How to Do Graffiti Fill-Ins That Stand Out on Any Wall
Tip #1: Push Your Drop Shadows Further
Most graffiti artists know about drop shadows, but few take full advantage of their power. If you're learning how to do graffiti, you probably started placing your shadow close to the letter. That’s a great foundation—but it’s flat, and lacks the same impact as what we’ll recommend.
Try this instead:
Push your drop shadow farther away from the letter structure. This creates a stronger illusion of depth, making your letters appear lifted off the wall. Also, doing this mimics a cast shadow (a far more dynamic shadow as seen in the picture above). In the video example shown in the video, we see how the increased distance between the letters and the shadow instantly makes the graffiti look more three-dimensional.
Also, don’t always use hard edges for your shadows—go with a fuzzier, softer shadow in areas you want to appear further from the wall to make it feel more realistic. Think about how light works in the real world: shadows get softer and blurrier the further they fall from the object.
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Tip #2: Prioritize Contrast and Shading Inside the Letters
Another overlooked trick when learning how to color graffiti is internal shading. Even if your piece doesn’t have dramatic drop/cast shadows, you can still create depth using contrast and value inside your fill-ins.
Here’s how:
Think of your letters as 3D forms—like cylinders. By applying shading like an artist would on a rounded shape, you can show volume using:
Highlights
Midtones
Core Shadows
Rim Lighting/Reflective lighting
What’s the difference between rim light and reflected light?
Rim light comes from a secondary light source and/or comes from behind the subject to highlight it’s edges, making those edges appears brighter. Rimlight can be just as bright as other values within the light family (area not in shadow).
Reflected light is a subtle bounce light—it should never be brighter than your main highlight, or any value in the light family.
In the video we showed an example where a secondary purple light source behind the piece contrasts perfectly with the orange fill-in. They’re using color contrast (purple vs. orange) and value contrast (light next to dark) to make the piece visually pop.
Bonus tip: Incorporate color harmony—use color schemes like triadic color palettes (think pink, green, and blue) to add interest and balance to your graffiti.
Tip #3: Use a Consistent Light Source
If you're struggling with shading your graffiti, start with one simple rule: stay consistent with your light source. Inconsistent lighting is one of the most common mistakes when doing fill-ins, especially for beginners. Once your light source breaks, the 3D illusion falls apart. Start with a single, clear light direction (like top-left or top-right). Once you get comfortable, graduate to multiple light sources and experiment with rim lighting, glows, and backlights. This piece here is a great example of beautiful shading as you can see, despite the detail of the outline and drips casting into the letters, the lighting stays consistent.
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