Line Drawing Lesson Plan College

Concluding Updated on March 17, 2022

When we beginning picked up a pen or pencil and started making marks on paper, we began with line. Whether self-taught, through trial and error, or guided by others, we learned how line defines form, creates construction, divides a frame, traces contour, creates tonal variation (cantankerous-hatching, for example) and leads the heart from ane part of a work to another. Initially a mechanism for getting outlines onto paper – identifying edges – we brainstorm to applaud lines for their own merit: celebrate their presence…whether a quiet flick of charcoal on newspaper or a streak of graphite.

This article contains exercises for Art students who wish to produce contour line drawings, cross contour drawings, blind drawings and other types of line drawings. It is a teaching assist for high school Art students and includes classroom activities, a free downloadable PDF worksheet and inspirational artist drawings.

Blind Contour Cartoon

Definition: A bullheaded contour drawing contains lines that are drawn without ever looking at the piece of paper. This forces you to report a scene closely, observing every shape and edge with your eyes, as your hand mimics these on newspaper. The aim is not to produce a realistic artwork, just rather to strengthen the connection betwixt eyes, hand and encephalon: a reminder that, when drawing, y'all must first learn to see.

Bullheaded Drawing Exercises: Blind drawing is an first-class style to start a high school Fine Art programme. Cartoon wobbly lines that bear petty resemblance to the chosen object is relaxing and stress-complimentary. Often, a classroom bubbles with laughter at the unexpected results. Bullheaded drawing stretches the artillery and soul; eases you into observational cartoon without fearfulness.

A warm-up action in which students were asked to create blind contour line drawings of shell (teaching exemplar by the Student Fine art Guide). These blind drawings were included in the first preparatory sheets submitted by CIE IGCSE Fine art and Design students.

Gesture Cartoon / Timed Drawing / Movement Cartoon

Definition: A gesture cartoon is completed quickly – frequently in short timed durations, such as twenty, thirty, 60 or 90 seconds – using fast, expressive lines. Gesture drawings capture bones forms and proportions – the emotion and essence of a discipline – without focusing on detail. Due to their rapid completion, they are a slap-up style to record movement and action, besides as increase your drawing speed, confidence and intuitive mark-making skill. Gesture drawings are best completed with smooth, hands applied mediums (chunky graphite pencils, charcoal sticks, pastels, soft brushes dipped in Indian ink, for example), without the use of an eraser. They are oft completed on large, cheap sheets of paper, where you tin movement your arm fluidly, be assuming with marker-making, and non worry nearly mistakes. As with bullheaded drawings, gesture drawing is an ideal warm-up activity.

Gesture Cartoon Exercises: When you begin investigating your field of study matter in the initial phase of a loftier school Art programme, it tin can exist helpful to brand several outset-hand gestural drawings. The best of these can be selected for your concluding portfolio (taking reward of a photocopier or digital photographic camera to reduce in size, if necessary). A small still life scene tin be depicted just as easily as a large moving form.

A gesture drawing by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn:

This gestural drawing past Rembrandt is completed using reddish chalk on rough, textured newspaper. With just a few expressive lines, nosotros instantly recognise the scene: two women teaching a child to walk.

A gestural figure drawing by Chelsea Stebar:

Completed while studying Animation, this gesture drawing captures a clothed figure. Note the variation in line weight: light lines applied initially, with darker lines and hints of particular all that are needed.

Continuous Line Cartoon

Definition: A continuous line drawing is produced without ever lifting the drawing instrument from the page. This means that, in addition to outlines and internal shapes, the pencil must move back and along beyond the surface of the paper, with lines doubling back on each other, so that the drawing is one complimentary-flowing, unbroken line. To avert the temptation to erase lines, it tin can be helpful to complete a continuous line drawing with an ink pen, varying the line weight, equally needed, to indicate perspective and areas of low-cal and shadow. Like the drawing methods described above, this cartoon method develops conviction and drawing speed, and encourages your optics and hand and brain to piece of work together. Continuous line drawings work best with in-depth observation of your subject, without interference from your thinking listen. According to Smithsonian Studio Arts:

…continuous line cartoon is actually a very powerful way to create a piece that is both hard edged and fluid, representational and abstruse, rational and emotional all in one.

Continuous Line Drawing Exercises: This cartoon method is great for sketchbooks and cartoon from life. It can be an excellent starter activity, with drawings completed on large, inexpensive paper that can be scanned / edited / cropped and used in other ways within your projects.

An A Level Fine art sketchbook page past Lucy Feng from Hereford 6th Class College, Herefordshire, UK:

This cute sketchbook page contains several continuous line drawings, drawn from commencement-paw observation.

