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    Home » Beginning Drawing Lessons Online » Easy Drawing with Crosshatching Line Technique in Art

    Easy Drawing with Crosshatching Line Technique in Art

    Learn how to create an easy drawing with crosshatching line technique in art in this online art lesson. Practice shading in a quick and easy still life using simple hatched lines. Draw with me in this quick step-by-step tutorial.

    Cross-hatching is a method that uses sets of crossing parallel lines to quickly add value, shading, and texture to a drawing. In this lesson from my online art school, I show you how to use cross hatching.

    Crosshatching drawing of a cone, sphere, and box on a spiral notebook with colorful crosshatched watercolor paintings behind with drawing pencils and an eraser.
    Cross Hatching Drawing
    Jump to:
    • Cross Hatching Lines in Art
    • Materials
    • How to Use Crosshatching (Art Lesson)
    • Variations
    • Tips and tricks
    • Video of Cross Hatching Drawing
    • Transcript
    • Lesson Downloads
    • For More Practice
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • You Also Might Like

    While this tutorial focuses on using cross hatching in a quick still life, these techniques can be applied to any kind of drawing. It can be used in sketches, finished drawings, or even as an underpainting for watercolor or other mediums. 

    Crosshatching can be used for so much more than still lives. Try it in landscapes, portraits, figures, animals, cityscapes, abstract art, or even in mixed media. 

    Cross Hatching Lines in Art

    Throughout history, artists have used hatching and crosshatching in sketches, drawings, and even etchings. Here are some examples of some remarkable artists.

    Etching by Rembrandt with Cross Hatching
    Cross Hatching Drawing By Georgio Morandi

    Materials

    The materials that you need for this lesson include:

    • Pencil 
    • Paper (Drawing paper is best but you can use whatever you have available. I am using a 5.5 x 8.5-inch spiral bound sketchbook with 60lb paper)

    How to Use Crosshatching (Art Lesson)

    Sketch of a cone, sphere, and box on a spiral ring notebook with an eraser.
    Sketch in the Shapes
    Artist adding cross hatching lines to a sketch of a cone, sphere, and box on a spiral ring notebook.
    Make more lines going in opposite directions
    Sketch of a cone, sphere, and box with artist adding cross hatching lines on a spiral ring notebook.
    Cross hatch sets of parallel lines
    Artist adding cross hatching lines for shading on a sketch of a cone, sphere, and box on a spiral ring notebook.
    Add more lines in darker areas
    • Mark the top and bottom of the cone. Draw a guide line down the center of the cone. Make a curved line for the bottom of the cone and then draw in the sides.
    • The sphere sits just a little bit lower than the halfway point of the cone. Lightly sketch in the sphere. Continue to go over the lines until it is round.
    • The box sits just a little higher than halfway point of the cone and behind the sphere. Draw in the front of the box then angle the sides back. Connect the sides to form the back of the box.
    • Shade in your drawing by crosshatching. Start by making a set of parallel lines then turn your direction and make another set of lines in the opposite direction. Leave the lightest areas with no crosshatching at all. The top of the box and the area behind the sphere is in more shadow so hatch over that area again making it even darker.
    • Erase the guidelines and darken the lines of the shapes.
    • To shade in the sphere, use crosshatching lines that are slightly curved. This is also called contourhatching. Turn and make another set of slightly curved lines in another direction. Leave the highlighted area white and the reflected highlight area (at the bottom, in the shadows where the light hits the table and reflects back onto the sphere) slightly lighter.
    • Sketch in slightly curved hatch lines, following the bottom contour of the cone. Allow the lines to go about halfway across the cone. Make lines in another direction but only cross about halfway over the first set of lines to show a transition to lighter values.
    • Add shadows at the base of the shapes where they meet the table by drawing lines and then adding another set of lines going in the opposite direction.

    Variations

    Cross hatched drawing of some French countryside houses on a dirt road with some greenery and trees in the background next to a watercolor painting set and some paintbrushes.
    Add watercolor to a cross hatched drawing
    • Add color to your still life by painting it with watercolor paint. 
    • Draw the same still life and crosshatching with colored pencils, charcoal, or pen and ink.
    • Add some background behind your still life. You could add walls, a tablecloth, windows etc. Use crosshatching to shade in the background.

