The writer can use the tips of a marker or the flow of the paint in relation to the angle of the can to create different style effects. Different types of caps for spray paint cans are available to get different widths of paint, and the cap widths are used to create many of the effects seen in pieces. Sometimes a tag can be seen scratched into glass. This is called scrybing, it's usually done with a sharp object. A graffiti artist usually picks his or her word to tag because of the way it sounds, what it means, or because he or she likes the letters.
Pieces are the hardest but most respected part of modern graffiti.
A piece like one of this could take a few dozen cans of paint and at least a few hours time. It has to be taken into consideration the fact that taking so much time means a higher risk of getting caught by the police. A good-looking piece will have the letters outlined in a very stylized way, sometimes interlocking, with a colorful fill. A piece can also have lots of different messages, sometimes shout-outs to other writers or friends, sometimes political messages. Lots of times pieces will have more artwork outside of the lettering than inside the lettering.