Reddit mentions: The best graffiti & street art books

Well drawing for me started out as a coping mechanism when I was a kid and still is for me today (especially these days). I had a lot of problems with depression and anxiety as a child coupled with a fairly ignorant father that didn't recognize these things as mental problems. I was forced to try to find a way to deal with hordes of feelings and emotions that as a mere child I was incapable of understanding and drawing helped me do that. Around the time I was about 13 or so some close friends of mine started drawing and where WAAAAY better than I was, so that pushed me to start working on things like technique and different styles. I really liked Dragonball Z at that age so I started drawing pictures I printed out from the internet regularly and started drawing in an anime style and eventually began coming up with my own characters, my friends were really good at drawing in anime styles so they taught me a lot about it.

When high school rolled around (I'll say sophomore year or so) I took basic art 1&2 but I never really did too much because the course material was SO rigid that it didn't interest me. Ms. Huelett (the art teacher) felt like I had a lot of talent and took me under her wing in a big way. She knew A LOT about art and helped me learn and meld multiple styles together in order for me to create my own. She taught me a lot about anatomy and how to draw people/characters in different poses, how to properly shadow characters and apply light sources to my pieces, creating expressions and applying drama through a characters poses, she poured as much knowledge into me as she could and I couldn't be more grateful for all she taught me.

I know it isn't much (you've also been given some great advice already I see, which is fantastic) but I'll give you a few links to some books that really helped me learn more about various styles and techniques (I still have most of these books and refer to them fairly often, even now)

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-sketching-environments-imagination/dp/1933492732/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954561&sr=8-9&keywords=how+to+draw

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Urban-Sketching-Location/dp/1592537251/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954800&sr=8-19&keywords=how+to+draw+graffiti

http://www.amazon.com/Street-Art-Doodle-Book-Outside/dp/1856696820/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954800&sr=8-28&keywords=how+to+draw+graffiti

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954902&sr=8-28&keywords=how+to+draw+books

http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Manga-Mark-Crilley-drawing-ebook/dp/B006WUD10S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954990&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+draw+manga

http://www.amazon.com/How-Draw-Manga-Bodies-Anatomy/dp/4766112385/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1404954990&sr=8-6&keywords=how+to+draw+manga

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Cutting-Edge-Anatomy-Reference-ebook/dp/B00G8ELT2K/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1404955084&sr=8-10&keywords=how+to+draw+comics

http://www.amazon.com/Draw-Comic-Book-Action-Garbett/dp/1440308136/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1404955084&sr=8-14&keywords=how+to+draw+comics

I think that's most of the books I've got, at the very least it'll give you some ideas to practice with and all of those books together isn't too bad of a price and it's a good way to get experience in the things you want to learn (I think) if you're not able to afford the classes you were suggested.

Good god this post is long as hell and I apologize for that, I'm just trying to be as helpful as I possibly can with what I know (call it a flaw)

I'll leave you with a few pieces of advice that help me out regularly and that I feel have gotten me to the level I'm at now (though I think I'm just ok at best truthfully)

1. Sketch whatever idea you have in your mind for something as fast as you can and just let your ideas flow through you. Don't give yourself time to say this part sucks I have to redo it, just go for it and you'll be surprised at what can come out of it.
   
   
2. Try to take inspiration from artists you admire but don't try to copy their style. What worked for me was incorporating my inspiration with various artists and merging them with my own ideas which eventually lead to me developing my own style(s)
   
   
3. Do your best to not look at your art as inferior to another persons artwork. Absolutely, have those people you look up to want to be like artistically and draw inspiration from, but do your best not to doubt yourself. It's YOUR artwork and YOUR ideas, the only person's opinions that matter are your own. If you're truly happy with what you've created and feel you've done the best you can then I promise SOMEONE out there WILL like your work as well, at least in my opinion.
   
