Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tipping, and I'm really looking forward to learning with you today about Street Art Through Digital and New Media.

We're going to do lots of thinking, talking and exploring together in this lesson.

So, shall we get started? Let's go.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to design and sketch your own graffiti style letters using shape, colour and shadow to create bold, expressive lettering.

Before we start, I would like to introduce you to some keywords.

We'll be using these keywords during the lesson, so it might be a good idea to write these words down.

The keywords we'll be using today are graffiti, typography, letter style, tag, outline.

I'm going to say those again, and I would like you to repeat them after me.

Graffiti, typography, letter style, tag, outline.

Good job.

Now let's think in more detail about what these keywords mean by taking a look at their definitions.

Graffiti refers to writing or images that have been sprayed, stencilled, painted, scratched, or drawn on a public space.

Typography is the art and technique of arranging letters and text to make written language visually appealing.

Letter style is the overall appearance of a letter, such as block, bubble or wildstyle.

A tag is a stylized signature or nickname used by graffiti artists to mark their work.

And an outline is the bold line that surrounds graffiti letters, making them stand out.

Pause the video here to make a note of these keywords, and when you're ready to continue, press Play.

These are the learning cycles that we'll be working through together in today's lesson: graffiti and lettering styles, and creating your own graffiti name tag.

In this first learning cycle, we're going to explore graffiti and lettering styles.

Street art and graffiti can be found in many urban areas and public spaces around the world.

You can see a street art and graffiti mural here.

Street art includes graffiti, murals and other forms of public art.

It often uses bold colours and expressive designs to communicate messages or showcase creativity.

Graffiti is often viewed as rebellious, but it's also a powerful form of artistic expression.

It's often used to communicate personal, political or social messages through text and visuals.

You can see a different example there of a street art and graffiti mural.

Graffiti is known for its vibrant colours, bold lettering styles and dynamic shapes.

Graffiti artists often use tags, stylized letters and symbols to make their art stand out.

You can see this section here of a graffiti tag that's used very bold colours.

While graffiti can sometimes include visual pictures, the focus is often on writing and letter styles.

Sometimes graffiti letters can be abstract or hard to read.

However, some focus on readability and clarity.

It is up to the artist to decide on their tag and letter styles.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the main purpose of street art? To decorate private spaces, to fill empty walls with colour, to create expressive designs and communicate messages? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to think and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that to create expressive designs and communicate messages, you're absolutely right.

That's the main purpose of street art.

Typography refers to the art and technique of arranging letters and text to make written language visually appealing.

Graffiti is both a form of street art and typography.

Graffiti letters are stylized artistic renditions of text.

They can be bold, flowing or even abstract.

Take a look at this example in the middle here.

Depending on the letter style used, graffiti letters may be filled with bright colours, shadows and extra details to enhance their impact.

There are many different types of graffiti lettering, including bubble letters, which are rounded and inflated, block letters that are bold and square shaped and wildstyle, which are quite complex and abstract.

So take a look at each of these different types of graffiti lettering.

Which one draws your attention? Which one do you like the look of the most? Well, each letter style brings a unique look to the text.

Bubble letters are rounded and inflated, giving a soft, friendly appearance.

And they are easy to draw and can be enhanced with shadows and fills.

So if I have a go now at sketching a bubble letter, I've had a go here at the letter A.

You can see that I've kept it soft and rounded.

So why don't you pause the video here and have a go at sketching a bubble letter? And press Play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, Andeep says, "Bubble letters are fun to draw because of their curvy shapes." How did you find it? Did you enjoy drawing those curvy shapes? Well, let's take a look at block letters now.

They're strong, bold and easy to read.

They often use sharp lines and angles, making them an effective choice for creating impactful graffiti pieces.

So have a go now at sketching a block letter.

I've used the letter A again, and this time I'm keeping my edges sharp and those lines straight.

So have a go now at sketching a block letter.

Pause the video and give yourself enough time and Press play when you're ready to continue.

How did that go? Well, Laura said she found it easier to draw block letters by only using straight lines.

How did you find it? Was it easier? What letter did you choose? Now, wildstyle graffiti letters are more complex and abstract, featuring intricate designs and overlapping shapes.

Because of these creative details, they can be more challenging but rewarding to create.

So have a good look there that A, B and C.

Can you see how the designs are a little bit more intricate and overlapping? So if I was to have a go now at sketching a wildstyle letter, having a go at the letter C.

So slightly more complex and abstract to do.

Why don't you have a go? Pause the video here and sketch a wildstyle letter, and press Play when you are ready to continue.

What did you think? How did you find the wildstyle letter? Well, Jun says, "I like the freedom and expressive quality of wildstyle letters." Did you agree or did you prefer the block or the curvy soft letters? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

Typography refers to the type of paint used in graffiti, the study of street art colours, the style and arrangement of letters in writing? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that typography refers to the style and arrangement of letters in writing, you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our first learning task.

I'd like you to choose two to three graffiti letter styles, for example, block, bubble and wildstyle, and practise sketching letters for each of them.

Experiment and embellish your letters by adding shapes, line thickness, extra graphics, some colour, outlines or highlights.

So pause the video here and give yourself enough time to have a go at practising those letters, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

How did you find that? Well, let's take a look at these examples here.

So we've got these two, we've got a blue A and we've got that pink A there.

