How long did it take you to get where you are right now?

[aeroteooper149]

Well how long did it take you to get your throwies,pieces,scribs down?

Are you satisfied with what you have right now?


I know i am nowhere near as good as i can and will be...
So what about you guys?
How long did it take for each thing.

[KITTENS]

dont worry, your a newjack until further notice. its not about what your name looks like when you write it on things. its about where you write it, how much, and your respect for the game.
fuck what other people say, or what it looks like.
if you have respect it will look right and people will always run their mouths.

when i got into bombing i saw all of these really new wave/ computeree/ complex tags that didnt make sense and I thought they were so cool, now I look back on flicks from then and I dont see any of those dudes getting up anymore and they sported their ignorance with every tag.
dont be them.

when you get into graff your going to be all about writers like DAIM and REVOK and TOTEM and RIME and all these really stylized writers doing something super specific and I tried to imitate them. Dudes that schooled me were telling me why DONDI and KADISM and COPE were so fresh and I just didnt get it.
Now im not saying ANYTHING bad about DAIM, REVOK, TOTEM, RIME, those dudes are obviosly all really amazing super vets with incredible abilities that deserve all the praise they get, but now I also understand why people like DONDI, KAD, and COPE also fit into the same category.
Until you understand why thats true, you wont be good.
My favorite writers are Twist, Revs, Kegr and Jurne.
Check them out.

[aeroteooper149]

dont worry, your a newjack until further notice. its not about what your name looks like when you write it on things. its about where you write it, how much, and your respect for the game.
fuck what other people say, or what it looks like.
if you have respect it will look right and people will always run their mouths.

when i got into bombing i saw all of these really new wave/ computeree/ complex tags that didnt make sense and I thought they were so cool, now I look back on flicks from then and I dont see any of those dudes getting up anymore and they sported their ignorance with every tag.
dont be them.

when you get into graff your going to be all about writers like DAIM and REVOK and TOTEM and RIME and all these really stylized writers doing something super specific and I tried to imitate them. Dudes that schooled me were telling me why DONDI and KADISM and COPE were so fresh and I just didnt get it.
Now im not saying ANYTHING bad about DAIM, REVOK, TOTEM, RIME, those dudes are obviosly all really amazing super vets with incredible abilities that deserve all the praise they get, but now I also understand why people like DONDI, KAD, and COPE also fit into the same category.
Until you understand why thats true, you wont be good.
My favorite writers are Twist, Revs, Kegr and Jurne.
Check them out.

You sound like you respect the game and know whats up and i think i get what your trying to say...
have respect for the game,dont focus on on whats no going to get you further.And stay up.
Yeah i have alot of shit to learn but i think it'll work out in the end.
Im a go check out those writers and see whats up.
peace.

[Swindle]

good thread so far

[GREYRATTLERS]

It took me 10 years. 3 years of toy pieces, 3 years of no pieces just insides on the way to work, 3 more years of about 40 peices 12 panels and 1 year of consistantly painting and thinking what the fuck I've had this word ten years and im still terrible, I could be so much better. Now im too old to do graffiti but I can't stop! ?????????

[injury]

I am from a city and an area that doesn't have an enormous scene. So when I began, it was initially hard to find much of anything to look up to, and easy to fall off. A lot of kids I started with aren't doing this anymore, and they have their reasons. I am only somewhat satisfied with where I am right now. I have lived in 3 significantly different areas in the last 4 years and hopefully have taken a little bit from each place. Additionally, I'm still learning a lot about my own home scene...

I am decidedly still a new jack, and it really isn't that bad. Accept that there are those out there whose graff resumes are long and extensive... I know I have. Don't go over people unless you know about them.. half the step to that is running into local heads who will help you out. Learn your local scene and stay off the internet. Having 3800 posts makes that a moot point, but really; the internet won't help you nearly as much as seeing anything in real life. I use the internet to look at pics, post pics, and bullshit with other people in Channel Zero.. never really went to a website to learn style.

I learn style by keeping a book and practicing; I've been drawing graff for close to 10 years (holy shit), painting for less than half of that. Being a perfectionist I would argue stay in your book. Opinion: Coming out and being decent from the start is far more satisfying than getting up hard as shit and being awful. That's me though.

