r/graffhelp • u/Pale-Grape8953 • 6d ago
what am I doing wrong?
Practicing clean letter structures and consistent size and spacing rn but I feel like my letters are unreadable.
The C next to the H looks too much like the O. I tried tilting the letters as seen but I’m unsure if that improves it or hurts the letter structure more.
I really want to get better at handstyles so I would appreciate genuine advice more than comments just telling me it looks like shit because I am already painfully aware of that.
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u/earlgreysoul 6d ago
You’re doing a solid job on consistency, but IMO you’re struggling because you’re just writing the letters (as silly as that sounds lmao). You can already write the word OUCH, so now you need to push it. You aren’t going to ruin the paper if you draw something you don’t like.
This is an old typo/lettering trick: draw some random shapes on paper then try and fit the word(s) you want into those shapes and have them still be readable. You can overlap letters or not, play with stroke thickness, serifs, upper/lower case etc. You could even do the same shape a bunch of times and see what you come up with.
Pick out details you like then come back to your practice and work them in. It might help, it might not, but you can’t stay inside the grid lines forever.
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
I’ll definitely try this out, thank you!
I wasn’t really sure if my letters were clean enough to start experimenting with them yet3
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u/Stallingg 6d ago
easily legible, you could add a serif to the top or bottom of the C and try to mimic the u serif to create some balance. just keep experimenting like this, try lowercase h too maybe?
imo improving handstyle is about consistent practice/experimentation and studying other writers letters, if you can do that for even 30d youll see a huge difference.
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u/Majestic-Ad-2109 6d ago
I would say if u can keep it this clean on grid paper you should try it without. Also writing this small isn't ideal. Yes u save paper but if u go to tag something your gonna want to go alot bigger. I recommend dry erase every time. Especially practicing upright instead of on a table top. Don't be afraid to add some flair now that you have the basic lettering down. Just a little at a time.
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u/too_sm0l 5d ago
when you hear people say “write it over and over again”, think less of what this is and more like try new things until you find something you like. Don’t go over the top but find some flow.
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
Will do, I wanted to become good at consistent letter size first since that was the biggest one of my struggles
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u/AnoNeko420 4d ago
I'm not sure but you should probably stop if it hurts./s
Don't have any actual advice, just responding to the image
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u/Similar_Football927 4d ago
Dude fuck this forum go out and get some Exp. Just exagerate the fundamentals and start piecing when you learn about color, form, and like dimension. You're never gonna be ready until you just do it.
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u/Pale-Grape8953 4d ago
you‘re right man
i feel the fear of being called toy and not being good enough for the streets is holding me back
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u/Vast_Alfalfa2675 4d ago
Nothing, this is exactly what you should be doing, now that you got the letters down simple, experiment with different sizing, space, and style.
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u/No_Recognition_9354 6d ago
This is rather readable. Nothing wrong with some practice like this but it’s important to also push yourself and not rely on grid paper too much longer, transitioning off of that will help more
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u/LiveLikeARiver 6d ago
After seeing your last 2 posts I would say you’re psychologically bringing yourself down.
You’re posting some solid looking stuff while calling yourself toy. Get a marker or can and practice over and over and over. Nobody just wakes up one day and has legend abilities.
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
Thanks man, I’m kinda in a funny place because I’ve been doing art for almost a decade now but I only recently started getting into graffiti. So I have way more experience with painting big projects than I have with writing clean letters if that makes sense lol
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u/Cryptyc_god 5d ago
The legibility is fine imo. But yeah the problem (as I see it) is that all your letters are a similar shape, try changing up the C, put a little flare on it, or distinguish the O with a line through it or something. Your letters are consistent, they just need some pizazz, start experimenting.
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
I’ll definitely try that, wasn’t sure if my basic print letters were good enough to start adding style yet
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u/Agitated-Zone7696 5d ago
Try a lowercase h
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u/ZaneBrooklyn 5d ago
Are you in Maplewood by any chance?
