Toys post here...

[Joker]

32 minutes ago, Aristo said:

@Joker My terminology knowledge is pretty bad so I'm gonna have to ask what you mean  by bar weight? Are you just referring to consistent bar width?  

Sorry, I tend to talk in typeface terminology due to my day job. Yes, the width of your bars are all pretty consistent, which is nice. There are some spots where that width can contract or expand, as I showed in my examples. Those fluctuations done in the right place can sometimes make the letter feel like it's coming off the page, or feel animated. If you're not into that don't take my lead - stick to what you're doing with the weight of your bars because it's working. 

[ElbowMack187]

Birthday cake donuts 

 

[Aristo]

@Joker Alright for sure, I appreciate it. 

[billoboy2020]

On 11/5/2019 at 6:46 AM, Joker said:

Because you singled this one out I’ll give some feedback...

 

I think I mentioned this to Ray, but some of your bars look like you took a ball of clay and tried to form them into parts of a letter... specifically the left bar of the R. Try to think of each bar of your letter being the same weight (except the middle bar of your R and B should be thinner). You can stretch sections out, like toward the end of the bar or maybe a rounded section,  but try to keep bar weights similar. That B is pretty good but the R looks like it’s got some work to do. 
 

I played around with it for a second just to give you an idea of what to consider...

 

 

thanks for taking the time man, looks really fucking dope. okey so i used ur drawing as help and this is what i got. im really bad with extensions and i cant really make the piece dance, if u know what i mean. also i suck with negative space i think.

 

 

[Joker]

@billoboy2020- Yep! That is looking pretty good. The right bar of the H, at the top, is curving into the umlaut - that feels forced. I think keeping the flow of the top of the R going into the top of the H feels better, more natural. See sketch below. 

 

The Y works, but it's not as dynamic as your other letters. The letter Y can be difficult, no doubt, but definitely keep playing around with how the shape of the letter fits into the B. Eventually you'll find the one that works really well and you can build off that one. 

 

You can also look at what other writers with a Y in their name are doing. Just go to this page and scroll through the names looking for that letter Y. 

 

 

[Ray40]

I have been sketching, wrestling season been getting in the way so I haven’t been in the streets In my town. I am doing the sticker thing a bit, got a batch in my wrestling bag.  Anyways, can you guys tell me what I need to do with my sketches and if I should start evolving it. If so, please give me some advice 

[aimer]

This thread has inspired me to pick up a pencil again after about 8 years since I last drew anything haha

Have been doodling a heap of quick straight letters lately when I get time at work.. still struggling with the weights/proportions on my E for some reason, which is frustrating cause it seems like such a simple letter bars wise

may have to have a go at some single letter studies as was suggested a few pages back

[Joker]

20 hours ago, Ray40 said:

...can you guys tell me what I need to do with my sketches and if I should start evolving it. If so, please give me some advice 

 

 

 

You've definitely drawn that simple style RAY plenty of times to understand the letters, and it's obvious that you've got them down. So if you want to start evolving your letters, try this iconic letter R that is an update to the letter you've been doing. Sketch this out a bunch of times and once you get that down we'll add the A to it, then the Y.

 

 

[Joker]

20 hours ago, aimer said:

This thread has inspired me to pick up a pencil again after about 8 years since I last drew anything haha

Have been doodling a heap of quick straight letters lately when I get time at work.. still struggling with the weights/proportions on my E for some reason, which is frustrating cause it seems like such a simple letter bars wise

may have to have a go at some single letter studies as was suggested a few pages back

 

 

 

 

 

That's great you're getting back at it! Although, to be honest, once you catch the bug you never really retire. Graffiti has a way of always pulling you in, whether you paint or not. 

 

Most of those simple styles look good to me. They can be tightened up, for sure, but you've obviously done this before. Let me know if you want some ideas to mess with and I'll be glad to put something together. 

 

Often times when sketching out our whole piece we tend to put more focus on our favorite letter or other letters instead of all of them, and one or two letters get overlooked (... I've done this a lot). Doing single letter studies can help you focus on your weaker letter, forcing yourself to draw it several different ways and finding ways to make it work with your other letters. Looking at what others have done isn't really biting... it's inspiration. It's when you do exactly what you see that it becomes biting. I mean, there are a lot of great writers out there who all do or have done a very similar letter E or S or C. It's inevitable. So I say use some images for inspiration on finding an E that works for you. Just make sure when using inspiration that you're using it as a building block to your own idea. 

[Ray40]

Thanks so much @Joker,I really wanted to change it up a little. I will use your advice on my next couple of pieces

[ElbowMack187]

[aimer]

5 hours ago, Joker said:

Let me know if you want some ideas to mess with and I'll be glad to put something together. 

