Toys post here...

[Hua Guofang]

Ray, straight letters for you.

 

You're trying to run before you can crawl. Keep it super-ultra simple. These are a thousand times more simple than yours but are also a thousand times better. Keep it simple, make it clean.

 

Straight Letter, 2015 by Sleepy one, on Flickr

[Joker]

@Ray40- to reiterate what @Hua Guofangwrote - keep it simple when you're learning. When I first started out I tried to emulate every T-Kid piece I could get my eyes on. While it was a crash course on someone else's style, it taught me absolutely nothing about letter composition, flow, and style. All I learned was how to bite. Eventually I met a guy who had been writing for a while and he taught me letter structure and how to make them flow from one another. His teachings centered around learning the letters in their basic forms, first. I hated it, because I so badly wanted to do "burners", but when I look back on it, it was the best thing he could have taught me. 

 

Your drawings have that 'style of the moment' feel to them that has caught on in the last five years, which is fine. Eventually you should do your thing, but if you really want to learn you should learn the ropes, first. 

 

Whenever I get this question from beginners I always tell them to Google MBER. Now, MBER had an amazing style. He cold do funky simples, and he could do some semi-wild pieces that flowed so well you couldn't help but study them. Also, look at the "Children of the Grave, Again" whole car by DONDI. Simple style, for sure, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a true writer who doesn't love that car. Not everything you do has to be super-funky with arrows, bits, and doo-dads. Spend the time to learn the basics and as the flow of your letters start to emerge then you can start adding arrows and bits. 

 

Finally, at first I didn't agree with what @LUGRwrote but the more I think about it, the more I definitely agree. When you're learning basics the best thing you can do is not overlap your letters, at least not to the extent that you are. Doing so doesn't teach you how the R really integrates with the A, and the A with the Y. Hopefully that makes sense. As you start to learn these things you'll start to understand how you can bring those letters closer together without losing their structure. 

 

 

[Ray40]

Thanks 

 

[Ray40]

I am trying to go more basic, not all the way to straight letters but to simple stuff 

[Hua Guofang]

Fucking love that MBER. 

[Ray40]

Here is my straight letter 

[Ray40]

Tell me which on looks better 

[Ray40]

I made another one today that is like the first straight letter with a little more style 

Edited August 22, 2019 by Ray40

[Joker]

Thanks for putting the effort in, that's awesome. I would go harder on the straight letter, like, more straight, less Graffiti. 

 

Look at these examples from GESER 3A. Each letter has the same weight, same lean, and doesn't overlay too much over the next letter. I know you want to do solid, typical Graffiti but like anything when you're learning - you gotta learn to crawl before you can run. An aspiring sculpturer doesn't start out trying to emulate Anish Kapoor or Richard Serra, right? 

 

You should have a solid simple style like these GESER pieces before you start adding flavor. As an example... I drew Tic-Toc letters a lot, like, a lot before I started painting actual pieces. 

 

 

[Ray40]

Thanks, I love Gesers graffiti, it’s sick

[Hua Guofang]

You’ve got to keep all parts of your letters (the bars that make each piece of the letter) the same width. Yours go skinny and fat in a random fashion that make them look like they will fall over. 

 

This is where straight letters help help you train, they force you to keep consistent bar width. And there’s no skipping this stage, if you don’t get it down to start with you’ll never be able to burn. 

[Hua Guofang]

A couple of my old simples to show what I'm talking about

 

Ran out of space on the page with this one and it got a bit squashed up:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So none of these are even close to the level that they should be but they give you the idea of letter structure. Don't try too hard to be tricky - a clean simple letter will always shit on an average wildstyle letter.

 

 

I'm also stoked that I found my old flickr account that I'd forgotten about!!

 

[Ray40]

Ok thanks 

 

[Ray40]

I did some more simple stuff today 

[Giant]

Been really frustrated trying to fix this but here is where I’m at

[Joker]

@ray40 - Draw this for me... just as it is. Don't trace it, just draw it. 

 

 

[Ray40]

Ok thanks 

 

[Joker]

@Giant- I personally like where you've taken it, but I'm biased ? I think you're close. 

 

See below for ideas on how you might bring it all together. Also, I would pay attention to what you've done at the top of all your letters... there's a flow there where each letter is level with one another... BUT, not at the bottom of each letter. Not a big deal, honestly, and I kind of like that it's not, but if you do work it out that way make sure you add in 'things' that will help level it all out. Does that make sense?

 

That PEN combo is nice.

 

 

[Ray40]

This is my remake, sorry that the letters are a bit stylish but I added color, free for judging 

[Joker]

6 hours ago, Hua Guofang said:

 

 

I love pages like this. Different styles, different color schemes, all nestled into one another perfectly. Awesome. Thanks for sharing. I have a bunch of pages like this in a couple of my blackbooks as well. Really fun exercises for simple styles.

[Giant]

Thank you @Jokerappreciate the help! I’m not part of a crew,  but I’m sure I can fit something in there

[Joker]

@Ray40- I like that update. See my thoughts on how to tighten it up and let me know what you think. 

 

[Kults]

1 hour ago, Ray40 said:

Ok thanks 

 

He just blessed you with a dope outline. Build from that one. 

[Ray40]

It is so sick and simple thanks so much joker 

[Joker]

My goal is to help those who truly want help. It's like anything when it comes to learning... you get out of it what you put into it. I hope more writers with knowledge like@Hua Guofangcontinue to offer their thoughts as well. 

[Giant]

So I got to a point where I was happy and I penned it! Then added some pencil 3D

[Joker]

Nice. It's a little difficult with that word because the D and O have a similar shape and structure. When you have two Es, two Os, or two Ss - putting them right next to each other isn't as big a deal, but take two different letters with similar shapes and structure and you could be setting yourself up. You can take it as a challenge and conquer it, though. Coming up, what I did was study how other writers with similar letter connections worked this difficult issue out. On paper I would basically redraw it in 'my' style using their flow.... if that make sense. 

 

Example... your D and O connection - look at how DOZE TC5 worked his letters on this car with SEEN TC5. It's fairly simple but the style is oozing. Play around with those two letter connections and get a feel for how they work together. No lie... I have almost of an entire blackbbok of single letter and two letter studies. It's SUCH a great exercise and I definitely recommend it. Doing those two letter connections over and over again really drive home how your connections work. 

 

It might even be worth it to try adding an E to the end of your name - PENDOE - or - PNDOE. This could give your entire piece a completely different feel. 

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Joker

[Ray40]

This is mine with a couple of shape ups thanks again, free for judging 

[LUGR]

These look the best...

[Giant]

Ok letter reformation PNDOE or maybe when I’m feeling lazy PNDO ? after all the help from @JokerI think I’m starting to find my feet a bit more. Watch this space! Lol here’s a few scrappy scribbles iv played with this morning I wasn’t worried how they looked too much was looking more at joining or working them closer together to WORK.