Contour drawing

Definition: A contour drawing shows the outlines, shapes and edges of a scene, but omits fine detail, surface texture, colour and tone ('contour' is French for 'outline'). According to Wikipedia:

The purpose of contour drawing is to emphasize the mass and book of the subject rather than the detail; the focus is on the outlined shape of the subject and not the pocket-sized details.

The illusion of 3-dimensional form, space and distance can exist conveyed in a contour drawing through the employ of varied line-weight (darker lines in the foreground / paler lines in the distance) and perspective.

Contour Drawing Exercises: Using line alone eliminates the challenge of applying tone, colour and mediums; and instead focuses attention solely upon shape and proportion. After completing warm-upwards activities such as blind and gesture drawings, slower, more formal contour drawings tin can be an first-class way to begin more realistic representations of your subject area matter. Used intermittently throughout projects, contour drawings can also be helpful for the educatee who needs to work faster.

A profile drawing by Ultima Thule:

Modernistic line drawings by Ultima Thule: there is a slick contrast in this drawing between the precipitous blackness lines and the dripping light-green. The awarding of color to ane area creates a dramatic focal point.

Cross contour drawing

Definition: A cross contour cartoon contains parallel lines that run beyond the surface of an object (or radiate from a central betoken), such as those that appear on a topographical map or a digital wireframe. The lines can run at whatever appropriate angle (sometimes at multiple angles) and may keep across objects and into the background. Cantankerous contour drawings typically follow the rules of perspective, with lines drawn closer together in the distance and further apart in the foreground. In this blazon of cartoon, the illusion of three-dimensional volume is created entirely with line.

Cantankerous Contour Drawing Exercises: This is an fantabulous way to gain familiarity with the volumes and iii-dimensional forms in your project, producing analytical cross profile drawings that are suitable for sketchbooks or early preparatory sheets.

Cross profile drawing of a shell past Matt Louscher:

This delicate cantankerous contour drawing helps to communicate the bumpy surface of the beat out. Note how the beat out pieces that are furthest away from the viewer are thin and light, whereas those that are closest are darker and thicker. Notation also how the direction of the profile lines relates to the shape of object that is drawn, with lines projecting outwards from the eye of the shell.

Cross contour hand drawings past (from left) Mathew Young, Ryan Acks and Lea Dallaglio while studying at the San Jose State Academy, Department of Art and Fine art History:

Hands are a great subject for a cross contour line cartoon practise. Hands tin create interesting, circuitous, curving shapes, as in the examples above, and are readily available for first-hand observation. Notation how the density and weight of the line as well helps to communicate areas of light and shadow.

Cross contour drawings by Daniel Servin (left) and Alfred Manzano, completed while studying AP Studio Fine art at Mt Eden Loftier School in Hayward, California, U.s.:

These cross contour drawings were completed as function of Breadth assignments for AP Studio Art. These drawings show clever use of line thickness, with the line-weight varying in order to create the illusion of tone and prove three-dimensional form.

A wireframe profile cartoon exercise by Twelvemonth 9 educatee Seonmin Lee from ACG Parnell College, Auckland, New Zealand:

Contour lines tin can too be a great way for students to design three-dimensional forms. These drawings were completed as role of a papier mache sculpture project, with the profile lines representing the supporting cane construction.

Planar analysis drawing

Definition: A planar analysis drawing simplifies circuitous curved surfaces into flat planes, using directly lines. This process helps students to recall about the underlying structure of objects and results in an analytical drawing, that is rather mechanical in appearance.

Planar Analysis Drawing Activity: This can exist a neat introductory drawing practise, especially if you lot are moving towards Cubism or abstracting scenes into geometric form.

A planar analysis portrait completed by a student of True cat Normoyle:

The symmetry and familiarity of the human face makes portraiture a neat subject for planar analysis; the task of converting complex three-dimensional form into apartment surfaces. Notation the careful attending given to the nose and lips in this example.

Wire sculpture drawings

Definition: Wire can be cut and bent into shapes with pliers to create three-dimensional 'drawings', oft resulting in a work filled with flowing, curved lines. These wire sculptures can be fastened to a ii-dimensional frame or a apartment surface, hung in the air, or be left costless-standing, changing in appearance equally a viewer moves effectually the room. Due to their flexible nature, wire sculptures often movement slightly in the wind, adding an extra interactive element to the piece of work.

Wire Sculpture Line Drawing Do: This is an excellent activeness for center school students and for high school students, if it relates specifically to your project (and does not interfere with stamp requirements, for those who need to post work away for cess). Modest wire experiments, using light-weight wire, tin besides exist mounted to sketchbook pages.

Wire sculptures completed by the students of Amy Bonner Oliveri from Allendale Columbia School, Rochester, New York, Usa:

This wire drawing practise 'using line to create space' is completed by students inside a 3D Art class, working over photographic portraits. Having a base paradigm to work from (this could besides be an earlier observational drawing) makes the process of transferring from two-dimensional to three-dimensional much easier.