The Internet is dope cause you can see what heads in Norway or Texas or Ohio are doing from the comfort of your chair. But it shouldn't be a guide for style. Half the kids preaching on the Web giving you advice or preaching (as I am now...) are toys themselves. You never know who's behind the screen... it's a gift and a curse. Plus internet babies are easy as shit to spot. It's the kid who's rocking a "Philly hand" in Ann Arbor, or the dude whose stuff looks just like Rime even though he's from Evanston, Ill. If you totally ignore your local scene, dudes will clown you. You have to have some heritage... respect where you're from. Don't be corny either... hard for me to say that writing an essay on a graff website, but be yourself.

Things are changing fast. The traditional definition of letter styles, graffiti, and everything is changing. Even as someone who's still a lightweight in the game I can see this. You can still find heads that paint exclusively with Rusto and stock tips, and you can find kids that are sponsored and paint planetary nebulas on legal walls. It's all out there.. like a salad bar. Pick what you want, because there's little chance you'll be able to do it all.

Am I encouraging you to not be well-rounded? No. If you can follow the progression from tags to throws to pieces to planetary nebulas, so be it. I don't think I can.. I have a life outside graff too believe it or not.. I'm not gonna make a living off this shit. It;s for fun. That's what it comes down too. If it ain't fun you're doing it wrong.

I oughta get back to work.

[aeroteooper149]

wow you guys have been writing for along time..
Good advice..
Inspiring.

[liying250]

zhang47 (http://zhang47.edublogs.org/2009/08/28/victory-or-defeat-on-the-sub/)zhang139 (http://zhang139.edublogs.org/2009/06/20/hello-world/)zhang174 (http://zhang174.edublogs.org/2009/08/13/ancient-china-by/)zhang93 (http://zhang93.edublogs.org/2009/10/12/so-small/)zhang52 (http://zhang52.edublogs.org/2009/09/18/even-hungry-meal-your-health-there-is-need-to-do/)

[Schnitzel]

11 years and still not even completely happy with even one piece I've done...
come close.

the last two years (since Aug 07) have been good
took me nine years to fill one 300 slot photo album and since then I've filled another 300 pics
literally today I put the last shot in..

keep at it.
as Upski said "you suck until further notice"
and I still haven't gotten my notice

[pedoe]

not very far. im pretty new and dont get too much recognition. i have my letter structure down and i know how to bust a decent tag and throw. itll be a while before im satisfied with what i can do..ive been addicted to this shit for four years now.

[swag1]

I gotta question.... is it better to practice with you'r name? Or to practice doing other people's names, like doing a friend's name in a piece?

[pedoe]

yours.

[Fiendish]

Too long.

[Decyferon]

I started getting interested in graf when i was in secondary school so probably 1989, played around sketching stuff but knew no one else into that stuff, then in the late 90s I knew a few writers and focused on it a bit more, but never sketched just got paint and painted , did that for a couple of years then stopped about 2000.

Picked up a sketch book back at the end of 2007 and started focusing on sketching and working at letter structure, I am sometimes happy with my sketches but I fucking suck at painting and wanna focus more on that for the next year.

As for your name or others, I like doing exchanges as sometimes playing with different letters gives you ideas for your own.

I'm not hte greatest at throws but am working at it, I prefer pieces but wanna get more accomplished at all aspects of graf.

[..LAZRS...]

I'm newish. I been writing on and off since 12 years old im 21 now. I took a break for like 6 years, just the past 2 years I've gotten back into it seriously. I got fortunate enough that some of the older guys in my area have taken me in and are bringing me up the right way, and like everyone else has said respect the game and your local scene.

The internet has made it so easy to get good now, you can come on here and read threads where writers tell you the pros and cons of all the paint, the markers, caps, whatever. Use it to your advantage, but take everything with a grain of salt, try it yourself.

Im happy with where im at now, but being happy with it and being good are two different things. I feel like I will always try to push my styles, I see alot of guys out who do the same piece over and over and over, and I think well 'yea thats tight, but why not try something new'. I mean if your happy with it, then im happy with it, but im all about progression.

