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How to Draw Graffiti Letters

Graffiti letters are built in layers, in the same order every time: sketch, fill, 3D, background outline, shines and drips. Here is each step, drawn by the same tool you can use to check your own.

1Sketch. Draw the letters as fat outlines first. Let them lean and tuck behind each other.
2Fill. Colour inside the letters: one colour, a fade, or the classic two-tone split.
33D. Pick one light direction and add a solid block on the opposite side of every letter.
4Background outline. One shape around the whole word ties the letters together and makes them pop off the wall.
5Shines and drips. White highlights where the light hits, a few drips under the bottoms.
6On the wall. The finished throw-up. Every step above is a control in the generator.

Step by step

  1. Write the word plain. Simple capitals, evenly spaced. If the plain word looks wrong, no amount of style will save it.
  2. Fatten the letters. Draw around each letter to make it thick and rounded (throw-up) or square (block).
  3. Lean and overlap. Tilt letters in turns, left then right, and let each one tuck slightly behind the next. Bounce a few up or down.
  4. Outline. Go over the final shapes in a dark, even line. Erase the pencil.
  5. Fill. One colour, a fade from top to bottom, or two colours split across the middle.
  6. 3D. Choose a direction, then add a solid block on that side of every letter.
  7. Background outline. Draw one line around the whole word, joining the letters into a single shape.
  8. Shines and drips. Small white highlights on the corners facing the light; a few drips hanging from bottoms.

馃枿 Print your name as outlines to practise on

Letters to copy

Copying letters is how most people start. See graffiti letters A鈥揨 and the bubble letter alphabet.

Questions

What should I practise first?
Plain letters. Write your word in simple capitals until the spacing looks right, then make the letters fatter, then start leaning and overlapping them. Style comes after the letters are solid.
Which way should the 3D go?
Pick one direction and keep it for every letter. Down and to the right is the most common. The 3D direction slider in the generator lets you see how each choice looks before you draw it.
What is a blackbook?
A graffiti writer's sketchbook, where letters get practised and pieces get planned before anything goes on a wall. Our Blackbook paper background is in that spirit.