Joker

@EkONE23- I meant to share this last week. A little more simple than yours but wanted to try it out. I missed adding the cool bar on the E that you did... I’ll get it next time.

*you're 😜

Not sure why the video link is dead... but here's the saved sketch.

@PheelThaPhonk- I was going to just help with the letter K since you called it out... but I got a little too into it and wrote the whole thing. Let me know if the K below helps. IMG_0230.mp4

You’ve got the right approach, and you’re right, your letter S has improved from where it once was. I think the calligraphy idea is a good one, even if just to learn the flow of letters as you suggested. Stoked to see how you progress. Keep at it! Thanks for the kind words on my personal work, and the work I’m doing in here. My goal was to give back (in my own little way) to a community that has given a lot to me by helping new writers navigate the beginnings of their “career”, and so far it’s seemed like a good way to go.

@whtboi202- I think your throwup is there, just need to push the long bar of the P out to the right a bit and make the round part a bit bigger. Basically what someone above me already said. Some examples...

@Giant- looking good! I like the little 3D overlapping details, too. Nice touch.

Yes... keep going, dude. Looking good!

Yeah, the throw at the bottom left is coming along pretty nice. The S and A feel pretty good, but the P could use some love. I'll put some time into this evening and post a little later and see if we can't get that nailed down. The super-simple tags feel like a departure from the traditional style throw-up. Are you thinking about bringing in some style to the tag at some point or do you want to keep it fairly simple? Either way is fine, I'm just curious.

Alright... this is hard for me because in the last 25+ years I've broke a lot of "rules" and have made a name for myself in doing so, but I'm going to call this one out anyway - No rulers. I get it. TRUST ME... I get it. All you have to do is look at my work and you know I get it. Clean lines mean everything to me. Straight lines, truly straight lines, are the best lines. Years ago I was painting a wall in Berkeley, CA. with Mike Giant, and this was during the short-lived electrical diagram phase I was in (whole 'nother story), so there were a lot of straight lines. I don't remember why or how but somehow Giant and I decided to have a "Who can paint the straightest line?" contest right then and there. It was hard fought, but I won. So I get it. That said - No rulers. My reason for this - if straight lines mean that much to you, then you can teach yourself to do them without the ruler. As a writer the hard, fast rule has always been no rulers. I've always felt the main purpose of this was because how in the hell are you going to take that perfectly drawn sketch to a wall and get the same perfectly painted lines? Some big-ass ruler? You going to have a friend hold the end of a 8' long 2x4 and another friend hold the other end so you can run the can along the edge of it for that straight line... for every line? It's not sustainable. Teaching yourself to hit those lines in your blackbook or on the wall is a better choice. It's not easy, but it's a better. As for the perfect lines sketch itself, I can't tell you anything that @Gianthasn't already touched on. The letters are good, just need some finessing. Your more loose "wildstyle" sketch... honestly it isn't as bad as you make it out to be. Again, could use some finessing, some tightening up, but overall it's not bad. I wouldn't call it a Wildstyle, though. More Funk, or simple version of a Semi-Wild. The bar coming off the left of the E and then back in on the bottom... I really like that. One thing you could try is doing the same sketch but without all the Funk bits and bobs, just a simple-style EK. Then go back in and add those Semi-Wild bits and see if it feels better.

Thanks for the advice @ndvand @Kults!

Anyone know where Jordan collectors buy and sell stuff online? I have this pin set I got as a gift back when All-Star weekend was in Toronto and it's just been sitting in the bag ever since. Seems like I should sell it to someone who would appreciate it. The puck and sticker pack came with it.

The lowercase a-team... (not my joke)

I might be able to get a cheeseburger... or a couple candy bars. We'll see.

Looks good!

Weekend getaways Quality time with friends and family Drinking water

@Rectwoner- looking at the throwups on your pages, they’re mostly illegible. I get the E and the C but the R and the T get lost with the extra spikes coming off them, and the face within the R has much the same line work that the letter does so you lose the teeth and other details within the letter. I figured it out by looking at your screen name. Now, my example below is dangerously close to an R that Remio might do (or has done... I love his stuff so I may have seen it and it stuck) so use it only as an example. If I was sure it was my own I would say take it, have fun with it, make it yours, but since it has a trademark style of another writer I would say use as inspiration. Keep your letters legible, even for a throwup. It doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect, but legible is always nice. Hell... if it’s pretty and perfect then you clearly had enough time to do a piece, and should have. These things are for other writers so the letters can be somewhat distorted but when you take it too far you lose your audience. Adding faces and other embellishments is a great way to set yourself apart from other writer’s throwups, but make the embellishments considered. Really think them through. If you want to do a face within your R make sure it reads as the letter FIRST... then work in the face. Once you’ve established yourself and your throwup you can start to make those embellishments a little more over the top because by then everyone will recognize the overall shape of your throwup, and now the face is what they’re reading. Does that help at all? I know my example is different than your style but I wanted to give you something.

I only lived in the Bay Area for a few years so I've not seen it all, but in my short time there the amount of work ORFN put in was unbelievable. For those who don't know... this kid was up on everything, everywhere. Not just San Francisco, but Berkeley and Oakland, too. Real dedication.

@Ray40- the lowercase is looking good. Play around with letter size and placement a little bit as your lowercase R is a lot smaller than your other letters, or at least it feels smaller.

@billoboy2020- my only feedback is that you’re letters are getting too wet-noodle looking. You’re curving and bending them in ways that don’t flow naturally, and when you’re doing simple-style letters like those it’s important to keep them feeling clean, crisp. Honestly, your sketch is really close it just needed some refinements...

After posting in another thread with a reference to the show, last night I started watching Utopia, again. Visually stunning, great music, really good story, and cut short because people are sensitive.

A co-worker asked if I had seen the show during a conversation we were having about the Koyaanisqatsi film's beautifully filmed visuals. I had not, so he gave me a thumb drive with the full series on it. This was shortly after it was cancelled due to its controversial violence and other imagery. Personally, I didn't find it more violent or disturbing than anything else being shown on television so the backlash seemed unfair. Regardless, I fell in love with the bold color visuals, I loved the way the series was filmed, it has a great storyline, and most of the actors/characters were great. Though I did tire of Alexandra Roach's character after a while, I still enjoyed listening to her Welsh accent. I had heard HBO was working on an American version of the series but that funding fell through after disputes. And more recently Amazon bought rights to produce and adaption of the series. An "adaption"... that means it's going suck.

@Ray40- Believe me when I say those latest drawings are big improvement from even six months ago. Very cool. I'll be honest with you... I have no criticism on either of those. I would encourage you to keep going with those outlines and working on refining them. There's some different bar widths that could use some tightening up but overall these are looking good. I really like the second one on green paper. Nice hustle!