2. Week 2:
ELEMENTS OF ART
LINE
Line:
- Types of line
- Line drawing techniques:
1. blind contour line drawing
2. gesture line drawing
3. Continuous Line Drawing
4. Contour Line drawing
5. Cross contour drawing
Classroom Practice:
Sketching with different line techniques
Home Assignment:
-Sight five personal objects, sketch them
and bring them to class for further
investigation
-Sketch the same subject with the 5 line
drawing techniques
3. The 7 Elements of Art are: 1. Line
2. Shape
3. Form
4. Color
5. Space
6. Value
7. Texture
4. We will start today with the first element in art, which is Line.
What is a Line in Art?
Line drawing or line art consists of different lines.
Wondering what are the types of line in art, their meaning
and how to use them to your advantage as an artist?
5. Low lets Review the 5 main types of lines in art.
1. VERTICAL LINES
2. HORIZONTAL LINES
3. DIAGONAL LINES
4. ZIGZAG LINES
5. CURVED LINES
Other types of lines are simply variations of the five main ones.
6. 1- Vertical lines are straight up and down lines that are moving in space
without any slant and are perpendicular to horizontal lines. They
suggest height and strength because they extend towards the sky and
seem unshakeable.
2- Horizontal lines are straight lines parallel to
the horizon that move from left to right. They
suggest width, distance, calmness, and stability.
3- Diagonal lines are straight lines that slant in any direction
except horizontal or vertical. When in use, they suggest
movement or lack of stability.
7. 4- Zigzag lines are a series of diagonal lines joined at
ends. They can convey action and excitement, as well as
restlessness and anxiety.
5- Curved lines are lines that bend and
change direction gradually. They can be
simply wavy or spiral. Such lines convey the
feelings of comfort and ease, as well as
sensual quality as they remind us of the
human body.
8. How to Get Variations of Lines in Art?
•Length in lines can be long (tall, strong,
far) or short (small, cute, close).
•Width in lines goes from
thin (delicate, slim, lightweight) to
thick (strength, weight, power).
•Weight in lines means the continuous
change of width.
Every line drawing is made up of at least one of these components, with distinctions and
variations made by changing the length, width, weight, texture, and style of the lines to
create your unique line drawings.
9. •Texture in lines defines how smooth or rough it is.
•Style of lines refers to continuous, dotted, dashed
or implied lines.
If we combine all of these variations into one, we
get a unique looking line that serves a purpose.
10. Practice using different line thicknesses and weights to create varying
dimensions and perspectives within your line drawings.
11. The Medium: Pencil
Pencil is special. Pencil is versatile. There is not a single drawing medium that can
perform so many tasks as a pencil. Because it can produce lines of different
widths, the same pencil can be used for shading, texture making, and emulating a
wide range of tonal differences.
There are many types of pencils that do more or less the same task. An ordinary
pencil comes in different grades from high Bs to high Hs.
• Harder pencils have the H markings:
Hard pencils are used primarily for drafting and technical purposes because the
hard lead can maintain a very thin, sharp, and consistent line.
• Softer pencils bear B markings: Softer leads create darker values and they glide
more easily on paper. Yet, because the point of the lead will wear away quickly,
the lines from a soft pencil will inevitably become wider and less consistent.
12. Pencil Techniques
Holding the Pencil
There are many ways to hold the pencil
but the key word to remember when
sketching is “relax.” Avoid holding the
pencil as if you were writing because the
writing grip is rather firm and tight. The
sketching grip is comparatively looser and
easier.
13. Applying pressure (force) to the pencil is what
gives grace and liveliness to a line. Without
pressure, the strokes and lines are plain and
boring. A simple line drawing in pen can be
quite beautiful when there is a consistency in
the lines, as this kind of uniformity can bring
out the clarity and lightness of the sketch.
Pressure
14. Movement and
Position of the Hand
Movement of the hand
refers specifically to the act
of sketching.
15.
16.
17. Another way to combine different lines into types is by the way they
are being used in an artwork.
1. Blind Contour Drawing
2. Gesture Drawing / Movement Drawing
3. Continuous Line Drawing
4. Contour drawing
5. Cross contour drawing
Line Drawing Techniques:
18. A blind contour drawing contains lines
that are drawn without ever looking at
the piece of paper. This forces you to
study a scene closely, observing every
shape and edge with your eyes, as
your hand mimics these on paper.
1. Blind Contour Drawing
The aim is not to come up with
realistic drawings but to build a close
connection between the eyes, hands,
and brain.
