Line & Value

Close up of a drawing by French comic artist Moebius (Jean Giraud).

Plate from Odoardo Fialetti drawing book, 1608

Cross-hatching is a technique used to create value with lines. It works with pen or pencil, but you will see it more often when using ink.

There is no real 'right' way to do it as long as your lines are creating a sense of form and depth on an object.

When using cross-hatching to show value and form it can be helpful to use reference similar to this to help understand how light works.

Using a pen practice your cross hatching! First complete the 7 rectangles by going from darkest to lightest. Then, using lines and cross-hatching give your shapes value and form!

This style uses longer lines that continually overlap to create darker areas.

This style uses a combination of longer strokes in one direction with shorter strokes in between.