Graffiti characters: how to draw them next to your letters

Look at a big graffiti wall and next to the letters you will often see a figure: a kid in a cap holding a can, a grinning face, a monster, a robot. These are graffiti characters. They give a piece personality, tell a small story and balance the composition, so the letters do not have to carry everything alone.

Where graffiti characters come from

Characters entered graffiti early, in 1970s New York, borrowed from comics and cartoons. The underground comic artist Vaughn Bodé had a huge influence: his round-eyed lizards and big-footed figures were copied on trains for years. Later the b-boy figure took over: baggy clothes, sneakers, a cap, a can or a microphone. Today characters range from simple cartoons to almost realistic portraits painted with spray.

What a character does in a piece

• Balance. A figure on the left or right closes the composition.
• Story. A character can point at the letters, hold the can, react to the word.
• Identity. Some writers are known for one recurring character, the way others are known for their tag.

How to draw an easy graffiti character

1. Start with simple shapes. A circle for the head, an oval or bean for the body. Exaggerate: graffiti characters usually have big heads, big hands and big shoes.
2. Find the pose. Draw a stick figure line through the body first. A slight lean or twist makes the character feel alive. Straight and symmetrical looks stiff.
3. Add the face. Big eyes, a strong eyebrow line and a clear expression. One expression per character: confident, angry, surprised, laughing.
4. Dress it. Cap, hoodie, sneakers, gloves. Simple shapes, thick folds.
5. Hands last. Hands are hard. Cartoon hands with three or four fat fingers are perfectly fine in graffiti.
6. Outline. A thick outer line, thinner inner lines. The same logic as letters.
7. Colour. Use the palette of the letters next to it so the character and the word belong together. Add one shadow side and a few highlights.

Tips that make characters look like graffiti

• Exaggerate. Proportions that would be wrong in realism are right here.
• Keep the line confident. One clean stroke beats ten sketchy ones.
• Use the same light as the letters. If the shines on the letters are top left, the light on the character comes from top left too.
• Connect it to the word. A hand on a letter, a foot over the 3D block, an arrow that ends at the character.

Practise on paper first

Characters are drawn in a blackbook long before they reach a wall. Fill pages with heads only, then poses only, then hands only. When one figure starts to feel like yours, combine it with your letters. If you are new to lettering, begin with the beginner's guide to drawing graffiti and bubble letters.

From wall to canvas

Characters are often the first thing people outside graffiti connect with, which is why they move so easily into prints, canvases and illustration. Read more about that move in graffiti on canvas, or see our drawings and works on paper.

FAQ

Do I need to draw characters to be a graffiti writer?
No. Many writers only paint letters. Characters are an addition, not a requirement.

What is the classic graffiti character?
The b-boy: a cartoon figure in a cap and sneakers, often holding a spray can.

How do I make my character original?
Draw from life and from your own interests, not only from other writers. Give it one feature that is always the same: a hat, a mask, a shape of the eyes.

What markers are best for drawing graffiti characters?
A fine black liner for outlines and alcohol or paint markers for colour. The same tools you use for letters.