hi all. i'm just coming to the end of the beginner section but have a problem with hatching. should hatching lines be drawn carefully side-by-side, almost like a soldier course? or can you put the pencil on its side and be a little looser? how about if you're hatching a big picture? should the hatching lines be long and continuous? or can you break them down into more manageable bits?

hope you understand this.

should be a great summer.

paul.

Hi Paul. There are no hard and fast rules for hatching. Its all down to personal style.

Some people are very neat and precise, others looser. By the time you finish creating your shading with hatching, the lines blend together almost so no one would really be looking that closely for perfection.

My lines in hatching are probably no longer than the width of my hand or wrist stroke, so if doing a larger picture yes, they'd be broken. I find the faster I do them, the neater and straighter they become. It does become sort of second nature after a while and you don't really think about how you do.

My suggestion would be to try different approaches and see which one you like most and if it has the effect that you are looking for, then use that.

many thanks, Jeanette. By the way, your picture by van der Weyden is superb. I look forward to asking many tips from you.

paul

Your method or style of hatching may also vary depending on the texture you wish to create. Hatching is just one method of getting the value and texture you wish to discribe.

BRB

Thanks Paul. And that drawing uses no hatching at all, but circulism.

As Bob said, there are several ways of obtaining the shading that you want. Hatching is just one of them.