Hatching, cross hatching, and other line techniques

Also as representing contours, line can also be used to apply tone (light and shadow) to a cartoon. This can be done by altering the:

• Gap between the lines
• Lightness / darkness of the line
• Thickness of the line

There are many line techniques tin can be used to create tone, as illustrated in the worksheet below. Mutual techniques include:

• Small dashes
• Hatching (long, parallel lines on an angle)
• Cantankerous-hatching (parallel lines at correct angles)
• Stippling (dots)
• Scribbles
• Pocket-sized crosses
• Small circles

The bending that these techniques are applied may remain constant inside a drawing, or it may alter in response to the angle and management of the forms. For example, cross-hatching may menstruum around the surface of an object in a similar management as cross contour lines. These techniques are also a great fashion to create the illusion of texture (run into our article most observational drawings).

Line Techniques Worksheet: The worksheet below has been provided by the Educatee Fine art Guide for classroom use only and may be issued freely to students (credited to studentartguide.com), likewise as shared via the social media buttons at the bottom of this folio. It may non be published online or shared or distributed in whatever other mode, as per our terms and weather. The total size printable worksheet is available by clicking the PDF link below. This worksheet is suitable for center schoolhouse students, or senior students who have not had prior experience with line techniques.

This worksheet introduces a range of line drawing techniques and encourages students to invent their own (such as using the kickoff alphabetic character of their name). Information technology allows students to exercise using these techniques and to apply tone to a range of simple geometric objects.

Click here to open up the full size worksheet every bit a printable PDF.

An Indian Ink still life drawing by Kirana Intraroon, completed while in Year 10 at ACG Strathallan College, Auckland, New Zealand:

In this ink cartoon, a small filigree experimenting with different line techniques has been included in the top left of the piece of work. Some of these have been selected to apply tone to the work, carefully replicating reflection and shadow. This epitome was completed using a sharpened bamboo stick dipped in black ink.

An A* GCSE Fine art sketchbook page by Samantha Li:

In this sketchbook page Samantha imitates and analyses a line drawing past Vincent van Gogh, discussing the suitability and appropriateness of each technique. Note that when learning from artists, it is rarely necessary to slavishly copy an entire work; replicating small pieces (equally in this case) is often all that is needed.

A final GCSE Fine art piece by Hannah Armstrong:

This enormous pen drawing of a Baryonyx dinosaur measures ane.ii 10 ii.1 metres, and took over 70 hours to consummate. It was the dramatic determination to a Year 11 high school Art project.

Artist line drawings

Here is a drove of line drawings from famous and less well known artists, to inspire high school Art students and teachers. This department is continually updated. Enjoy!

Pablo Picasso:

Line drawings by Picasso: a series of drawings showing the progression from realistic grade to a few curving lines. Tone and particular have been eliminated: the bull stripped back to its essence.

Andy Warhol:

Popular artist Andy Warhol is famous for his brightly coloured silkscreen artworks; nevertheless he was as well a rampant drawer – often filling sketchbooks. He won many prizes for the drawings he produced in high schoolhouse. The illustrations shown above – comprising of slightly smudged and blotchy black lines – have Warhol's typical off-beat style. They were completed using a basic printmaking technique: pressing sheets of paper into a wet ink drawing, transferring the epitome to the second sheet.

David Hockney:

Famous creative person David Hockey has produced many line drawings – often portraits. He draws in silence, with precision and intendance, moving a black ink pen across the newspaper quickly. This portrait – a snapshot into Hockney'south life – is entitled 'Eugene and Henry'.

Vincent van Gogh:

Almost famous for his post-impressionist paintings, Vincent van Gogh besides produced over a one thousand drawings. In this pen and pencil line cartoon, 'Cottages With a Adult female Working in the Foreground', we see the stylistic swirling of line in the trees and clouds that is and then characteristic of his well-known paintings. Capturing the swirling of the trees and the movement of the clouds, van Gogh represents the lite falling across the textured landscape with quick, confident marker-making.

Leonardo da Vinci:

These precise anatomical line drawings by famous artist Leonardo da Vinci show the internal structure of a human scalp, skull and eye. Facial proportions are carefully mapped out and documented in the image to the right; the drawings surrounded past notation and enlarged details.

Aaron Earley:

Cross-contour line drawings by Aaron Earley: graphite lines of various weights trace over the contours of the face, conspicuously carrying emotion, despite the lack of tone and detail.

Peter Root:

Contemporary line drawings past Peter Root: a series of straight graphite lines is used to create a curvaceous, flowing abstract form.

Maurizio Anzeri

Contemporary artwork by Maurizio Anzeri: a portrait overlaid by a mass of stitched radial lines, veiling the paradigm within.

