form with certified professionals solely devoted to their work. Companies hire individual tattoo artist, product designing people, fashion designing etc. The professionalism and innovativeness is worth applaud and praise. This helped the artist to inculcate positive feedback from the increasing number of customers. They offer people with best of their designs and also ask for their own individual designs in order to paint their homes, offices or clothes etc.

so, if you want your walls to speak and display your thoughts, hire a professional graffiti artist. He would support you right from the beginning by asking your requirements and giving his own suggestions till the final design and satisfaction from you. If somehow you want any further change in your designs, these artists would never say no.

Graffiti Creators and Graffiti Styles

Graffiti is a form of art that is used to express the artists feeling and emotions. Just like pouring out your feelings in a diary, only using a different medium. Although many people see graffiti as a nuisance and also see it as vandalism, it is hard to not be interested in its unique style and free expression. Graffiti is a social expression, often a voice of the discontented youth, and is part of the urban world around us.

It is generally harmless, vibrant and creative and often brightens up walls and buildings. Graffiti has many different styles but the two most common types are tagging and hip hop graffiti. Different styles of graffiti fall into different categories.

Hip hop graffiti pieces are usually very large and are created using aerosol spray paints. They usually are a complex mix of letters or a cartoon sketch. Hip hop graffiti usually takes longer to achieve as it takes a lot of planning and designing first.

Tagging graffiti is used as a means to 'mark territory'. This type of graffiti is used as a way to mark one's presence, to say 'so and so was here'. Often the letter styles in one territory will be different to another and signatures are very territorial indeed. Some graffiti is racially motivated or sometimes even politically motivated and bears some relation to urban street fighting.

Commercial graffiti is seen as a big problem. This involves private organisations paying graffiti artists to spray paint advertising logos on walkways and buildings so that they can promote their product. This is an illegal form of advertising.

Graffiti is amazing and its a great way to express yourself through colours, pictures and words. Graffiti can mean everything to an artist so they use it as means of expressing their feelings if they have a lot kept in. It is a stress relief and it is fun painting a wall.

Some people like to express their feelings by writing them down or speaking to someone else. Others may choose to paint words in fierce, vibrant colours, that come across as a message in a piece of art. This could be a message in itself, indicating that they are being driven to the wall because no-one is really listening. So many young people, especially in the inner cities, find that their families are usually too busy trying to survive to have quality time to spend with them. So they form sub-cultures and their own styles of communication to express what they need to say.

How to Draw Cool Graffiti Art

Learning to draw great graffiti art requires lots of skill and practice. There are several genres of graffiti art, but usually, graffiti art will mostly:

-- be painted in vivid colors, to create emotive images and grab attention

-- include graffiti style lettering with letters that overlap and are drawn in 3D

In particular the use of the bold style lettering is really distinctive to graffiti art. The images themselves will usually be hard hitting, and be painted in stark colors utilizing strong shadows and outlines to add depth and definition. Images usually depict social or political issues close to the artist's heart.

Before you start a piece of graffiti art, you should draw a small scale version of the large piece you want to create first, then when you begin your actual piece, its a simple task of just scaling up your graffiti sketch.

If you need ideas for a graffiti font to use, there are plenty of sites online that have examples for you to copy. For the outlines, use a fine marker pen. In order to produce a 3D effect, shade around the letters you've outlined with a different color. Then use permanent markers to color in your letters.

Once you are ready to paint your sketch on to your larger canvas or wall, you need to draw a reference grid over your small drawing. Sketch a full size replica of the grid on to your wall or canvas that you are using for your scaled up graffiti piece. Use either chalk, charcoal or diluted paint to draw the large grid. To make marking the grid out easier, the simplest thing to do is to use a piece of string.

Use chalk or charcoal to transfer your small drawing on to you larger canvas. Use an aerosol can to paint the background in using diluted paint, keep the layer thin and allow it to dry before you start your coloring. When you've finished the outline and the background, it's time to add the colors and detail. Again use aerosols to add the colors. Start with the lightest colors first and the largest sections, and then move on to the detail and the smaller areas last.

When you've colored your work in, you can add the fine definition with a brush to enhance the fine lines and borders around your figures and letters. You can preserve it for years to come with a thin layer of varnish.

These are all the steps you need to master if you want to paint impressive graffiti art.