   Sorry again for the book, I just hope I was at least a little bit helpful with the advice I was able to give and didn't come off as arrogant sounding or anything
   
   Best of luck and I can't wait to see what you do in the future :)
   
   

[Offer / Exchange]

Duration: Ongoing/depends on my stamp supply tbh (I'll edit this or let you know)

From Canada to Canada (always have stamps), US (pretty regularly have stamps), Worldwide (less often have stamps, see Postage Paid cards for WW).

For non-Canada users, comment if you're interested in something and I'll let you know if I can fulfill it right now, if not I will keep you on a list for when I get US/WW stamps (Sorry, I don't always have the $$ for them).

What I can send:

Postage paid (i.e. Worldwide! Would love to save these for non-Canada/US ppl especially, bc I don't buy int'l stamps often, so if you want one let me know!):

• 2 Superman postcards
  
  
• 6 Canadian photography postcards
  
  Postcards:
  
  
• Penguin Science Fiction set
  
  
• Postcards from Puffin set (Penguin's publisher for children's books)
  
  
• Urban Sketching set
  
  
• "Live The Life You Love" set (each card has a random saying/text)
  
  
• Adrian Tomine illustrations of New York
  
  
• Frida Kahlo postcards (from a booklet, perforated on one edge)
  
  
• The Art of Classic Comics: 100 Postcards from the Fabulous 1950s set
  
  Other:
  
  
• Blank note cards with various different covers (flowers, art, Monet paintings, a bicycle, some with "Hello" or "Thank You")
  
  
• Nice blank paper/envelopes if you just want a letter
  
  
• These Korean Molang stickers (cute fat rabbit)
  
  
• Hello Kitty small lenticular printed Valentine's, I can throw one of these in an envelope or with a card/letter if you want
  
  What I like sending:
  
  
• Any of the above you want to request
  
  
• I can write as little or as much as you want
  
  
• For any occasion, if you're sick, need cheering up, birthday, etc or just want some mail
  
  
• One-time thing or ongoing/surprise/random mail
  
  You're under no obligation, but if you want to make it an exchange I'm happy with any random card/mail, just ask for my address if you don't have it.

i've always loved watching the graffiti go by on trains, so i started looking more and more into it. my grandma paints murals for lots of people in their homes, restaurants, etc. and i can't really see a difference between a great mural and a well done commissioned piece on a wall outside other than most murals aren't using letters as a focal point.

there is quite a large difference between gang graffiti and most street art graffiti, the gang graffiti is usually there to mark territories and most street artists tend to avoid the areas where putting up a piece may end up getting them targeted by a gang.

A good resource is the book Graffiti World and the others that have similar covers, i've seen it in a few different libraries, there's a bunch of interviews with tons of different great artists. also, the documentaries "Exit Through the Gift Shop" and "Style Wars" provide great insight into the world of graffiti.

Wacom tablets are really great for their price. I'd highly recommend you a book about typography.
Jan Tschichold's a great designer: http://www.amazon.fr/Livre-typographie-Jan-Tschichold/dp/2904235817/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1396940439&sr=1-7&keywords=typographie

Or Chaumont international poster festival books (I'm from there, and really proud of this place !) http://www.amazon.fr/Chaumont-09-Festival-international-graphisme/dp/2350171744

Everything that /u/EMAGDNlM and /u/Wormy_____McSquirmey said is spot on and the best way to learn. Also, its interesting to see how graffiti writers have taken those exact same learning steps and created their own styles. I'd recommendFlip the Script checking out the book and the Youtube series that inspired it.

Also, the Instagram account Handstyler features some really interesting stuff.

The person in the picture is Thierry Guetta, aka Mr. Brainwash, who appears to be a real person.

Banksy also appears to be a real person who is very much in charge of all his endeavors, but he does have a crew to help him.

I just finished reading this book, which is worth it if you are really interested in Banksy's history and modus operandi: http://www.amazon.com/Banksy-The-Man-Behind-Wall-ebook/dp/B008RVASKQ

add all the books by edward tufte! and also semiology of graphics by jacques bertin, modern typography by kinross, elements of typographics tyle by bringhurst, man there's quite a lot of basics missing here :)
as others come to mind I'll add them here, unfortunately I don't have my books with me at the moment

EDIT: The two dataflow one two books are pretty interesting as well, Information graphics by Robert Harris

This book seems interesting.....

https://www.amazon.com/Graffiti-School-Student-Teacher-Manual/dp/0500290970

...been meaning to buy it and the oz prices are lower than last time I checked so will get it in a couple of weeks.

