How to Get Better at Drawing Graffiti

A good piece of graffiti begins with a good drawing.

Getting better at drawing graffiti will mean getting better at painting it. Graffiti isn't necessarily as spontaneous as some may think. Artists have drawn, practiced and planned their painted piece well before they pick up a can of spray paint. Watch a graffiti artist paint in person and you'll notice that one of their hands is clutching a finished drawing; it's shaded, colored and detailed. A good graffiti artist is first and foremost a skilled drawer.

Instructions

1. Always be drawing. The drawings don't always have to be graffiti but it's all good practice and will indirectly improve and inform the graffiti drawings.

2. Make time each day, even just one hour, and only draw graffiti. Keep the sketches in a sketchbook, what graffiti artists call a "black book," and date each one.

3. Look out for graffiti everywhere. Take photos of the pieces you like to use as inspiration and reference.

4. Create finished drawings where the image features sharp edges, variations in line, smooth shading and even texture.

5. Study proportion and perspective in drawing. Experiment with incorporation both in your drawings.

6. Ask a more skilled graffiti artist to mentor you in the art of drawing graffiti. Have them critique your drawings and use that criticism as fuel to push your drawings further.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't focus on drawing polished pieces of graffiti each time, focus instead on sketching the bigger idea and going back to fill in the details. Ideas will have better flow and you wont get frustrated by the drawing process. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, no matter how good you get at drawing graffiti mistakes will always occur.