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The Undocumented
Pilot Page

Alternate Graffiti Strokes

Ah yes, graffiti... that funny way of writing letters. I still haven't found an easy way to describe it to someone. It's slick, it's easy, it can be highly annoying. Everyone has a letter or two that causes hair-pulling frustration trying to write it. For me, it was "B". Then one day, I uttered those classic words: "There's GOT to be a better way!"

General Tips

• It's better to draw very large strokes. Strokes can overlap between the letter and number areas- the Pilot's not that picky. Remember that the Pilot watches how you write as well as what you write. If you're having trouble with a character, you're probably not drawing it the way the Pilot expects- check the chart that came with your Pilot.
• If you goof, don't stop! Keep pressing down and draw your letter over again. Graffiti will use the last part of your stroke when figuring out what you wrote.
• Still having problems? Maybe you need help seeing what you're writing. Paper and ink give you that nice visual feedback that's lacking from the Pilot. You can fix that with a handy add-on that shows you what you're writing. There are at least 2 apps at this site.
• Different models of the Pilot behave slightly differently. Letters that just barely work on one model may register on another. About the only thing you can do is change the way you write. (See below.)

By The Book

Remember, Graffiti doesn't learn. You do. The first thing to do when having problems with a letter is to study the original reference card.

Alternates

For some characters, there is more than one way to draw it. Here are some alternate pen strokes that I know of. Most of these I've found on my own.

Letter	Graffiti Standard	Alternate Strokes
B		3 in the letter area
D		Lowercase cursive L, started from the right Skip the initial down stroke, just start at the bottom left.
E		Use straight lines, like a sideways W. Write a lowercase "e". Sometimes it helps to exaggerate to make a Theta symbol.
G		6 in the letter area Exaggerate the circle part, and do a small finish line. Make sure that the left stroke doesn't cross the curved stroke.
L		Draw the down stroke with a slight slant to right, like a backslash. Lean the wrong way, and you'll get a C.
P		Skip the initial down stroke, just start at the bottom left.
R		Skip the initial down stroke, just start at the bottom left. Exaggerate the final diagonal stroke, a little more horizontal.
V		Draw a "V" from the right to left, without the ending tail. Exaggerate the tail to make it more distinct from a U.
X		Draw a backwards Graffiti K, like a right-facing fish.
Y		Draw a sideways Graffiti K, like an upside-down L. Draw a number 8 in the letter area.
4		"C" in the number area A left bracket
5		"S" in the number area. Go ahead, be sloppy.
'		The apostrophe has always been my trouble character. Draw it straight vertically- no slant.
?		Dot then T.

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