There's a clear ladder of forms in graffiti, from a two-second flick to a wall that took all weekend. Knowing the ladder means you can name what you're looking at — and choose the right tool when it's your turn.
The Four Forms
A tag is the quickest: a one-colour signature, your name in a single confident gesture. A throw-up is the next gear — fast bubble letters, usually just two colours (an outline and a quick fill), designed to go up large and quick. A piece (short for masterpiece) is the full effort: many colours, highlights, shadows, maybe a character or background — the kind of thing that takes hours and real planning. A stencil is a different route altogether: you cut the design out of card beforehand, then spray through it for a crisp, repeatable image — the method Banksy made famous.
The Lettering Styles
Inside those forms, the letters themselves come in styles. Block letters are chunky and upright — easy to read, the plainest option. Bubble letters are round and inflated, friendly and quick, the bread and butter of throw-ups. Wildstyle is the show-off: letters that interlock, twist, sprout arrows and bend into each other until they're almost a puzzle. Each style trades a little readability for a little more flair — which becomes the whole tension of the next rung. Try all three in the builder and watch the same name change personality completely.
Can and Line Control
None of it works without can control — the craft of the spray itself. How far you hold the can, how fast you sweep, how hard you press: that's the difference between a clean confident line and a drippy mess. Writers practise this for years, the same way a calligrapher practises a single stroke. The "structural" skill here isn't the picture; it's the control of the mark.