Thanks mate, would be awesome if you could

Gonna spend a bit of time researching a few different styles for a bit of inspiration now

[Banok1]

22 hours ago, Joker said:

That's great you're getting back at it! Although, to be honest, once you catch the bug you never really retire. Graffiti has a way of always pulling you in, whether you paint or not. 

 

Most of those simple styles look good to me. They can be tightened up, for sure, but you've obviously done this before. Let me know if you want some ideas to mess with and I'll be glad to put something together. 

 

Often times when sketching out our whole piece we tend to put more focus on our favorite letter or other letters instead of all of them, and one or two letters get overlooked (... I've done this a lot). Doing single letter studies can help you focus on your weaker letter, forcing yourself to draw it several different ways and finding ways to make it work with your other letters. Looking at what others have done isn't really biting... it's inspiration. It's when you do exactly what you see that it becomes biting. I mean, there are a lot of great writers out there who all do or have done a very similar letter E or S or C. It's inevitable. So I say use some images for inspiration on finding an E that works for you. Just make sure when using inspiration that you're using it as a building block to your own idea. 

word sometimes Ill just look at the bars that makes up someone elses letter structures to give me inspiration but using my own steez and style 

[Banok1]

On 11/12/2019 at 3:17 PM, Joker said:

You've definitely drawn that simple style RAY plenty of times to understand the letters, and it's obvious that you've got them down. So if you want to start evolving your letters, try this iconic letter R that is an update to the letter you've been doing. Sketch this out a bunch of times and once you get that down we'll add the A to it, then the Y.

 

 

Hey joker I seen ur criticism on elbows symetrical shit, ignore that shit where the bottom of the a and n connect I know the ks a bit too tall but this is a rough one 

Edited November 14, 2019 by Banok1

[Hua Guofang]

That is fucking tight ^^^

[Joker]

5 hours ago, Banok1 said:

Hey joker I seen ur criticism on elbows symetrical shit, ignore that shit where the bottom of the a and n connect I know the ks a bit too tall but this is a rough one 

 

Yeah, I like it when they’re similar, not exactly the same. Both are a skill, though. Thanks for sharing!

[Banok1]

No i was gonna ask do you have any crits or anything that youd change on it 

[Joker]

@aimer- I took a few of your sketches and embellished them to show how you could add just a little more style to your letters. Hopefully these two sketches will inspire you to take your sketches just that little bit further. 
 

 

[Joker]

11 hours ago, Banok1 said:

No i was gonna ask do you have any crits or anything that youd change on it 

So I sketched right over top of your sketch as it was easiest for me to “get into” your style. The first thing I noticed is your overall piece ramps up in height from left to right. It’s really noticeable mostly because you have a flat base. I’ve seen some of your other work in another thread but I can’t remember if this is a pattern or if this is just this sketch, but something to look after. When you have that flat base you also have to mind the top of your piece. Doesn’t have to be straight across, but definitely try to keep the heights similar from left to right. Unless you’re going high in the middle on purpose, or on the ends on purpose. Hopefully that makes sense. 
 

So I took a shot at the A to N connection. Not sure if it works for you, or if you prefer a lowercase A, but I thought the angle of the uppercase A fit nicely with your B, and the straight right side of the A worked nicely with your N. Working it altogether nicely at the base was tough but I tried. 
 

 

[Ray40]

thanks again @Joker, I used your R and it really helped my piece. Here it is, feel free to provide constructive criticism. Thanks to all that helped me.

[Banok1]

10 hours ago, Joker said:

So I sketched right over top of your sketch as it was easiest for me to “get into” your style. The first thing I noticed is your overall piece ramps up in height from left to right. It’s really noticeable mostly because you have a flat base. I’ve seen some of your other work in another thread but I can’t remember if this is a pattern or if this is just this sketch, but something to look after. When you have that flat base you also have to mind the top of your piece. Doesn’t have to be straight across, but definitely try to keep the heights similar from left to right. Unless you’re going high in the middle on purpose, or on the ends on purpose. Hopefully that makes sense. 
 

So I took a shot at the A to N connection. Not sure if it works for you, or if you prefer a lowercase A, but I thought the angle of the uppercase A fit nicely with your B, and the straight right side of the A worked nicely with your N. Working it altogether nicely at the base was tough but I tried. 
 