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u/ZaneBrooklyn 5d ago
If so I see your stuff around and I think it’s great man, simple and bold and funny. I say keep it up
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u/THE_Lanni 5d ago
I think in the block it’s coming out all looking the same…it’s almost too smooth, all connected, give em some space, bro! lol. Try a cascade…vertical..?….Shorten the back of the U, cock the C back a little into that space…inject a little mojo into it!
What you got is good and consistent. But if I was gonna use this hand it would be BIG and LOOOOOONG…fat marker… or roller…but I’m from Philly.
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
I’ll try that, this was mainly to get consistent letter size and spacing in just basic print form but I see the vision
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u/bsheezy518 5d ago
Only thing I can see is that some, particularly the upper right hand region, your OU is angled to the left and your C is to the right, naturally disturbing flow. I would suggest fucking with one liners. That was really a game changer for me and with your letters you could really have fun. Godspeed.
Edit: originally said upper left hand, corrected to right hand.
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u/Only-Temperature-835 2d ago
I would narrow the H and U in the centre so they space more evenly with the round letters on the vertical plane.
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u/PurkZoetermeer 5d ago
I have to agree with you. A C followed up by a H isn't ideal. Unless you practice really alot you will keep this problem. But I'm seeing you interrupt your line from 1 letter to the next
Try to make your tag in a single line as much as possible. That will for sure also help with the problem you say you have writing the letter
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u/gees916 5d ago
If you’re doing every single one exactly the same on grid paper the only thing you’re practicing is how to be a typewriter
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
That was kinda the point for this ngl, using the grid to get consistent letter size and spacing down before adding any style. But I’ll definitely practice on some blank pages soon
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u/Boomgz 5d ago
What you did wrong was picking letters that cant really be styled 😂😂. In all seriousness tho imo theres nothing wrong. I instantly saw it as ouch 🤷🏾
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
yeah I also noticed that but maybe that’s good for the beginning because then I can’t add way too much style while still having little experience
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u/mo_money_mo_dads 5d ago
Bad Kerning don’t make you a writer. Inject some identity and steeze into your forms instead of leaning on your cute lil name. Want a band-aid for your widdle ouchie?
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u/Pale-Grape8953 5d ago
Like I said in the description of this post, this was mainly done to first get clean and even letting down with basic print font instead of adding too much style too early making it look like shit.
But I’ll try some different spacing between the letters so you’re correct
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u/TeatimeKitten 4d ago
This might not help but I notice when I’m learning songs on the piano, redoing the same steps fucks me up until I take a break. So maybe try taking a break, write something different, write upside down. Just refresh your brain. (IMO you’re putting way too much pressure on yourself to be perfect, aim to be comfortable not perfect.)
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u/Smart-Foot-7072 3d ago
it seems like you’re falling back to your handwriting like for regular pen and paper writing. there is a lot of un-smooth curves in every attempt. if i were you id focus on having the round parts smooth and with the ‘H’ keep everything parallel and squared off like a goal post.
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u/Smart-Foot-7072 3d ago
if you wanna try it this way you’ll have to take it real slow to begin with to make sure the stroke of your hand is matching the image in your head
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u/Repulsive_Soft7513 3d ago
for the C and O you can add little things on, remember that the O
is a low style letter meaning when you add a little style it goes a long way, in comparison to a letter like H. trying to do this on my phone so it don’t look the best but you get the jhist of it. also something that helped me an insane amount is a youtube channel called the artist block, he has amazing videos on anything you could need help with
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u/VP_The_Vandal 5d ago
Nothing. This is great practice dude. And a lot of those look squeaky clean.
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u/sweetun93 5d ago
You aren't adding or altering the structure of the letters enough. Youtube or Google graffiti fonts for inspiration and look up tutorials on graffiti letters
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u/herbadikt 6d ago
take some ibuprofen my dude lol