As far as i can figure out, both of those artist just put up theyre work like a lot so people kept seeing it and i guess the mysteriousness of who those people were intriguied people, i guess obey made his street art into clothing and sold it. Basically u hold up your name and do something notorious or cool and make your work something people like, everybody likes banksy and obey so therefore that helps them become popular! Thats what i think!
Just Completely forget about the internet. Alot of the writers in the 80's and 90's got famous through bombing and painting, and just going fucking hard. once you have enough respect and flicks on the street, and you get your name out. then it's time to hit the internet.
Both of those people are not "graffiti" artist. IF you don't know, there is a world of difference between "street art" and "graffiti." And as far as being famous, you either have innovative styles or you get up everywhere or do some ballsy shit like with Saber painting the largest piece. Mostly it's a combination of all those. Being in graff movies also helps. Or you can do some gay ass hipster street "art" and you'll get famous and you won't even have to worry about getting arrested. Print off some stencils of rats or some shit.
There isnt a single famous artist out ther that made it big on the internet it all started on the streets
getting "famous" in graffit is like building a fast food chain. you want something that's generally appealing to a large audience, so write something nice, and paint it nicely. you want it to be easily consumed by the masses, so don't do anything too crazy off the wall. you want it to be readily accessible, so get up everywhere. Travel, go to other cities, go all city in every city, everywhere. And one of the most important factors is consistency. You can go to any McDonalds on the entire fucking planet, and you know the big Mac is going to taste the same. That's the key to fast food success, and that's the key to graffiti. Make your style your trademark, having all of your pieces be consistent and recognizable is the key to being memorable. If someone sees one of your pieces, and then sees another later on, you want them to think "Hey I think I've seen this before!" Lots of pieces painted with a consistent recognizable style, have more leverage than a couple big flashy murals that are one off masterpieces.
Do something original Paint 100 whole cars/1000s great street spots or trains and put them all on instagram or tumblr Feature in a documentary Write a book about yourself/get someone else to write one for you Get really good at marketing and develop a personal brand Get busted and have a high-profile court case Get in the galleries and sell you work to celebrities Consider merchandising e.g. mugs, t-shirts etc Appear in R&B music videos
Do pieces in places that you would bomb. I dont mean 1 day pieces but pieces that would take a couple hours