Graffiti : How To Tag - Tips and Tricks

Today I wanted to make a video giving and showing tips and advice for tags in graffiti. we'll be looking at some awesome tags in graffiti to show examples of what a good tag is and how it works. We give basic tips for tags that you can use today, and we even get a little into intermediate tips as well. At the end we check out some bad tags from newer graffiti artists as well to see why their tag is bad. hopefully these tips help you to see how tags function to help you improve your tag
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#howtodograffiti #howtotag #graffititag

[@linkmandrew]

I absolutely love the artistic principles you bring to tagging! Such simple concepts that's helping my styles immensely! Thanks so much for these quality breakdowns

[@wordupezine7956]

The "imperfection" of the R is why I love that Zephyr tag. Been pouring Zephyr's style for decades and this video helps me to finally understand what makes or brakes a good tag! I have renewed appreciation for Stay High's tag. Thanks so much for the content...I can tell you are community orientated, you posting valuable videos.

[@antoner1386]

Hey man. Been writing graff for a hot minute now and this vid is on point. Took me a while to unlock all the tricks you pointed out. It's all about repetition and writing the same thing over and over with all these principals in mind. Great job 👌

[@alexpopovic8522]

Now i finally know why adding a ton of style to the first letter works. I was always wondering how is it possible that you dont have to balance it on the other side

[@Theartistblock]

just remember, thats only an exception, never the rule. its not easy to pull off and in all my time teaching I've only seen maybe 5 graffiti artists total pull it off out of the many who've tried.

[@sydh-b3771]

Your videos are amazing. Most people just draw a letter then start cutting and adding lines while just saying; "you can do this, or this, but all you need to know is this *draws a 3 line s and explains nothing about why that's important*" you are so insightful!!

[@MOSDUBstep]

I've been doing graffiti for over 15 years and my pieces are on point, but i've always had problem with my handstyle and i gotta say this video really helped, thank you

[@zatty232]

Your videos help me realise how far I've come... and how much farther I have to go to become as good as the guys featured in your videos.

[@Prodby375sane]

this is my third time watching this video and every time i watch it i get so many more ideas to flow my tag better. for example my main illegal tag used to be stem. i had struggle making e and m flow well together, but after watching this vid for the third time i realised that st3m flows better. awesome content, keep it up man!

[@perx9923]

Been writing for like 10+years and constantly changing my name I think I like the name I've been given now tho . And for a few have gotten stuck in a sort of artist block in forms of my style but I aim to get better . And which better way then getting back to the basics . Thank you

[@PalmTreesa]

You do such a good job of explaining everything! I have already learned so much from watching your videos, very grateful I found your page

[@uncle_rick333]

“Ether” was sick imo

[@jezzapromtesausrap]

Always enjoy your clips, helps a lot. And unlike some channels, you actually take the time to explain stuff, not skip 10 steps. In time, when I get better, more confident I'd like feedback on my work... Only just starting out... Never too old

[@h3xz.v]

awesome, this video is really nerdy but it acually helped thnx

[@theweaksaucepodcast7365]

Literally all i want to say is , this is my favourite youtube channel. I love to just put on a playlist of videos, put on the headphones and just zone out and sketch. Very underatted but im sorta glad it is because I love how close the connection feels. Ya know? Anyways, thatnks so much. (also, i would love it if you checked out my favourite artist CES)

[@eponymous_graphics]

@7:35 ... the flourish on zephyr's "R" should have extended further out; that the final stroke touches the backbone of the "r" that is, the first vertical line, the end result strays too close to the letter "B" ... loosing "letter integrity" .. something Grim had spoken about in his videos on how to begin. This happens alot with the upper-right, downward-stroke for the letter "K" when that arm reaches too far back to the spine, it almost creates the letter "R" losing Letter Integrity for the intended letter, "K." Illuminated Lettering is fun to cross-reference; thanks for that info. I noticed a lot of these tags DIDN'T HAVE ARROWS ? Are arrows still looked down upon ? This was mentioned in a previous video but I'd like to know more why; the video just showed disgust for the arrow not saying much about why. If I had to guess: I would say that Arrows are 80's ... so 80's. But then again I am of the Generation X vibe. A+ video

[@MB-lz5eb]

Been trying to design a tag for a fictional character, and this vid helped me realize not to overthink it.

[@king_hell_fire8054]

thank you so much i have been trying to find what i was missing with my style i just felt like it was boring but i've looked at all of these tags and found it i don't have a consistent bench to follow and a curve to my letters thanks a bunch

[@JoseTorres-fy9rb]

perfect timing bro I just started tagging thanks for the videos!

[@nFluenz]

Tip: If your still in school, don't tag there and keep practicing writing your tag also in any direction ( backwards, upside-down, right to left and everything in between). It's a skill you need

[@sliyckkelz319]

Don’t be toy

[@lenbones7940]

Hahahaha cant believe ya mentioned the lost art of letter illumination... if we wanna keep it 100 when you check those old texts its a great way to letter movement ideas on letters... thats classic.. i haven't had someone even bring up an illuminated letter since my middle school art teacher lol.. keep up the good work homie... your vids are great to watch before you sit down and do a scribble sesh and like u said it not biting to look at other celebrated graff artists work and analyze it to try and get a feel what makes some things eye pleasing and what makes other things throw a tag balance way off...