 

Word i have that problem sometimes when i looked at it after i noticed the K was too high, the line at the bottom n then across the top im gonna use cuz that would keep it all level good. I did this other one where i tried to make sure it was level across. N i like that capital A connect to top n bar. Small a's i just recently started fucking with just to be able to switch it up more 

[Banok1]

[Hua Guofang]

Gotta say it, I thought ray was a troll but I was wrong.

 

Definitely improving. Small piece of advice for the last one, the inside hollow of the A breaches the top bar of the A, the split needs to be a little shorter on the inside.

[Ray40]

Thanks @Hua Guofangi will bake sure to fix that on my next piece

[Banok1]

Word rays improving, just stay at it and draw everyday man, even if it's just improving a little each time it'll add up after a while

[aimer]

On 11/16/2019 at 2:40 PM, Joker said:

@aimer- I took a few of your sketches and embellished them to show how you could add just a little more style to your letters. Hopefully these two sketches will inspire you to take your sketches just that little bit further. 

Thanks @Joker appreciate you taking the time!

That's definitely the simple with a bit of style that i'm hoping to master, will take those and see how I can make them my own 

[billoboy2020]

On 11/11/2019 at 9:14 PM, Joker said:

@billoboy2020- Yep! That is looking pretty good. The right bar of the H, at the top, is curving into the umlaut - that feels forced. I think keeping the flow of the top of the R going into the top of the H feels better, more natural. See sketch below. 

 

The Y works, but it's not as dynamic as your other letters. The letter Y can be difficult, no doubt, but definitely keep playing around with how the shape of the letter fits into the B. Eventually you'll find the one that works really well and you can build off that one. 

 

You can also look at what other writers with a Y in their name are doing. Just go to this page and scroll through the names looking for that letter Y. 

 

 

Ok man, that looks really dope and i gotta agree the Y looks stupid. Since u already, imo, perfected the piece i drew another with a similar style but kinda different. Another question tho, i dont know any rules about layering. See i always thought u should layer from left to right, so that the H is infront of the ö wich is infront of the R. I saw on ur sketch that u put the Y infront and i think that would give me more possibilities obviously but i always thought that was a no go. 

 

[Joker]

47 minutes ago, billoboy2020 said:

Ok man, that looks really dope and i gotta agree the Y looks stupid. Since u already, imo, perfected the piece i drew another with a similar style but kinda different. Another question tho, i dont know any rules about layering. See i always thought u should layer from left to right, so that the H is infront of the ö wich is infront of the R. I saw on ur sketch that u put the Y infront and i think that would give me more possibilities obviously but i always thought that was a no go. 

 

 

Re: Layering

 

In Graffiti there are definitely some hard rules, no doubt, but when it comes to style and lettering - what you do to set yourself from others is free range. When it comes to layering letters... do what works. 

 

Look at this CanTwo piece, specifically the NTW connections. The letters layer over one another perfectly, revealing the important sections of each letter to show the viewer the bits that matter. Little notches where the letters overlap show you, in an almost transparent way, how those letters are layered upon one another. 

 

Use layering how it best works for your letter connections, and if needed add some lines to reveal the letter underneath the other. No hard/fast rules here, just discovery. 

[billoboy2020]

3 hours ago, Joker said:

Re: Layering

 

In Graffiti there are definitely some hard rules, no doubt, but when it comes to style and lettering - what you do to set yourself from others is free range. When it comes to layering letters... do what works. 

 

Look at this CanTwo piece, specifically the NTW connections. The letters layer over one another perfectly, revealing the important sections of each letter to show the viewer the bits that matter. Little notches where the letters overlap show you, in an almost transparent way, how those letters are layered upon one another. 

 

Use layering how it best works for your letter connections, and if needed add some lines to reveal the letter underneath the other. No hard/fast rules here, just discovery. 

ok i see. ive changed my drawing a bit and tried  to overlap some bars. idk if like it more or less, im not sure if i should hide the bar of my R. 

Edited November 18, 2019 by billoboy2020

[Joker]

@billoboy2020- I think you’ll benefit more from not hiding the right bar of your R. 
 

Looking at your piece you’ve got somewhat of a perspective thing going on. Both ends are curved inward, and the piece overall gets bigger toward the ends. When working on a piece like this first draw yourself some guides (like I’ve done in green), this will set you up for a perfect execution when drawing out your letters. Your overall structure will be consistent from left to right. Currently, your piece dips on the right which makes your letters get smaller as the piece reads left to right. 
 

Something else to note, when doing a perspective style pieces it’s nice to do perspective style 3D, too. Set yourself a vanishing point (that little red dot I’ve drawn at the bottom) and line out your 3D to the point. I’ve explained this in a previous post so I won’t dive deep, but hopefully you understand.