Drawing Lines with Shelly L. Solberg @ Pierpont Community & Technical College

Line

See highlights and high-quality resources for advanced investigations.

Line (an element of visual art and design) is defined by a point moving in space. Lines can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal or curved...any width or texture, ...continuous, implied, or broken... horizontal and zigzagged. Different lines create different moods... — Line at oogle Arts & Culture

Cover: Line: 7 Elements of Art —Lillian Gray

Intro (0:00)

Line Quality (0:45)

Types of Line (1:27)

Contour Lines (1:47)

Shading with Lines (2:21)

Mark Making (3:05)

Jackson Pollock (4:23)

Henri Matisse (4:47)

Basquait (4:58)

Roy Lichenstein (5:09)

Vincent Van Gogh (5:19)

Improve Your Artwork (5:42)

Introduction

Line is an Element of Art & Design.

Hatching

Lines to Create Value & Texture

Crosshatching

Lines to Create Value & Texture

Stippling

Dots to Create Value & Texture

Blending

Lines to Create Smooth Values

Contour

Curves to Create Value & Texture

Cross Contour

Curves to Create Value & Texture

Contour Drawing

Contour Curves to Create Outlines

Identify & Practice

Line Techniques Example

A drawing is simply a dot going for a walk.
—Paul Klee

Line
Techniques

Hatching Crosshatching Stippling Blending

are four of the most common line techniques used to create value and the "illusion" of space and texture on a form in a drawing and they can be applied with all drawing mediums. We begin with Hatching by Philinthecircle.

Hatching

Hatching (hachure in French) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. (0:15)

Cross-hatching

Crosshatching at its simplest, a layer of linear hatching is laid over another layer at a 90° angle, to which further diagonal layers may be added. (0:15)

Stippling

Stippling is the creation of a pattern simulating varying degrees of solidity or shading by using small dots. Such a pattern may occur in nature. (0:20)

Blending

Blending is to combine or associate so that the separate constituents or the line of demarcation cannot be distinguished. (5:55)

Now that we have talked about line to create values and textures, next, we move on to talk about lines used to create form and volume.

Line & Form

The Art & Science of Drawing: Contours (2:34) (Above) First, you’ll learn to craft a detailed outside contour. Next you’ll learn to draw inner contours and overlaps that will describe any subject with great depth. Finally, you’ll learn to draw using cross contour lines to create the illusion of dramatic volume and deep space. —Evolve Your Art.

Next, we will learn more about cross contour lines and contour drawing techniques.

Cross Contour

Cross Contour Lines communicate form... they can help you determine what direction you should make your brush strokes or drawing marks.(4:57) —The Virtual Instructor

Contour Drawing

Contour Drawing (9:48) —Lillian Gray
Contour drawings ...emphasize the mass and volume of the subject rather than the detail; the focus is on the outlined shape... —

Now, that we have learned about the different types of line techniques to create values and textures, let's identify each technique in the engraving detail below by the 16th century master Albrecht Durer.

Saint Jerome in His Study, engraving detail, c.1514, by Albrecht Durer, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. (CC0 1.0)

Identify Lines

St. Jerome in His Study │ engraving detail, c.1514, by Albrecht Durer, Saint Jerome in His Study, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA. Saint Jerome, translator of the Bible, works peacefully at a slanted writing table, and his lion and dog slumber equally peacefully in the foreground. The light of his halo and the sunlight pouring in through the windows are in perfect equilibrium, and recurrent horizontals in the composition add to the pervasive sense of repose and harmony.

ENLARGE │ DETAILS │ VIDEO │ MORE ART │ ARTIST BIO