[@tunecha1910]

i dont agree with what you said about the tag on 12:33 because that one clearly has structure, its just has no lean which is fine. it has points and round parts all over, the top part of the E mirrors the top part of the R, same thing with the circles on those letters, the whole word has the order of tall letter short letter throughout the whole thing, has the consistent decorative lines throughout. i really liked that one and i dont think it has no flow or structure at all. its the one i liked the most.

[@Yuzuki1337]

It's also extremely readable, honestly totally fine and cool style imo

[@victorinsley8651]

These tutorial's are dope! I'm a old school writer from from Baltimore. I write MR.EARS. This is great for new artists

[@niconine268]

Sick bruh. Your passion is igniting

[@ozpoo]

I have noticed that when i try a tag with a sharpie or a round tip marker it looks toy but with a calligraphy marker it looks a lot better.

[@NEXO.1]

Tags are important so thanks I really need a new graffiti tag

[@Theartistblock]

Wait why do you need a new tag name

[@aidenadamiak4068]

My tag is spray z and I love it as a tag but I just can’t figure out how to get to work in a peice, it just never really works, could u give some tips on piece work or try mine, also I love your vids you explain things and teach graffiti better than any other channel I can find on KZbin

[@Galanonim022]

thats a corny ass name bruh

[@lenbones7940]

Its crazy things like baseline and letter height is all it to keep a tag pleasing to the eye..

[@znlevelentertainment1668]

in my opinion two of the best handstylers are Siege One and Keep6

[@svenfritsch2770]

I love to hear what you have to say about my hand style

[@LukaKudra]

YOUR BEST VIDEO YET!!!

[@markbradley5355]

Great video as always, my dude!

[@marcussagote]

can you do a review on bus flow? its a hand style that originated from San Francisco

[@Theartistblock]

honestly, bus flows are less of a regional thing not really specific to san fran. They're really just one liners and that's it, no separate or unique fundamental difference than normal one liners. These didn't originate in san fran either, just san fransisco needed one liners more due to the busses, so they used them more frequently but once again, no stylistic differences from normal 1 liners. Now i only say all of that to show that learning this is much easier than you may expect and in fact, I have a few vids on flow that teach the foundation of how flow functions in graffiti. Couple that with this video and you'll be on your way to one liners. I may do a video about that anyway just because i see people asking about it so id like to clear it up

[@serpentires]

really enjoyed this one

[@minkademko2335]

Helpful analysis, thank you for that .

[@CaptainSherman]

This video made me know I have a dope tag

[@Ryan-qj2qd]

ur vids r so helpful man thank u

[@昭和チャンネル-s3p]

Anyone who's a toy just needs to watch every John Grim's video on tags

[@michaelweber4384]

Man.... I feel like I haven't had any artistic education when it comes to graffiti. I gotta step my game up.

[@Theartistblock]

dont feel bad because its not your fault and you're likey better off that way . the reason i say both of those things is because there is hardly any artistic information on graffiti and the little that's out there is so over saturated with misinformation and flat out incorrect information to where it does more harm then good. you saved yourself for the most part lol. i highly recommend just learning more about fine art and applying that to your graffiti

[@michaelweber4384]

@@Theartistblock I've played around with sketch book shit for over 20 years and I'm just recently figuring out how to actually break down the things I've done in types of artistic form. I dig it. Teaching an old dog new tricks. 🤙

[@AroundTheWayGirl88]

Handstyles vs pieces. What's the difference? Are handstyles tags? Are pieces throwups, wildstyles and (I forgot the third one he mentioned in the other vid). Appreciate the breakdown! ✌🏾♥️

[@zelkark9793]

handstyles and tags are two words for the same thing , it becomes a piece when you add thickness or volume to the letters and an outline and shadow or 3d. and throwups, burners, and wildstyles are all just different types of pieces :)

[@AroundTheWayGirl88]

@@zelkark9793 Thank you.

[@vanessauosukainen7631]

@@zelkark9793 throw ups aint pieces tho,they throw ups

[@zelkark9793]

@@vanessauosukainen7631 well yes, but theyre also like an extremely simplistic piece so thats why i went with that explanation

[@Theartistblock]

@@zelkark9793 hey buddy, so the explanation he gave on tags and pieces is perfect but allow me to help with throw ups. Throw ups arent pieces at all. Throw ups have a different approach behind how they're done. Throw ups are normally round, lack negative space, and have their letters positioned really closely. A throw up is your name done in the way described above so that you can simply " throw, your name up" onto the wall. Due to how throw ups are normally done, they tend to lack structure and as a result they are not pieces. Pieces focus on structure and even the si mlm pleat of pieces never lack the amount of structure that throw ups lack

[@Eirik_Bloodaxe]

I think it’d be cool to look at some more cholo style hand styles, because they’re usually a lot more boxy but still look badass. For reference I’d say check out Chaz Bojorquez or Ric Clayton.

