Old school krews started with a 'journeyman' writer at the top, and toys or
tryouts at the bottom, and variable
skil writers within. Any number from 3 to 90 or so. at the very bottom were toys, aka
scribble monkeys, who had a
spray can and not much more than simple and crude
scrawl which they placed on a wall.
The guy (girl) at the top would offer instruction, as well as induce
the krew to go into battle (competition) with other tagging krews. Anyone who developed or showed promise of bigger, better writing, eventually became known as a writer.
in the tag world, there are various skill levels.
1- scribble or scrawl.
2- puff or bubble letters, usually 1 color.
3- puff or bubble letters with a 2 or 3 color fill.
4- monotone art, like a face or scene.
5- artwork with a 2 or 3 color fill or accent.
6- Piece (short for masterpiece), usually a layout with 5-13 color fills. Usually a stationary object like a wall. if on a moving vehicle or trailer, it's called a burner and others.
7- area of placement such as a bridge or billboard or sign high up, denotes heaven work. bigger, more elaborate or complex = more fame.
8- rolling bombs- instead of using spray cans, rollor bombs are made with a 9-inch
paint roller, extension poles, and bulk paint. these tags can be 12' high, or more, and hundreds of feet long.
9- slapper wakks or
decal krews. not writers per se, but spend hours redoing specific
scribbles on adhesive backed labels that are affixed to any surface. a variation of this are those who
scribe glass and steel with hardened pointed tools or sandpaper.
10- collaborations collabs) rival writers or krews that drop the hatchet temporarily to work out a joint piece or production.
11- production- any complex or elaborate tag or piece, including burners.
12- Toys are
washouts or wannabees that have
no style nor ability to place or create complex artistic pieces, just
wak, or messed up stuff
Many
junior high students want to belong to a
tag krew, but don't have many skills.
It seems that the better piecers are older types, say 18
to 25, and have the best krew productions too.