Crews are necessary. Friends are nice. Cliques are fun. This world is an infinite canvas; and those with whom we choose to interact are our colour palette. Some of us see the canvas as an opportunity to create a legacy, while others are content with personal pieces of loyalty and trust. While it is necessarily up to us to paint the strokes, it is nonetheless obvious the effect of repeated use of the same few colors. Additionally, applying the same mindset day-in and day-out will have a graying effect on your capacity to paint.

It has been the subject of countless discussions the method with which we translate our imagery to the canvas. Some prefer broad sweeping strokes of black and red so all the artists can see the strength of their brush. Some choose a more modest form of light strokes of beautiful accent gracing only a small portion of the canvas while the remainder is the liberty of your fellow painters. I seek not to determine the merit of these methods, but to offer some advice to you future artists out there.

Your crew should be your primary color. Your hand should be steady with honor and loyalty, and your strokes should cross another's only when appropriate. Your friends should be your secondary colors; allowing you to provide depth and intrigue where the duties of your crew leave liberty to do so. Cliques impede on this method; as they often use parallel, synchronized strokes regardless of whose art it destroys. Perhaps it is even the aim of some cliques to do so. However enjoyable it may be to do so, I urge you to resist these forces. I urge you instead to structure your crews this way rather than bridging connections between crews.

This world is fundamentally equal; everyone starts at the same place. Individually, weakness and isolation both limit the canvas you can use and make the process tremendously displeasing. It is for this reason that we seek out friends and colleagues to share our interests. This is how crews should operate; empowering an individual as a member of a collective force. But too often our interests are either lost on our crew or ambition is sacked as dishonesty. Cultivate those interests in your crew and form communities around them. Then, consider the purpose of your art: are you painting for a masterpiece, or simply the sake of who's holding the brush?