I used to think I had a good handstyle, then one night I went over to an old local heads house and had some beers and we were sketching and looking at his old photo albums, then we just drew and drank and bs'd all night. He pretty much showed me why my handstyle wasnt so good, the flow etc etc. Hands are like the easiest thing to get up good cus you can just fill up notebook after notebook and it takes like no time at all.....wow im rambling.

Toy/new status lasts forever, but who cares. theres a difference in a guy who is a toy, and a writer who has toy graff. I mean your pieces might not be up to snuff yet, but if you got respect and your cool and you love it then your down, your style will come in time. Graff is one of those things that unless you just plain dont want to, you will get better, it happens.

[Marztek23]

10 yrs...and i still suck..being good is so over rated anyways:umm:

[ephect]

2 years and im shity

[Rustofills]

a long time.

[.hopeless.]

ive been writing two years now.im still not very good but ive progressed a whole lot in those years.ive been into the graffiti scene since 5th grade...not really doing it but on the sideline,droppin a few tags and shitty bombs here and there,not much tho.i probably did maybe 8 or 9 bombs and 50 tags in that time until 9th grade when i met this guy from texas who got me really into it.now im in 11th.ive been painting every day for the last 3 months and hittin the books hard and i got my structure down and starting to get ahold on my can control..i think in a year ill actually be doing solid straights and hopefully start doing more intricate things.but idk only time will tell.not that my advice means much but the best thing i can say is just keep at it and keep hittin the books and pushing yourself.if you dont step outta your comfort zone from time to time and try new things how can you expect to ever progress?? whatever tho..

[iloveboxcars]

started when i was real young. doing random shit. got real serious about 10 years ago. stayed real serious until about a year ago. still doing it but a lot less serious. im not on a mission every night like i used to be.

i wouldnt say im happy with where im at, but im not really concerned with it at the moment.

[Vapid]

ive been writing since i was like 11 - 12 and im about to turn 16 next month.
This year i finally got out of the toy stage of just like scribbling shit and thinking im ill. I look back on that shit and i laugh. Im not a pro but im understanding shit so much more now that i focus on it.

[MOOGLE?]

started in 91 and never really stopped......

but my handstyles i've never had a style i liked or did well

[smellycheese]

be happy with what you do even if it looks like shit, learn from your mistakes. have fun with it most of all. never become content with your work and always strive to be better. like pretty much everyone else thats already posted, i've got years under my belt and im still not where i want to be. keep grinding.

[!@#$%]

well, i started payin attention in 1993 and painting pieces in 1996, so it's taken me 13 years to get to this point.
i am happy with a lot of the stuff i do, but in my opinion, people in general should always be striving for improvement. there is always room to learn more or change things or try something new.

[Solus]

as Upski said "you suck until further notice"
and I still haven't gotten my notice

thats a sweet way to look at it

[suburbanhell]

well, people in general should always be striving for improvement. there is always room to learn more or change things or try something new.

true stories

[pedoe]

the priority for any beginning writer should be their letter structure. without that, theyre shit.

[T_R_O_N]

Ever since i got into graff, every old head i met placed a significant importance on having a hand... it has baffled me for years how one can paint some next level seizure inducing shit but then you see chicken scratch beside it.

i haven't been painting for too long, but that has been the one tidbit of advice that has stuck with me the most..you gotta have hands, if you don't have hands that dope piece means nothing quite frankly; its like knowing how to play stairway to heaven, but not having any concept of basic scales and chords. (Cool,yes, however knowing the basics would make one much more powerful)

[. . .]

I started noticing graffiti in elementary school when i was 8 or 9 and started drawing it shortly there after... painted my first "piece" at a spot at 14 or 15. Proceeded to suck horribly without direction until 17 when i started to get schooled by some other kids in the scene... it's been almost 10 years since then. All I can say is to tag... you better have a good tag because all the colors and clean lines in the world don't mean shit if it doesn't have some soul behind it. Commit and recommit... this is an infinite game.

[. . .]

If nothing else this is a tool for you to find yourself and clear your own path... if you don't buy in you can never sell out.

