How to make graffiti-style art with a mouse or a finger

Graffiti on a real wall is about confidence: big shapes, bold outlines and colors that pop from across the street. You can get the same look on a screen. Here’s how.

Start with the outline, not the fill

Graffiti letters look the way they do because of their outlines. Pick a dark color and draw the outside shape of each letter first, a little fatter and rounder than normal handwriting. Don’t worry about neatness — slightly wobbly lines read as hand-made, which is the point. Once the outline is there, fill it in with a brighter color, then go over the outline one more time so it sits on top of the fill.

On Drawfitti, each line you draw counts as one stroke, and longer lines use a little more. Drawing one smooth outline per letter is both better-looking and cheaper than lots of short scratches.

Use thick lines for the big stuff

Switch to a large brush for fills and backgrounds and a small one for outlines and details. On a photo, the marker tool is see-through, which is great for shading — layer two marker strokes and the overlap gets darker, like spray paint building up. The crayon is almost solid and works well for bright fills.

Classic graffiti shapes to try

The tag

A tag is a signature: your name or nickname written fast in one continuous motion. Practice it a few times somewhere empty on the board until it flows. Tags look best with a small flourish — an underline, an arrow, or a crown above the first letter.

The throw-up

A throw-up is two or three bubble letters with a thick outline and one fill color. It’s fast and readable from far away, which makes it perfect for a zoomed-out view of the World board.

Characters

Simple characters — a face with big eyes, a cat, a little monster — are easy to add and easy for others to build on. Give them a speech bubble and someone else might fill it in.

Mouse, trackpad, or finger?

Mouse: move your whole arm, not just your wrist, for long smooth curves. Zoom in for small details instead of trying to draw tiny.
Trackpad: hold the click with one finger and draw with another, or zoom way in and draw in short sections.
Finger on a phone or tablet: draw a little slower than feels natural, and zoom in before you start. On the photo feed, the whole screen is the photo, so you have plenty of room.

Add to other people’s work

The best graffiti walls are layers of different people. Before you draw, look at what’s already there. Can you give someone’s character a hat? Add a shadow to their letters? Put a frame around a drawing you like? Building on others’ work is what makes the board feel alive — just don’t scribble over something someone clearly cared about. See drawing together on a shared canvas for more.

Try it on the World board

More guides

Drawing together on a shared canvas: tips and etiquetteHow to find a spot, build on what others drew, and keep a shared canvas fun for everyone — plus how daily strokes and the weekly reset shape the board.How the photo feed works: posting, tags and Tape offPost a photo for the world or your friends to draw on, protect parts of it with Tape off, and add your own tags to other people’s photos.Private rooms and Turns: drawing with your friendsMake a private room with a code for your friends or class, and use Turns mode to take turns drawing.

Last updated November 5, 2026