Realistic graffiti art is a unique and impressive art form that we can offer through our mural company. Graffiti art has come a long way from the simple tags that started on subway trains in New York City. Today, graffiti artists are able to create full color hyper realistic paintings that offer more detail than printed photos. For example, the use of spray paint allows street artists to work on a large scale very quickly unlike traditional brush methods.

The medium of spray paint lends itself to creating smooth gradients in minutes that otherwise take hours to replicate with brush. As a result, graffiti artists are able to achieve flawless replications of images. However, some people don’t realize that we use specialized low-pressure spray paints for artwork.  This is not the stuff you would find at a local hardware or paint shop! Furthermore, in combination with special nozzles, you will be surprised how much fine detail can be achieved.

To be honest, small spaces may still not be the best canvases for realistic graffiti art. We would recommend working on walls that are at least 8 ft. by 8 ft. and up. Therefore, this makes spray paint the perfect medium for large scale mural work. Other techniques to get special effects with spray paint include cooling down the cans by putting them on ice. For instance, you may notice some realistic graffiti artists carrying around coolers in hotter weather.

Process of Creating Realistic Graffiti Art

There are many ways to create realistic graffiti art. In addition, there are also many skill levels and unique styles by different artists. Firstly, the design process is a bit unusual as we prefer to work directly off of photo references. It doesn’t make sense to re-draw a photo to use it as a sketch for a large mural. As a result, we try to make sure all references are cleared by the original photographer.

Secondly, once we compose the designs, we can mix the realism with graphic background elements. We are open to taking some design direction from clients. However, this is usually the part that makes realistic graffiti art unique to different artists. Furthermore, other ways to add to the photo reference may be to include colored shadows or highlights.

Thirdly, with high detail realistic graffiti art, we need to get some our sketch on to the wall. There are various ways to go about doing this. The traditional method is to grid the artwork. However, with new technology it’s much easier to just project the design when it’s dark. If we can’t step back far enough from the wall then we go to traditional pounce patterns with chalk. As a result, it’s the same method that old school sign painters use.

Finally, once the sketch is up on the wall we try to paint from the most distant points in the image towards the foreground. For example, a face portrait that’s in the center as the focal point is usually painted last. From here, it’s up to the experience and skill of the particular artist to create the realistic graffiti art.

MLB Mural for LA Dodgers in Los Angeles

La Dodgers Graffiti

Past Projects with Graffiti Realism

We have certain artists that specialize in high detail realistic graffiti art. We’ve done all kinds of realism including landscapes, portraits and objects. For example, check out some of our past projects below.

Workaholics Advertisement Campaign – Portraits

In Los Angeles, we partnered with Comedy Central to paint memorial style portraits of the 3 main characters on Workaholics. The client wanted the artwork to look like traditional street art memorials. As a result, we got to work using spray paint to create two murals in different scales. We professionally photographed and digitally delivered the art work. At the end, one mural was used for a billboard media buy in Los Angeles. The second mural appeared on posters in the NYC subway system.

Romeo Santos – Nationwide Campaign

Sony Music reached out to us to create a series of realistic graffiti art murals across the country. Marvel teamed up with Romeo Santos (Latin Musician) to create a comic of him in a superhero suit. We used this photo as reference to create a street art mural promoting his new album.

Romeo Santos mural in LA - Realistic Graffiti Art

Greetings Tour – Postcard Murals

When it comes to landscapes and natural scenery the Greetings Tour does an amazing job of realistic graffiti art with spray paint.  We can paint imagery within letters that are high detailed and photo realistic. Luckily, half of the artist duo is a professional photographer that gathers the original references to be painted.

Various Portraits and Hyper Realism Created with Spray Paint

As you can see, we’ve done all kinds of realistic graffiti art projects. Below are a few more select examples of impressive high detail artwork created with spray paint that we’ve found around the web. We have credited some of the artists in the captions. In addition to commercial realistic street art, we also connect clients with artist features. Let us know if you would like to work directly with a well-known artist for their unique style.

In conclusion, if you are ready to work with us on a realistic graffiti art project send us an email to art@graffiti-artist.net or give us a ring at 646-801-6024. We will be ready to make your mural vision come to life!