Editing Graffiti (section)

== Types ==
{{See also|Graffiti terminology}}

=== Tools ===
[[Spray paint]] and [[Marker pen|markers]] are the main tools used for [[Tag (graffiti)|tagging]], [[Throw up (graffiti)|throw ups]], and [[Piece (graffiti)|pieces]].<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Bates |first=Lindsay |date=2014 |title=Bombing, Tagging, Writing: An Analysis of the Significance of Graffiti and Street Art |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4db1a72a-861c-48a0-b978-0232aea82a15/content|degree=Master of Science in Historic Preservation |publisher=University of Pennsylvania}}</ref> [[Paint marker]]s, paint dabbers, and scratching tools are also used.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Daniell |first=Christopher |date=2011-08-01 |title=Graffiti, Calliglyphs and Markers in the UK |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-011-9176-6 |journal=Archaeologies |language=en |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=454–476 |doi=10.1007/s11759-011-9176-6 |issn=1935-3987}}</ref> Some art companies, such as [[Montana Colors]], make art supplies specifically for graffiti and street art. Many major cities have graffiti art stores.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Avramidis |first1=Konstantinos |title=Moving from Urban to Virtual Spaces and Back: Learning In/From Signature Graffiti Subculture |date=2015 |work=Critical Learning in Digital Networks |pages=133–160 |editor-last=Jandrić |editor-first=Petar |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13752-0_7 |access-date=2024-08-06 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-13752-0_7 |isbn=978-3-319-13752-0 |last2=Drakopoulou |first2=Konstantina |editor2-last=Boras |editor2-first=Damir}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Graffiti making">
File:Vlg shop.jpg|The first graffiti shop in [[Russia]] was opened in 1992 in [[Tver]].
File:Eurofestival graffiti 2.jpg|Graffiti application at Eurofestival in [[Turku]], Finland
File:Graffity in the making...(On a wall at Thrissur) CIMG9868.JPG|Graffiti application in India using natural pigments (mostly [[charcoal]], plant [[sap]]s, and dirt)
File:Graffity in the making...(On a wall at Thrissur) CIMG9873.jpg|Completed landscape scene, in [[Thrissur]], [[Kerala]], India
File:Leake Street TQ3079 352.JPG|A graffiti artist at work in [[London]]
</gallery>

=== Stencil graffiti ===
{{Main|Stencil graffiti}}
Stencil graffiti is created by cutting out shapes and designs in a stiff material (such as [[Corrugated fiberboard|cardboard]] or subject [[File folder|folder]]s) to form an overall design or image.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Iain |date=2019-09-02 |title=Items of Mass Instruction: Posters, Stickers, Memes and More |url=https://commonslibrary.org/items-of-mass-instruction-posters-stickers-memes-and-more/#Stencils |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> The stencil is then placed on the "canvas" gently and with quick, easy strokes of the aerosol can, the image begins to appear on the intended surface. Some of the first examples were created in 1981 by artists [[Blek le Rat]] in Paris, in 1982 by [[Jef Aerosol]] in Tours (France);<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-04-11 |title=The Evolution of Graffiti Art |url=https://artsfiesta.com/the-evolution-of-graffiti-art/ |access-date=2024-04-13 |website=Arts Fiesta |language=en-US}}</ref> by 1985 stencils had appeared in other cities including New York City, Sydney, and [[Melbourne]], where they were documented by American photographer Charles Gatewood and Australian photographer Rennie Ellis.<ref name=ellis>{{cite book |title=The All New Australian Graffiti |first=Rennie |last=Ellis |year=1985 |publisher=Sun Books, Melbourne |isbn=978-0-7251-0484-9 }}</ref>

=== Stickers ===
{{Main|Sticker art}}
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Stickers, also known as slaps, are drawn or written on before being put up in public. Stickers that became widely used include the [[United States Postal Service]]'s [[Label 228]] and [[name tag]]s stickers.<ref name="10 July 2012">{{Cite web|url=http://markbattypublisher.com/books/name-tagging-2/|title=Name Tagging: Martha Cooper|date=10 July 2012 |website=markbattypublisher |access-date=27 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710033038/http://markbattypublisher.com/books/name-tagging-2/ |archive-date=10 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book| title = Going Postal| last = Cooper| first = Martha| date = 2009-03-28| publisher = Mark Batty Publisher| isbn = 9780979966651| location = New York; London| language = en}}</ref><ref name="2007 Walde">{{cite book|last=Walde|first=Claudia|title=Sticker City: paper graffiti art|year=2007|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=9780500286685|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQvaAAAAMAAJ&q=avery%27s}}</ref> Name tag stickers that were printed with the text "Hello my name is", first introduced by C-Line Products in 1959, became widely used in both graffiti and [[Sticker art|sticker art]].<ref name="2007 Walde"/> Eggshell stickers, which are very difficult to remove, are also frequently used.<ref>{{Citation |last=Shobe |first=Hunter |title=Graffiti as Communication and Language |date=2020 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3_81 |work=Handbook of the Changing World Language Map |pages=3155–3172 |editor-last=Brunn |editor-first=Stanley D. |access-date=2023-08-29 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-02438-3_81 |isbn=978-3-030-02438-3 |editor2-last=Kehrein |editor2-first=Roland}}</ref> Stickers allow artists to put up their art quickly and discreetly, making them a relatively safer option for illegal graffiti.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Elsner |first1=Daniela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bBdnqY19cUC |title=Films, Graphic Novels & Visuals: Developing Multiliteracies in Foreign Language Education : an Interdisciplinary Approach |last2=Helff |first2=Sissy |last3=Viebrock |first3=Britta |date=2013 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |isbn=978-3-643-90390-7 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Tags ===
{{Main|Tag (graffiti)}}
[[Tag (graffiti)|Tagging]] is the practice of writing one's "name, initial or logo onto a public surface"<ref>{{Cite news|date=2022-01-18|title=Gullu Daley, Ajax Watson and Jestina Sharpe depicted in St Paul's street art|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-60039912|access-date=2022-01-19}}</ref> in a [[handstyle]] unique to the writer. Tags were the first form of modern graffiti.

