Graffiti Lesson 3 - On Location - The Fill

Teck continues on his piece.

This article will address some basic spraycan techniques and
methods for creating your own pieces.

This is only 1 artists methods in brief so you should try to watch as many as you can.

First of all, we do not encourage any illegal activity so please
ensure you have permission to spray before you start. We suggest
practising throw-ups before you try a full piece, just to get used
to the spraycan.

Don't go over anyone's work (throwies may go over tags though); only spray on surfaces that are free to spray.

Make sure the surface is dry; if possible use a roller with white or
your background colour to get a good undercoat first.

Start with a skinny cap to make the outline first. Don't make it too
prominent e.g. use beige or grey on a white background. This is so
mistakes can be easily fixed. You may prefer to use a different
colour for each letter or character so they can be distinguished
more easily but that's up to you.

Keep stepping back from the piece and checking it's all in
proportion, don't stay too close all the time. Keep with the skinny
cap for all the outline including 3d effects etc. with the can close
to the surface in brisk, sharp strokes of the can.

Then start adding the filling in your chosen colours. When doing the
filling use the fat cap further away from the surface to fill the
space more quickly. Make sure you cover all the surface without gaps,
you will tidy it all up later.

When the filling is done go back to the skinny cap and make the
piece sharper, go around the letters and characters again where
necessary then add some effects such as shading and highlights
around the edges of the letters. These might be a lighter shade of
the same colour e.e. add light red highlights such as small chevrons
to the edges of red letters.

When the letters and characters are all done just add your tag to the piece to let everyone know whose it is.

Then practice, practice & practice more...