ASSIGNMENT: Graffiti-Style Names

1. With a pencil, write your name using large “stick letters”, spaced close together. I like to start by placing the middle letter(s) in the center and then work outward in both directions. Press lightly with your pencil and plan on doing a fair amount of erasing to get everything just the way you want it!

2. Now, make outlines around your stick letters. Each letter should be overlapped by the letter to the left of it.

3. Use a black marker if you have one to trace over your outlines. Try to loosen up and draw with your whole arm for a more fluid look. Drawing with confidence and a little flair is more important than staying exactly on the lines.

4. Next, add shadows to make your letters look 3D. Remember to be consistent with where you place your shadows on each letter. Choose one side, left or right, and either the top or bottom of your letters for the shadows. I suggested to my students that they place their shadows on the bottom and the left side of each letter, just to simplify explaining it to the whole class at once! Draw your shadows with pencil first and then fill them in with your chisel tip marker.

5. Erase all your pencil lines.

6. Use your black marker to draw an “echo line” around the entire shape that your name makes. Or you can draw a larger cloud shape around the shape of your name. Then continue adding more and more echo lines, or just fill in the background area with color.

7. Now use a black Sharpie or other black marker to touch up the edges and corners of your letters, if needed.

8. Finally, use crayons, colored pencils, or colored markers to fill in your letters. Be creative! Make the lower half of your letters one color and the upper half another color. Or, leave some white in the center of each letter to look like a “reflection”.

You can find more videos with different graffiti styles here.