A number of recent examples of graffiti make use of [[hashtags]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-23 |title=Hashtag on the pavement connects with Fitzrovia's past |url=http://fitzrovianews.com/2015/07/23/hashtag-on-the-pavement-connects-with-fitzrovias-past/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Fitzrovia News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=#RISKROCK #GRAFFITI IN #SANFRANCISCO |url=https://massappeal.com/riskrock-graffiti-in-san-francisco/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011183228/https://massappeal.com/riskrock-graffiti-in-san-francisco/ |archive-date=2017-10-11 |website=Mass Appeal}}</ref>
{{wide image|Graffiti i baggård i århus 2c.jpg|1300px|align-cap=center|Densely-tagged parking area in [[Århus]], Denmark|center|}}

=== Throw ups ===
{{Main|Throw up (graffiti)}}
Throw ups, or throwies are large, bubble-writing graffiti which aim to be "throw onto" a surface as largely and quickly as possible.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lasley |first=James R. |date=1995-04-01 |title=New writing on the wall: Exploring the middle-class graffiti writing subculture |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01639625.1995.9967994 |journal=Deviant Behavior |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=151–167 |doi=10.1080/01639625.1995.9967994 |issn=0163-9625}}</ref> Throw ups can have fills or be "hollow".<ref>{{Cite thesis |title=Writing on the walls: Graffiti and civic identity |url=http://ruor.uottawa.ca/handle/10393/28256 |publisher=University of Ottawa (Canada) |date=2009 |degree=Thesis |doi=10.20381/ruor-19161 |language=en |first=Michelle |last=Parks}}</ref> They prioritise minimal negative space<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=The Drivin' & Vibin' |date=2022-08-21 |title=Who is Cope2? |url=https://outsidefolkgallery.com/cope2/ |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=Outside Folk Gallery |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230908090710/https://outsidefolkgallery.com/cope2/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and consistency or letter space and height.<ref name=":2"/>

=== Pieces ===
{{Main|Piece (graffiti)}}
Pieces are large, elaborate, letter-based graffiti which usually use spray paint or rollers.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Gregory J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJUUCgAAQBAJ |title=Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground |date=2011-04-15 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-0-8147-4046-0 |language=en}}</ref> Pieces often have multi-coloured fills and outlines, and may use highlights, shadows, backgrounds,<ref name="read">{{Cite book |last=Gottlieb |first=Lisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KyNVOzSbTGkC |title=Graffiti Art Styles: A Classification System and Theoretical Analysis |date=2014-01-10 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5225-5 |language=en}}</ref> extensions, 3D effects,<ref name="read"/> and sometimes [[Character (graffiti)|characters]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Mansfield |first=Michelle |title=Collective Individualism: Practices of Youth Collectivity within a Graffiti Community in Yogyakarta, Indonesia |date=2021-09-23 |work=Forms of Collective Engagement in Youth Transitions |pages=115–138 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004466340/BP000008.xml |access-date=2023-08-28 |publisher=Brill |language=en |isbn=978-90-04-46634-0}}</ref>

=== Wildstyle ===
{{Main|Wildstyle}}
Wildstyle is the most complex form of modern graffiti. It can be difficult for those unfamiliar with the art form to read.<ref name="read"/> Wildstyle draws inspiration from [[calligraphy]] and has been described as partially abstract.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Brown |first1=Michelle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kYrDwAAQBAJ |title=Routledge International Handbook of Visual Criminology |last2=Carrabine |first2=Eamonn |date=2017-07-06 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-49754-7 |language=en}}</ref> The term "wildstyle" was popularized by the Wild Style graffiti crew formed by [[Tracy 168]] of [[the Bronx]], [[New York City|New York]] in 1974.<ref name="read"/>

=== Modern experimentation ===
[[File:Knitted graffiti 1.jpg|thumb|right|Knitted graffiti in [[Seattle]], Washington]]
[[File:Spiderweb Yarnbomb Installation by Stephen Duneier.JPG|thumbnail|Stephen Duneier's Spiderweb Yarnbomb installation hides and highlights previous graffiti.]]

Modern graffiti art often incorporates additional arts and technologies. For example, [[Graffiti Research Lab]] has encouraged the use of projected images and magnetic light-emitting diodes ([[LED art|throwies]]) as new media for graffitists. [[Yarnbombing]] is another recent form of graffiti. Yarnbombers occasionally target previous graffiti for modification, which had been avoided among the majority of graffitists.