In these examples, the A is drawn first of all in block letter style, and then the second one is in bubble letter style.

You can see some extra graphics and highlights have been added to both and a thick outline to the block letter to create an impactful design.

You see that black going around the blue.

So well done for having a practising your letters and well done for completing that learning task.

This now brings us to the second part of our lesson, we're going to be creating your own graffiti name tag.

A tag is a stylized signature or nickname for an artist.

Tags are made up of multiple letters which are connected by their letter style.

Some street artists specialise in the art of graffiti tags, lettering and typography to create complex and dynamic letter styles.

Artists working in this way include Futura, RETNA and DONDI.

Discuss with a partner elements you might include in your own graffiti name tag design.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time for that discussion, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? What kind of elements are you going to include in your graffiti name tag? Andeep says, "I love the use of bold colours and dynamic wildstyle letters.

In my tag design, I will use blended, vibrant colours and practise sketching intricate letter shapes." Laura says, "I like how highlights and shadows can be used on letters to make them look more three-dimensional.

I'll use bubble letters and carefully place these elements." What were you going to do, anything similar to Andeep and Laura? Or maybe you'll take one or two of their ideas.

When designing graffiti letters, focus on the shape, rounded or angular forms. The outline, they're gonna be thick lines around the letters.

The fill, what's the colour going to be inside the letters? And the shadow, are you going to add shadows to create that depth? Now start with a basic sketch of any letter shape.

So if we take this letter A here, and then you can add straight line bars for a block style letter, or you could add curvy rounded lines for a bubble letter style.

And then you can erase any unwanted lines to tidy up your letter design.

But that basic sketch of a letter first helps you to work out where you're going to put either your straight lines or your curvy lines.

Now try adding a bold outline around the letter.

So like this first A, the block letter style, I can see you've added a really thick blue outline, or on the bubble curvy writing, we've got this thick pink outline.

Then fill this outline with a bold colour for an impactful design.

What would you choose? What would you fill the one with the blue outline or the one with the pink outline? I think with the pink I might go for a bright orange.

Now you could also add shadows or highlights for extra dimension or embellish it with other details.

Can you see those different details there and the embellishments in each of these letter designs? Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is a tag in graffiti? Is it a stylized signature or nickname used by the artist, a complex mural painted on a wall, or a type of stencil used for graffiti? Pause the video here and have a discussion with your partner and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that a tag in graffiti is a stylized signature or nickname used by the artist, you're absolutely right, well done.

Now continue the process of designing your name tag by sketching your letters and gradually building them up in layers.

You can see this artist here is practising their graffiti tag in a sketchbook.

First sketch the basic letters, leaving space between to build them into a block, bubble or wildstyle letter style.

So can you see here if I take the word sketch in basic letters and then I sketch around it in the type of letters I'd like to use, whether that's block, bubble or wildstyle, and then erased the inside of those basic letters.

Now, you might also sketch outlines and shapes at this stage, but try to focus on getting the basic structure down first.

Next, you can add colours or pencil shading.

So can you see on this word sketch, we've got that darker orange at the bottom and the lighter orange towards the top, and some highlights added there? Think about how you might bring them to life with shadows and highlights, because this will help them look more three-dimensional.

So can you see the highlights there in the white? And then we've got the shadows in the black darker sections.

You can personalise your graffiti tag by adding symbols, graphics and details.

So can you see here we might add some arrows or some shapes or patterns and even some outlines.

Can you see here I've even included a star? And finally you could add some other details, maybe like an underline that goes underneath your tag.

You might also add an outline around the whole of your design to bring it together into one piece.

And you see how the black has gone all the way around this tag.

Once you're finished, remember to take a step back and look at your design.

Well done on designing your own graffiti tag.

Let's take a moment to pause and check our understanding.

What is the purpose of adding shadows to graffiti letters? Is it to make the letters harder to read, to blend the letters into the background, or to make the letters look more three-dimensional? Pause the video here and give yourself a moment to thin, and press Play when you're ready to continue.

What did you think? If you said that adding shadows to graffiti letters makes the letters look more three-dimensional, you're absolutely right, well done.

This brings us to our final learning task.

I'd like you to design a graffiti style tag of your name, a word or your initials on paper using pencils and colours.

Experiment with the expressive quality of your letter style through shapes, colours, layers, and adding elements.

For example, stars, drips, arrows, crowns.

And then outline your piece to help bring everything together.

Pause the video here and give yourself enough time to design your own graffiti style tag and press Play when you're ready to continue.

How did you find that? What kind of letter style did you go for? Well, in designing your own graffiti style tag, you might have experimented with different expressive qualities of letter style through those shapes, colours and layers.

Now, this wildstyle inspired graffiti tag of the word sketch brings together expressive shapes, warm colours.

It includes some highlights there in white and some shadows in the dark black on the inside of the letters.

Some graphic symbols like the arrow and the star, and it also has an outline around the outside in that thick black.

So well done for having a go at creating your own graffiti name tag.

Before we finish this lesson, let's summarise what we've learned about sketching and designing graffiti letters.

Graffiti letters use different shapes and letter styles to express creativity and convey messages.

Sketching the structure of a tag through different letters helps to create a balanced typographic piece.

Colour, shadows, shapes, and outlines can be used to enhance impact and make designs look more dynamic.

Thank you for joining me in this lesson today.

I hope to see you in the next one.

See you next time.