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