A crash course in using line weight.
If your drawings lack depth and distinction, you’re probably not doing much in the way of changing line weights. And even if you do, you’re probably a little hesitant about going too fat with your lines. This exercise’ll get you a little less gunshy.
Get yourself a sharpie or similarly tipped thick pen and a micron, like a 02 or 01, or a ball point (i’ll be using a Pilot V5). I recommend using reference for this, something with a good amount of detail and depth, like a full body shot of a person.
Before starting, go ahead and draw your hand twice, once with the sharpie and once with the micron. Do not double back over lines to make them thicker – keep it all the same thickness. Make it as complete a drawing as you can.
Sharpie only, Micron only:
(Yes, I cheated a little on the micron). Now, go back in with the other type of pen for each picture and render whatever you think is missing from each. As you do this, think about depth, mass and controlling the viewer’s attention. The eye is usually drawn to the area of highest contrasts…
Sharpie + Micron, Micron + Sharpie:
The one on the left, you get a sense of form from the heavy contour line. The one of the right, you feel the mass where the heavier line weight is.
So now you got the basic idea. I recommend starting with the micron because you get to build up your picture. I find it helps you learn to control attention, mass and distance more so than the starting with the sharpie. Again, don’t double back lines or modify the line weight of the sharpie or micron, and try to make as complete a drawing before you switch to the sharpie.
Micron first, Sharpie second:
I think I was more successful with the boxer than the dancer; I put too much weight on her thigh (by totally cheating with doubling the line) and it draws the eye away from the focal point. Compared against the following sharpie first drawing, these look more organic and natural in the use of line weight to depict mass.
Start with the sharpie now, then finish with the micron. Think about how to make the details you fill in with the micron stand out against the heavy lines of the sharpie. (I tend to make a heavy contour line when starting with the sharpie, and in my drawings in general, so this one’s good if you have the same problem.)
Sharpie first, Micron second:
While I didn’t double up the line, I did have to hatch the hell out of it to compete with the thick contour line. But the weight of the micron lines doesn’t always have to compete – the line under the thumbnail works because it is smaller that the contour and gives mass to the nail. Play around til you see what works and what doesn’t.
This exercise is more for beginners to get comfortable with line weights. For me, this was the spark in the kindling to go nuts with line weights. Occasionally I go back to the well with this exercise, but really, once you get in the habit of using line weighting, you’re not going to stop.
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