[Mobbin_Mobster]

i just drove here and now im about to drive some where else because this thread is weird./

[ANGELDUST]

where the fuck are we?

[DPMS556]

i haven't progresses in 20 years. i still suck ! the end

[yonis]

for me it's been almost 4 years. i painted a lot in the beginning, now i just practice until i will feel comfortable going out and showing what i will have

[P3ZS]

you know all these people sayin i been writin for ten years and i still suck. what defines the difference between good and bad?? this isnt some excuse for not beinthe greatest graff writer ever. but i mean honestly. id say half of what graffiti is about has nothing to do with letter structure or shit like that. its respect for the game. graffiti should be an artistic method of expressing yourself. i know some people are better than others but honestly i think the only people who can truly suck after putting effort into graff for at least a year or twois blind people and conceded toy bitches. i mean im still in my damn blackbook bout to start usin paint this weekend. but it doesnt take a genius to have an understanding of graff culture

[investwit.thabest]

what defines the difference between good and bad??

I'm gonna go with style, creativity, use of color, quantity. Yep, maybe more, but that's kinda the basics...

[JustHereForTheNight]

on and off for years. I start getting good, stop for a while, get rusty, start again, get good, stop, repeat

[ArmOner]

Have been into graff since i was 12, 17 now, but did'nt really start to make progress untill like 14months ago. Now im still faily crap but i feel that i develop really quick since i started to take it serius :)

[redeyedanimal]

i've been nonstop for 3 years, hit the streets hard way before i should have and payed for it. I just got a throw that i think is worthy of being on the streets again after a 2 year vacation from real graffiti, and my pieces have improved greatly in the last year or so.
I read somewhere "no writer is truly satisfied with their style, or else they wouldn't ever change anything."
This shit is what you make it, though. Everybody's got their own story.

[!@#$%]

you know all these people sayin i been writin for ten years and i still suck. what defines the difference between good and bad?? this isnt some excuse for not beinthe greatest graff writer ever. but i mean honestly. id say half of what graffiti is about has nothing to do with letter structure or shit like that. its respect for the game. graffiti should be an artistic method of expressing yourself. i know some people are better than others but honestly i think the only people who can truly suck after putting effort into graff for at least a year or twois blind people and conceded toy bitches. i mean im still in my damn blackbook bout to start usin paint this weekend. but it doesnt take a genius to have an understanding of graff culture

understanding the culture,
even understanding good letter structure, good color combinations, and good fonts,
will not give you skill.
skill comes from practice and talent and can be learned over time with discipline
some people it takes no time at all, like Pose. but how many people are that good when they start?
about 0.01%

you'll learn as you go on as well, plenty of people do not respect anything.
we're writers who deface people's property. unfortunately respect often has little or nothing to do with it.

[P3ZS]

yeah idk what i was thinking exactly when posting that.lol. sometimes i trail on about nothing and make hollow points. im stupid. :/

[ivanputski]

17 years and not where i want to be... but its more about enjoying the process and spending a day with friends than it is doing a "perfect" piece... this shit is supposed to be fun, not stress!

[B40-8]

Dont lie, most of your pieces are perfect anyway

[B40-8]

Dont lie, most of your pieces are perfect anyway


For the record ivanputski, im totally being serious, your pieces are always on point, fucking nice stuff.

[DAT-DEWD-DIERWUN]

yo it Took me a Gewd minute To Get mY ish Dwn u noe Ive ben doin ExtErIoR DecoRAtin for Some Tyme now

ThEre is AlwayZ rOoM WITh eVerYOne ...No 1 Can Say That ThEy R PeRfEcT Cuz DeY aLl have thEre Dayz ...But I tRy 2 KeeP @ it EvEry DAy

[Cult 50]

2 years, im toy, getting better everyday, lots of practice. end of story.

[n8galicia]

yo it Took me a Gewd minute To Get mY ish Dwn u noe Ive ben doin ExtErIoR DecoRAtin for Some Tyme now

ThEre is AlwayZ rOoM WITh eVerYOne ...No 1 Can Say That ThEy R PeRfEcT Cuz DeY aLl have thEre Dayz ...But I tRy 2 KeeP @ it EvEry DAy

you trollin' or do you actually type like that?