19. 2. Gesture Drawing / Movement Drawing
Gesture lines are quick continuous lines
often used to represent human form and
movement.
This gestural drawing by Rembrandt is completed using red chalk on rough, textured paper. With just a few
expressive lines, we instantly recognise the scene: two women teaching a child to walk.
A gesture drawing is completed quickly –
often in short timed durations, such as 20,
30, 60 or 90 seconds – using fast, expressive
lines. Gesture drawings capture basic forms
and proportions – the emotion and essence
of a subject – without focusing on detail.
Due to their rapid completion, they are a
great way to record movement and action.
21. CLASSWORK:
Make a blind contour Drawing: Create blind contour line drawings of shell
or flowers.
Make several hand gesture drawing
In order to do so you will need:
• Sketchbook
• A Pencil
You are going to do:
22. 3- Continuous Line Drawing
The continuous line is when a drawing is done at
one go without ever lifting it from the page.
Continuous line drawing expects the artist to
move his pen continuously till the end and stop
only when the drawing completes. Along with
edges and shapes, the pencil should move back
and forth across the paper’s surface, doubling
the lines so the drawing is created in one go.
This type of art ends up being very expressive
and energetic if done right, if done not-so-well it
can simply end up looking messy.
23. Why is Continuous Line Drawing Important?
Helps the artist to focus on eye-hand coordination.
Allows the artists to develop confidence and drawing speed.
It eliminates too much attention and care
Trains the artists to apply their brains and skills to come up with an outcome in a
shorter time.
It helps the artists enhance their observational skills, and each time they do so,
they are strengthening their drawing skills.
Imperfections are evident in the continuous line drawing; however, these
imperfections are the only ones that sometimes make the visual art more
interesting.
It can be done anywhere with any material that forms a mark.
The ultimate goal of the continuous line drawing is to reach an end design without
breaking the continuity.
24. 1. Feel the object: Take some time to analyze where it starts and where it goes. What shape does
it have- rounded, flat, etc.
2. Lift the pen only at the end: You lift the pen only at the end of the picture whenever you put
it.
3. Draw the outline: concentrate on finding the initial focus of your point. After this, draw the
outline. Be very gentle, and don’t press the the pen hard.
4. Trackback when you meet an end: it is advisable to follow the previous line until the next
point in the drawing.
5. Shading. Use pressure to differentiate between the more robust and softer shades. Shade all
the dark areas to give the drawing the flair it deserves.
Now let us make some practice Continuous Line Drawing Exercises:
• Draw the Outline of an Object
25. One line drawing, which is also called a single line
drawing, is the kind of drawing made with a single
line. This is another way for artists to simplify the
complex world around us. The drawings created
by Pablo Picasso are one form of one-line drawing.
What is One Line Drawing?
26. Who was Pablo Picasso?
Pablo Picasso was a genius artist whose
works span a wide range of artistic
movements and mediums. His simple line
drawings were straightforward yet powerful.
From still life and animals to human form and
mythology, his masterpieces included all as
the subject.
27. Camel appears to simply be a sketch of an
animal, with no real meaning behind it. The
artist may have been purely exercising his
artistic mind during a spare moment.
28. 4.Contour drawing
Contour lines are a continuous line that defines
the outline of a shape. They can exist outside
and inside a shape, or a figure and are often
referred to as line art.
Some artists create contour lines by using the
same width line, while others change the width
to give more energy and volume suggestions.
Using line alone, you can avoid the need for
medium color and tone and solely focus on
shape and proportion. Contour lines can vary
from simplistic design to complex ones.
29. Contour Drawing Exercises:
Using line alone eliminates the
challenge of applying tone, colour and
mediums; and instead focuses
attention solely upon shape and
proportion.
• Make Five Contour Line Drawings in Less Than One Minute Each
30. 4. Cross contour drawing
A cross contour drawing contains parallel lines that
run across the surface of an object (or radiate from a
central point. The lines can run at any appropriate
angle (sometimes at multiple angles) and may
continue across objects and into the background.
Cross contour drawings typically follow the rules of
perspective, with lines drawn closer together in the
distance and further apart in the foreground.
In this type of drawing, the illusion of three-
dimensional volume is created entirely with line.
While the contour line describes the edges,
Cross contour lines mostly exhibit form and volume.
31.
32.
33. Still Life Cross Contour Drawing
Do a still Life of 3 objects with cross contour drawing techniques
Classwork
Materials:
• A4 Canson Paper
• Pencil
• Black marker