Ive only seen it mentioned in youtube videos and always favorably (from the pages Ive seen it looks great and should help you). Even Doke mentioned it.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIa6yIrYRJA

cool thanks dude

do you know if any of these books are any good?

https://www.amazon.ca/Graffiti-School-Student-Teachers-Manual/dp/0500290970

https://www.amazon.ca/Learn-Draw-Graffiti-Master-Piece-Essential/dp/0988777290

https://www.amazon.com/Why-Write-When-You-Can/dp/0990438155

> Do you want unions? Because this is how you get unions.

It has been tried. Here's a book about one attempt. It's a pretty decent read, definitely worth the 99 cents.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071RSCBM4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_yl0ozb7DHV5QY!

CRACKS! Finding Art Underfoot is a photobook of complex and compelling sidewalk cracks in and around LA, CA.

Robin Grossman began capturing these startlingly complex sidewalk cracks in 2015 and over the course of a year she collected over 30 photographs included in this coffee table book. In 2016, Robin had a successful gallery showing in Los Angeles of her photographs, mounted on frames with faux black cement borders. Most of those photographs are included in this book with a few new discoveries.

You'll be shocked to learn that these complex cracks are not altered, added to, or manipulated in any way. The photos are primarily in black and white to make the cracks stand out and to highlight these puzzling images created by Mother Earth and Father Time.

What is it you will see?

You will see everything: the dreadful and playful psyche on display with the literal and the surreal.

And let's not forget the monsters underfoot.

Does the act of framing these cracks define them or were they meant to be found and understood? What is being communicated? Do new images and new meanings appear in the cracks in repeated viewings or when the images are turned around? How will the viewer communicate what has been seen to others? And after repeated viewings, can these images be seen as just random cracks in cement ever again?

I have some calligraphy books that are written in german and pretty obscure so that I can't even find them on amazon but the main ones I'd recommend are called hand to type and flip the script (for graff).

this one is in fact the best one

there's also a whole book i might need to own

Not much of an answer, but I lucked into a used copy of this recently

http://www.amazon.com/Graffiti-Women-Street-Five-Continents/dp/0810957477

& there are some insightful interviews.

Oh! And this is older stuff, but you might find it interesting. http://www.amazon.com/NY-pier-34-javier-domingo/dp/1499394861

My dad has made a couple books on street art :) He's got some stuff as far back as the '80s. Let me know if you want to see some of the stuff inside.

http://www.amazon.fr/Graffiti-Claude-Abron/dp/2809903662/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324987175&sr=8-1

Found this short video of him:

https://youtu.be/LrPNMfwsa8s

Looks like he wrote a book too:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013XHSHBA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_GIOVCbQRVHNEC

Depending on the type of work you're doing (advertising/production/etc...) you should check out a variety of books that relate to typography, grid-based and non-grid-based layouts, and some "how to be creative" bullshit from your library. But specific books I would recommend include:

Guerilla Advertising

Marks of Excellence

Graffiti world

Metal Head
MetalHead Refill
Mini Crusher
BigSqueezeSilver
DripStickXL
GrogCutter15
MagicMarker
Speedflow
Molotow-413
MasterPiece667
Nibs

Maybe some books too
ABC's of Custom Lettering
Flip The Script

https://www.amazon.com/Flip-Script-Christian-P-Acker/dp/1584234601/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469035170&sr=8-1&keywords=flip+the+script

This book is for you. http://www.amazon.com/Bathroom-Graffiti-Mark-Ferem/dp/0977282740

Is yours this one?

The Mindless Colouring Book on Amazon is worth getting. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mindless-Colouring-Book-Braindead-Exhausted/dp/1908211474

He apparently has a book

We Don't Fold We Roll: No Extra Tools or equipment required all you need is a napkin