How To Draw Cross Contour Lines

A cartoon done in simply profile lines.
Photo: Toa Heftiba

There are some techniques that are and then essential to art that you lot may not even realize they have a name. Even the lines you make while doodling have a term for them; they are called contour lines , and they are the footing of all drawing. To sketch an object, you typically use this blazon of line to define a shape on paper, sail, and beyond. Although profile lines help illuminate a form, at that place are a couple of important characteristics of them. The biggest is that at that place is no shading involved.

So, what are contour lines used for? This type of mark is a primal of line art. Though elementary, it is a powerful tool for expression. One line, or a serial of them, can convey ideas and emotion. Artists such as Leonardo da Vinci have used contours in their sketches, while Henri Matisse employed the use of dark lines to outline his jubilant figures in The Trip the light fantastic.

Types of Contour Lines

Contour lines have seemingly infinite possibilities for making a creative statement. If you lot've e'er taken an fine art class, it was probably one of the first things you drew. Merely did you know that there are different types of profile lines and exercises to attempt? Each type allows y'all to express a bailiwick in a similar just unique way.

Come across how the aforementioned object can be transformed through the use of line.

How different can ane object look? Find out below.
Photo: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

Single Profile Lines with Varied Line Weight

Contour lines with varied line weight
Artwork & photo: Sara Barnes / My Mod Met

When you think of a contour line, this might be what you picture. Here, the hand statue is drawn with single lines and no shading. Because of this, line variation is important in this type of profile line drawing; the thicker the line, the more than visual emphasis is paid to it. So, for elements of artwork that you would similar to accentuate, make the marks thick. This is ideal for conveying the weight of an object or parts that would typically be in shadow.

For this type of drawing, it's helpful to use more than i utensil with a varying tip size (in pens) or a softness of graphite (pencils).

Cross Contour Lines

Cross contour lines
Artwork & photograph: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

Although there is no shading with contour lines, there is a substitute for information technology—cantankerous contour lines. This mode of drawing uses lines to follow the form of the bailiwick and ascertain its characteristics and most importantly, its grade. In doing so, a iii-dimensional portrait emerges that's like to a topographical map. The closer together the lines, the darker an expanse will appear. The more curved the lines, the more rounded the subject looks.

Continuous Contour

Continuous contour
Artwork & photograph: Sara Barnes / My Modern Met

Call up about how y'all create a typical line drawing; chances are that yous option up your pencil or pen from the paper countless times. With a continuous contour cartoon, however, you'll never remove your utensil from the surface of your canvass until the unabridged drawing is consummate. The tip should always be touching the paper. As a event, a single line follows the class of your subject and creates a circuitous path that defines the large shapes and pocket-sized details—and resembles one long string.

Blind Contour

Blind contour
Artwork & photo: Sara Barnes / My Mod Met

If continuous contour cartoon sounded challenging, creating a blind profile drawing will be even more daunting—but this fun activity will brand you smile at the results. The "blind" in blind contour comes from the fact that you volition never look down at your paper while drawing. Begin with your pen or pencil—nosotros recommend a pen and so it won't smudge—on the page and and so start at the bottom of the shape. As your eye slowly moves around the object, keep your drawing utensil moving. Unlike continuous contour, you tin can choice upwardly your pen, a fact that only adds to the charm of this exercise past making things even more than beveled. When yous're washed, look down at your newspaper to see how yous captured (or didn't capture) the likeness of your subject field.

Check out our recommendations for more drawing games and drawing challenges that will get your creative juices flowing.

Share your contour line drawings when you join our Art, Blueprint, Photography, and Cartoon Club on Facebook!

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Source: https://mymodernmet.com/contour-lines-in-art/

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