Modeled Line

Modeling is a term that drawing borrows from sculpture to a strategy that develops the appearance of the third dimension. When an artist varies line width, weight, and pressure they begin to explore tonality (dark to light), cast shadows, and atmospheric perspective.  For the next two sessions we will be exploreing modeling with line, we'll begin to add value, or tone, to make our drawings richer.  The drawings below exploy modeled line to develop a sense of three dimensionality.  Notice how the artists are not 'shading' or smearing graphite or charcoal to develop tonality.  Rather, they are using hatching, cross-hatching, and building areas with small marks that aggregate to build darker areas.  

Vincent Van Gogh

Cross-Contour: While contour lines describe edges, cross-contours describe form and volume. These lines can follow planes of form, moving around and across objects as well as through them.

Millet

Rembrandt

Van Gogh

Searching Lines: Giacometti and Jason Miurhead both use energetic and vigorous searching lines to build areas of tonality.  Miurhead's directional lines are mirroring the striations of the ways corn grows

Jason Miurhead

Giacometti

Hatching + Cross-Hatching

Giorgio Morandi uses methodical layering of regularly spaced straight lines of unchanging width.

Peter Paul Rubens

Michelangelo Buonarotti

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