Graffiti H Drawing Tutorial
Practicing individual letters is a great way to improve your overall drawing skills, especially graffiti lettering. And you’ll save a ton of time by working on smaller drawings.
Let’s grab some supplies and learn how to draw a graffiti letter H with markers.
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Art Supplies
- Thin black marker
- Paper or cardstock
- Markers
- Pencil
- Click Eraser, Pink Pearl Eraser
- White Gelly Roll pen
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About Graffiti Letters
Graffiti lettering has a rich history rooted in urban culture and social expression. It began in the late 1960s in New York City, where young people, often from marginalized communities, started “tagging” their names or pseudonyms on walls and subway trains. These early tags were simple and often done with markers or spray paint. The practice was initially about making one’s name known and was closely associated with the burgeoning hip-hop culture.
As graffiti evolved in the 1970s, the lettering styles became more elaborate and artistic. Writers began experimenting with different fonts, sizes, and colors, leading to the development of distinct styles like “bubble letters” (rounded, puffy lettering) and “wildstyle” (complex, interlocking letters that are often difficult to read). These styles required considerable skill and creativity, turning simple tags into more intricate and visually compelling works.
During the 1980s and 1990s, graffiti became more mainstream and began to be recognized as a legitimate art form, even as it remained illegal in many places. Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, who started as graffiti writers, gained international fame, further blurring the line between street art and fine art.
In recent years, graffiti lettering has continued to evolve, influenced by digital tools and global communication. While it remains a powerful form of social and political expression, it has also been embraced by commercial art and design, with graffiti-inspired fonts and styles appearing in advertising, fashion, and media.
Graffiti H Sketch Practice
Doing some warm up sketches is a great way to work through any ideas you might have for your letters. And they’re quick to do. Here’s how…
- Get some paper and something to sketch with (pencil, pen, marker, etc.)
- Pull up some reference photos of graffiti Letter H
- Set a timer for three or five minutes
Then simply sketch out as many graffiti H ideas as you can before you run out of time. You could also continue to sketch your letters until your paper is filled.
Either way is fine. But the goal is to keep your sketches quick and loose.
How to Draw a Graffiti Letter H
I’m drawing my graffiti letter H on an artist trading card today but you can use any size and type of paper for your own drawing.
Step 1: Guidelines
I like to start all of my drawings with simple shapes or guidelines. Since we’ll be drawing a graffiti letter H, let’s start with some guides.
Begin by writing your letter as you would if you were printing it as part of a word. You can make an upper or lower case letter.
Think about how you want the lines to bend or curve. And which part of the letter will be longer or shorter than the other areas of the letter.
Also decide if you want parts of the letter to overlap other parts or extend past them.
These are the things that will make your graffiti H drawing look more interesting.
Step 2: Rough Sketch
After you have your guidelines for your letter drawn out it’s time to work on the rough sketch. Start to build out your graffiti letter H by adding some thickness to your guidelines. You don’t have to stick to them completely, simply use them as guides.
When making your sketch pay attention to the width of the letter and how it curves. Be intentional about your design.
Keep working on the sketch until you’re happy with how your letter H looks.
Step 3: Additional Details
You can draw in any additional details you might want to add, or make some type of background drawing. Abstract and geometric shapes can be added as well.
Arrows are very popular in graffiti lettering. But of course these are optional. If you’re not sure how to finish your rough sketch you could do a quick Google search for ideas. Or simply draw your letter by itself.
You could also add a drop shadow or 3D effect to your letter.
Graffiti H Outline
Now we need to outline our graffiti letter H with a black pen or marker. I prefer using a pen and adding to the outline until I get to the desired thickness.
You could also use a color other than black. I like using artist trading cards for my drawings because it allows me to experiment and try new things without wasting a bunch of time on each drawing.
The only way to know if something will look good is to try it out and see.
You can make your outline thick, thin, or a combination of line weights.
How to Draw a Graffiti Letter H with Markers
After you have your outline done, it’s time to start adding some color to your graffiti letter H drawing. I’ll be using markers but you can use whatever medium you prefer.
For this tutorial I’m going to do a blue fade for the letter. Choose two or three markers that are similar in color, but slightly different.
I started with the lightest blue first and filled in the top of my letter. Working while the marker is still wet, I added the darker color on the bottom. Overlap the colors a little bit. And you can use the lighter marker to blend the two colors together more.
You can use this method to blend any combination of colors. Just be sure to choose markers that are similar in color and work while they are still wet.
Add in your background colors to complete your drawing.
A white Gelly Roll pen can be used to add highlights.
Final Thoughts and Next Steps
That’s it for this tutorial on how to draw a graffiti letter H with markers. Art and drawing are learned skills, so the more you practice the better you will get.
Working on individual letters is a great way to get a lot of practice in with only a little bit of time, especially if you work small. Try doing a series of graffiti letter H drawings and see how many different designs you can come up with.
Get your FREE Graffiti Guide and learn the steps to creating your own graffiti art.
More Art & Drawing Tutorials
- How to Draw a Graffiti Letter G
- “Freedom” Graffiti Drawing Tutorial
- Learn to Draw Bubble Letters – Graffiti Style
- Brick Texture Art Tutorial
- “Peace” Graffiti Art Tutorial
