can control

highly overrated skill that describes a graffiti writer's ability to finely control the spray from a can of spray paint. typically it is touted as something that defines a writer's position in the hierarchy of graffiti writers, but usually is emphasized by writers to hide their lack of personal vision, style or ups.

The contention is that a writer with weak style and unoriginal ideas will use good can control as a crutch to bring themselves along. Then we get the rage of only using stock tips for painting, and mocking writers who use thins, because everyone else is doing it. (though there are people who can use stocks well, they are far and few between) A sort of bitter lashback against clean, pretty, huggable, publicly presentable and understandable graffiti. It should be raw, uncut, and vicious.

Unfortunately, what can happen is that writers move forward without well rounded skills, they have good ideas but the execution suffers into a sloppy blurry fuzzy wobbly runny mess of paint. Most of the writers I see pulling this line hardcore (as opposed to within reason) are in too much of a hurry to churn out as many of the same looking pieces in a year as they can, to consider putting more heart into the things they do. Can control isn't about sitting around for hours cutting, cleaning, and re-cutting the same lines over and over again. It is about having the skill to properly execute your ideas the first time without having to dick around or making a ugly mess. Dont knock it just because you haven't got it.