Tornwing:

Cross contour line drawings by Tornwing: blackness lines of unlike thicknesses flow effectually 3-dimensional forms. The potent contrast in this drawing creates a striking graphic image.

Karolina Cummings:

Gestural line drawings by Karolina Cummings: dramatic and bright, capturing grade in rapidly scrawled, fluid line.

Daniel Mathers

Scribbled line drawings by Daniel Mathers: an explosion of insanity with a black pen.

Roz McQuillan:

Sensitive line drawings by Roz McQuillan: the contrast between the rendered siamese true cat and the white cat formed (formed from a few light lines) draws y'all in to this tranquillity cover.

Wang Tzu-Ting:

Pencil drawings by Wang Tzu-Ting: an overlapping sequence of drawings, using lines that approximate tonal boundaries, set on a running wash of acrylic. A stunning image.

Nina Smart:

Painterly line drawings by Nina Smart: what appears to be an abstruse artwork of smudged and messy paint lines is, upon closer inspection, an accurate and well-proportioned horse. This work was created using a large pipette, cling wrap and a pallet pocketknife.

Andy Mercer:

Expressive line drawings by Andy Mercer: this mixed media cartoon contains a mass of lines that create the illusion of a decorated city scene – a tangle of architectural form.

Vital Photography:

Line drawings by Vital Photography: this image has been pared back to its most basic – lines representing the edges of course. Without any background to speak of, this drove of marks is enough to communicate a message with ease.

Doug Bell

Scribbled line drawings by Doug Bong: a portrait beautifully crafted from a tangle of lines.

Matthew Dunn:

Line drawings by Matthew Dunn: graphic in nature, this monkey appears to be hacked from a wooden board or lino cutting. White scrawls on a black footing; open up mouth with horror.

Rod McLaren:

Line drawings by Rod McLaren: I nearly didn't requite this drawing another glance – but for some reason I was transfixed by this blackness scribble, especially when I saw it was called 'hole-and-corner train drawing'. There is wonder in information technology. And nil. Countless swirls of nothing.

Andreas Fischer:

Line drawings past Andreas Fischer: the earth it turns: thick, colourful, globular painterly lines.

Nicholas Weltyk:

Blind line drawings past Nicholas Weltyk: a wobbly nonetheless controlled continuous line defines form in this emotive drawing.

Swoon:

Street art by Swoon: a tightly woven mesh of paper cut lines.

Liliana Porter:

Experimental line drawings by Liliana Porter: perhaps this person is scrawling across the sky; mayhap they are property onto a mammoth scribble in the fashion one might concur onto a wild balloon. Either way, this drawing is typical of Liliana Porter's artworks. Fun, heady and absurd.

Hong Chun Zhang:

Line drawings by Hong Chun Zhang: this huge hair drawing hangs down the wall and drapes across the floor. Impressive in scale, this drawing is the ultimate depiction of long, tightly braided line.

Bruce Pollock:

Line drawings by Bruce Pollock: finely interlocking mesh of lines creates an intricate and mesmerising pattern.

David Eskenazi

Line drawings by David Eskenazi: the boundaries of space and all that is in between.

Matt Niebuhr:

Line drawings by Matt Niebuhr: a shimmer of tightly meshed smudged and erased graphite line.

Albrecht Durer:

Line drawings past Albrecht Durer: a walrus

Il Lee:

Line drawings by Il Lee: whoever knew the scribbling of a bluish biro pen could result in such magic.

Victoria Oasis:

Geometric line drawings by Victoria Oasis: careful, ordered lines of blue h2o colours (title: 'all in all is truthful') create the illusion of architectural class; twisting, turning space.

Carne Griffiths:

Line drawings by Carne Griffiths: this piece of work is spun with lines…the fine pencil layer that teases out from beneath the colour; the jagged vertical drips that streak down towards the floor; the carefully etched eyebrows and lashes and pilus.

William Anastasi:

Line drawings by William Anastasi: while blindfolded, Anastasi drew on a wall with graphite for an 60 minutes.

Charles Avery

Line drawings past Charles Avery: the illusory combining of hair with perspective lines vanishing towards a horizon make for a powerful image.

Did you lot relish this article? You may wish to read 11 Tips for Producing an Excellent Observational Cartoon.

Amiria has been an Fine art & Design teacher and a Curriculum Co-ordinator for seven years, responsible for the course blueprint and cess of student work in two high-achieving Auckland schools. She has a Bachelor of Architectural Studies, Bachelor of Architecture (Showtime Class Honours) and a Graduate Diploma of Teaching. Amiria is a CIE Accredited Art & Design Coursework Assessor.

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Source: https://www.studentartguide.com/articles/line-drawings-2

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