I can remember my mother being pissed off with me because I had sold some of my blackbooks. At the time I know I didn’t value the energy I had put into those books. I would take pictures of the burners I saw subways and walls and then copy that style using my tag name. I used the pictures for references on lettering and coloration as well.
When SACHA JENKINS isn’t creating stage plays and television shows and TWittering (@tedbawno?) he is curating books on graffiti masterpieces with the big homey Chino BYI. Their first masterpiece diary is titled ‘Piecebook‘ and it is a collection of artwork from some legendary graf writers. The piecebook or blackbook is where you store your ideas and you perfect your style.
The blackbook is a diary in the sense that it describes your progression as a graf artist from toy to b-boy, but the blackbook also holds some designs from your closest associates and the other writers that you respect for the all-world style or their all-city status. Piecebooks were supposed to be passed down from artists to one another because everyone did shit for the love of the art back then. I sold mine because of all the photos I had inside of them.
SACHA and Chino have a companion to the OG Piecebook called ‘Piecebook Reloaded‘. I’m gonna go on Amazon and cop these joints so I can reminisce and enjoy the artwork. I may even get off my ass and go to AlphaBeta and pick up a few cans. On second thought, I don’t need to get arrested again for a long time so maybe I wil just go to Pearl Paint and pickup a blackbook and some Design markers.
The game IS to be sold, I guess. Funny that your moms got offended by that. Thats like my mom being mad at me getting rid of my old Source’s.
My blackbook progression went from toy to slightly-less-toy. but i still got that shit.
yo my con they dont make design’s no more(sad face) so the next step is the pantone joints or prisma color shit even sharpie got busy on some tones.but yea they dead the design thing like in the 90’s.
been a while since i rakked a store for paint and markers or threw up, but damn looking at pics from this book gives me that urge to.
Krash say word?!?
I copped Design a few years ago (15?) When they started making them joints double sided.
Damn, shit done changed.
*pours out a splash of quarter water*
Damn, y’all dudes taking me back to my tagging days. Splitting the mean streak to two-tone it, making fat caps with safety pins then trying to hide my finger tips @ school. My piece books were more for other dudes to hit up so I could either copy their style or let the females think I did it. Turns out I was better @ drawing goofy ass cartoon character than urban artistry. One year my pops bought me the whole Design Box set. I loved how the colors blotted & bled onto the pages. Wow, somebody close the door of my Deloreon.
You just took me back to my senior year at high school, me and the graffitti removal unit had a beef going, as fast as they would take my stuff down I would throw it back up. I always had at least a marker on me, know you would only know because of the mark it left on my penmanship.
If any of y’all can scan and send me (SCRITCH and SCRATCH = VEe!) any old joints that you may have I would love to post them on my blog.
I purchase a number of graf books but I thought the blackbook diaries was aiight for the most part. Blackbook Sessions usually rocks a whole bunch of cool pieces regularly. I’m always checking for cool mags imported from Europe.
Tedbawno is hilarious.
Yo D! let me find out you have a secret stash of blackbooks hiding some where.
I might coulda put Design markers outta business wit my boosting skills up in Utrecht in Philly back in the day(long before Adobe) Them joints used to be so pungent, the smell would have my entire graphic design class floatin! they was made of steel and the ink lasted forever.