Disclaimer for the feds: Incite, Conspire, Inspire is a solely-for-fun section never designed to give real advice. The tools, tactics and ideas given on the series are only thought to entertain. We would never dream of anyone using any of this tools as a form of dissent and we do not promote, partake in or condone any illegal activities that might derive from said tools.
Stencils are a cheap and effective way to send a message out on the streets, you can paint / repeat them dozens of times in a few hours and also paint them pretty much over any surface. To keep it simple, first, think what message is that you want to paint or communicate, grab a sheet of paper (the thicker the better) and start drawing the letters to form the message you want to send, these letters need to be thicker solid forms.
We’ve all seen stencil letters, when drawing them, make sure you add bridges to the letterforms, bridges are a very important element for stenciled letters, they are thin strips that connect the solid areas inside the letterforms to the outer border of the design, these solid areas are called islands (see graphics).
After you draw all the letters the stencil is ready to be cut. Use a Xacto knife or even a box cutter which is cheaper. You will need a cutting board or any surface like thick cardboard to cut the stencil over and don’t scratch your desk or floor.
With the blade, follow carefully the lines that form each letter making sure you don’t cut through the bridges and throw away the cut out pieces.
Now that you turned your message into a stencil it is ready to be used. Next thing you will need is a spray paint can, commonly used for DIY projects vandalism and decorating. Nowadays, you can find multiple brands for different purposes, but you will be fine with one from the hardware store. Finally, just go out, bring your stencil, spray can and some masking tape, put a little piece of tape on the top part of the stencil to stick it to the wall and with your hands hold it against the wall firmly and spray over it making sure not to add to much paint or it will drip.
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