[@B1G_ChUnG5]

Don’t forget Retna

[@mexemsu.g.d.975]

Always good stuff ,Grim!!! 👍💥👍💥

[@grantvanosdel1747]

Ive been writing SEVR for a while now and always contemplated throwing in an extra E in there and now im hella on the fence whether or not i should…

[@otaTuNeni]

do you think that the writers you are showing in this video are really thinking about tags the way you are or is it just nature for them to do tags this way and dont think about it much? Plus that "zephyr" tag, dont you think that the style he added to that R made it look more like B then R?

[@Theartistblock]

it doesnt matter if they are thinking of those things consciously or not, the fact of the matter is there's a reason why things work and that's the part im explaining. Now I say this as kindly as possible please understand but that's like a doctor explaining how your organs work and you saying "do you think people really think about their lungs when they breath", it doesn't matter if they're thinking about it, that's how things factually function. Also Zephyb doesnt make sense so it has to be Zephyr. many graffiti artists do this sort of thing where they stylize a certain letter and it ends up looking like another letter. while this could make the name read wrong in many cases, there are some where the word simply has to read one way and as a result they can get away with it. you commonly see this when people turn a letter into a character.

[@jonathanmueller3257]

@@Theartistblock extensions and serrifs vid?

[@aidenadamiak4068]

I would also love if u could try my tag as a piece with out you seeing mine because I can’t think of new ideas and I’d love to see your spin on it!

[@Cre8iveMud]

Knowing your cursive and letter structures is a must... well for me anyways.

[@andrewwilson7157]

I met GiantOne at art show pop up in SanFrancisco

[@susanmontone6169]

I was gifted a fantastic work of graffiti art and I only have the tag but I do not know the name of the artist. It would’ve been an artist in New York City in the 80s. How do I find the name of the artist from the tag???

[@Beatjoy5511]

Yo you ever seen gorey one and skofer? They have my fave handstyle

[@brendam8572]

Unfortunately my desire to start tagging came as a way to cope with the loss of my hero.... My oldest son he was killed 6 months ago he was 27 and he was everything to me... I’m trying to find a simple and beautiful way to tag his name... Aimga Mugsah it means Red Eagle in our dialect...

[@bleedingwhite]

i don’t know if you’ve already decided, ur you could do Aimu

[@bleedingwhite]

also, that’s really sad. im very sorry for your loss.

[@brendam8572]

@@bleedingwhite I hadnt thought of that but maybe shortening it would be better.... Thanks for the input...

[@melokix]

What are your thoughts on one-liners or bus flows

[@Asian_Kid]

Do the numbers after my tag have to mean something? Can I just start writing 2 after my name, or my area code or something, if I have a common name?

[@Theartistblock]

The certainly can if you want but they don't have to

[@supercoolgrape6605]

which paint brands you recommend

[@xloqrdx]

Yo! Can you make a video on how to make homemade ink (Safe)

[@jonathanmueller3257]

i hate doing lines john!!!!

[@mysteriousformal]

I just don’t know how to make the letters look good

[@Theartistblock]

Practice the basics. It takes time to get good, you have to be patient and put in the leg work with practice. If you don't practice you won't get where you want to be

[@notoriousmozart]

Bro do you have kingspray VR?

[@juliang9625]

Dope vid

[@codyw2300]

i want to see this dudes hand style

[@JoseEmanuelMendez-f7m]

My tag is siver but im afraid some People call me copy cat

[@lukeholloway7836]

Develop the izm if you can you ether got it or you don’t

[@atlasb4130]

NOTIF GANGG

[@victorinsley8651]

How do I send you some hand styles

[@jesussavesnyc]

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jaredhummel9687]

how do you angle an L

[@NastyCity619]

Great video

[@Psyonixx3m]

12:40, someone should play Graffiti Tags Tutorial and start it from 2:05

[@fogtown3027]

What a L7

[@Fathom324]

Bates? More like “Bites”

[@GasMaskBoy]

would you rate my tags? i think that be cool

[@themixmusicandmore6280]

How do I come up with a name? It's fucking impossible to me

[@austinrrhodes]

5th

[@Aresgraff]

🇧🇷

[@ryustreetfighter8722]

You sound like curmit the frog

[@initialsingularity8808]

Third

[@josechavez6138]

Here on the channel grim is toy af

[@novelaego2404]

i might be one of the only ones that doesnt like kanser handstyle no hate

[@zombie4skin28]

It’s preference, I don’t like it either but I don’t think it’s toy or anything bad

[@novelaego2404]

@ Zombie4Skin for sure ✌🏼

[@blackberry5220]

69

[@scott8451]

First

[@dirtyhandsboy]

Nice handstyle!

[@cocknballs4206]

Are you aware of VEOH??

[@NastyCity619]

First

[@initialsingularity8808]

Gotta watch at least

[@Salzt]

@@initialsingularity8808 lol Yeah

[@NastyCity619]

Already at 8mins in

[@NastyCity619]

@@initialsingularity8808 I'm actually first and your not. Sticc a socc in it

[@NastyCity619]

@@initialsingularity8808 it's 2022 use a complete sentence