Graffiti Alphabet Printables 01!

History of Graffiti

by Metal Man Ed

To the general population the word "Graffiti" conjures up visions of names and symbols illegally scrawled on walls but to others it is considered a beautiful and overlooked art form.

An art form that even despite its general dislike has found its way into mainstream America with huge corporations using it in their products as well as their advertising to target America's youths as potential customers. It's constantly being shown in fine art galleries across the world and has come a long way from its 1st century roots where symbols and drawings were carved into rocks as a form of communication.

Although it's hard to pinpoint how modern day graffiti started, the general consensus is that it started in the 1940's during World War II with the phrase "KILROY WAS HERE" by a man named James J. Kilroy who worked as a ship inspector for Bethlehem Steel in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Kilroy was in charge of inspecting rivets to make sure they were put in correctly and would write his name, JJ Kilroy, next to them in chalk when he was completed. The workers would get paid by how many rivets they would install and soon Kilroy realized that he would be checking some of the same rivets twice because workers would wipe away the chalk markings to get paid for more then they had really installed. It was as this time that Kilroy switched over to using a yellow crayon because it was much harder to get off then the chalk was.
Eventually these ships made it into military service overseas at which time servicemen began to notice the markings and some started writing "KILROY WAS HERE" everywhere they went. Somewhere along the line someone added a little big nosed character to the words and the legend of KILROY was born.

In the late 1960's a young man named Darryl McCray from Philadelphia became the first "tagger" on record. He wrote his nickname CORNBREAD all over his neighborhood in hopes of gaining the attention of a girl whom he liked at the time. The addiction of writing his name all over the city became a full time job for CORNBREAD and soon after starting his rampage to write his name everywhere he teamed up with KOOL EARL and the first graffiti "tag team" was born.
CORNBREAD is credited as the first graffiti writer to use a crown with his tag as well as the first writer ever to tag on an airplane, a feat which he accomplished when he tagged on the outside of the Jackson 5's airplane when they were on tour in Philadelphia...

Graffiti Creator Writing Practice

Learn the feel of how graffiti lettering are created.

Urban art alphabets have distinct shapes and "flow". Practice tracing and painting their letter patterns. Feel the rhythm, then create your own graffiti fonts.

Round Up Graffiti Supplies:
Markers (Wide-Tip) - Spray Paint - Poster Board (Newspaper or Kraft Paper) - Plastic Drop Cloth

Practice Tracing A Graffiti Letter:

1. Printout 3 or 4 sheets of the letter
2. Write - Trace over the letter with wide-tip markers

Practice Spray Painting A Graffiti Letter (get permission first):

1. Hang a painter's plastic drop cloth on an easel, or a wall, or between two poles
2. Pin or tape a graffiti alphabet to a poster board, newspaper, or kraft paper to the drop cloth
3. Practice tracing the letters with non-toxic spray paint (go outdoors)

Study two or three similar styles of graffiti writing then draw your own.

See How To Print Out 8x10 Coloring Pages...