Line

Lines are the most vital components of almost any drawing. Great drawings are read through the character of individual lines and lines come together to define the spatiality of the drawing: lines are like boundaries and as such open up spatial relationships on a page.

The immediacy of a line is the most direct way to visualize thought and observation, and as a line drawing evolves, and different line weights are used, it can express a spatial depth and also define gradations of light and shadow.

Lines are as varied as the instruments used to make marks and the surfaces to be drawn on. Lines can be made with almost anything and media selection depends on individual approach, but as a general rule the combination of drawing surface and drawing tool should be chosen to facilitate a variety of lines; compare for instance the limitation of thin tracing paper with the rich surface of Indian cotton rag paper. For the same reason, you might opt for soft pencil over a fiber-tipped pen, but the choice will ultimately depend on the nature of the drawing, how detailed it is, its scale, and how it is to be seen: will it be viewed close up, from a distance, or both?

When drawing by hand, each of us will instinctively make different marks and draw different kinds of lines. These primitive elements of drawing are the most spontaneous reflection of our visual thinking and creative imaginations. They reflect the ways in which we bring together a design as a complex and synthetic process, and in them we can reflect on divergent paths, opportunities, and ideas that would otherwise be articulated with difficulty.

Sara Shafiei of Saraben Studio’s Anamorphic Tectonics: Magician’s Theater, National Botanical Gardens, Rome. This longitudinal section through the theater is made using laser-cut watercolor paper with hand drawing and CAD drawing.