Combining Hard and Soft Lines

You can make your line drawings more interesting by combing hard and soft lines. Soft lead pencils such as graphite and charcoal are especially good for creating both hard and soft lines. This type of drawing lends itself to more spontaneous compositions, without the use of tone.

The feeling of a hard-and-soft line drawing is usually somewhat carefree. It is important to realize that all line characteristics come from you and your response to your subject.

Dance Sketch

6B charcoal on charcoal paper

16" × 10" (41cm × 25cm)

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Combining Hard and Soft Lines

To create variations from hard to soft lines in a drawing:

• Hold the drawing tool loosely. This will enable you to use either the tip or the side.
• Vary the pressure. More pressure will create darker lines and less pressure will create lighter lines.
• Vary the speed with which you make lines to control the precision and character of the line.

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