    Tips and tricks

    • Keep your first lines and guidelines or marks very light so they are easy to erase if needed.
    • You can keep going over a crosshatched area in different directions until it is as dark as you want it.
    • For very light areas don’t use any cross-hatching at all, just leave it the color of the paper.
    • Hatching and crosshatching lines do not always need to be regularly spaced, the spacing can be different between different marks or different areas of a drawing.
    • Crosshatching can also be combined with shading to create overall value in a drawing.

    Video of Cross Hatching Drawing

    Transcript

    Read Transcript

    Hey there. In this art lesson, we are going to take a look at crosshatching drawing. 

    I'm going to start by marking the top and bottom of my cone

    and then drawing a guiding line down the center. I am keeping my lines kind of light because I'm probably going to erase some of them later.

    I'm going to put a mark about halfway down the cone. Now my sphere is going to sit just a little bit lower than that halfway mark.

    Again a few lines trying to, aiming for round here, don't worry it's not perfect. My box is going to be a little bit above halfway

    The top and bottom of the box are going to be parallel to each other

    but at a little bit of an angle. The side of the box angles back as well.

    Now I'm going to erase all the lines that I don't need.

    And just kind of shore up the the edges of my shapes. Get rid of all that eraser dust and

    go over my lines again. Making sure that my shapes are right where I want them. Oops [laughing], just make that a little bit more round. Okay.

    So to make my crosshatching I'm going to start by making a set of parallel lines

    where I want it to be shaded in. Then I'm going to turn and make a set of parallel lines going in the opposite direction

    And then I can just keep going over those same areas at different angles with more lines until the shading is as dark as I want it to be.

    The top of the box is shaded in a little bit darker and very light shading on the top of the box where it's getting more light. Now right there and there it's going to be a little bit lighter where the light is hitting and then where we're also seeing a reflected highlight.

    On my sphere, I'm making my lines a little bit curved to follow the contour of the sphere.

    And then again changing the directions of my crosshatching

    Then going over the darker areas again where there is more shadow.

    Now for the cone, I'm going to make these lines again a little bit curved to follow the bottom contour of my of that cone.  I'm going to make my lines go about halfway across

    as the, as it kind of transitions into the lighter highlight areas on the cone.

    Now I can turn my paper always to make my lines a little bit easier. I'm going at a different angle. Now these hatching, crosshatching lines I'm gonna not have them go the full length of the first set of lines to kind of create that illusion that the the shadow is transitioning out into the highlights.

    All right, erase a little bit where I went out of my lines and I'm gonna add a little bit of shadow here at the bottom where the objects meet the table.

    I'm going to again turn my direction of my crosshatching to make those shadows nice and dark. And that is how to use basic crosshatching. 

    Thanks for watching please make sure to subscribe and leave any questions at artlooklearn.com

    Crosshatching drawing of a cone, sphere, and box on a spiral notebook with colorful crosshatched watercolor paintings behind with drawing pencils and an eraser.

    Easy Drawing with Crosshatching Line Technique in Art

    Learn how to create and easy drawing with crosshatching line technique in art in this online art lesson. Practice shading in a quick and easy still life using simple hatched lines. Draw with me in this quick step-by-step tutorial.

    Equipment

    • Pencil
    • Paper (Drawing paper is best but you can use whatever you have available. I am using a 5.5 x 8.5 inch spiral bound sketchbook with 60lb paper)

    Instructions

    • Mark the top and bottom of the cone. Draw a guide line down the center of the cone. Make a curved line for the bottom of the cone and then draw in the sides.
    • The sphere sits just a little bit lower than the halfway point of the cone. Lightly sketch in the sphere. Continue to go over the lines until it is round.
    • The box sits just a little higher than halfway point of the cone and behind the sphere. Draw in the front of the box then angle the sides back. Connect the sides to form the back of the box.
    • Erase the guidelines and darken the lines of the shapes.
    • Shade in your drawing by crosshatching. Start by making a set of parallel lines then turn your direction and make another set of lines in the opposite direction. Leave the lightest areas with no crosshatching at all. The top of the box and the area behind the sphere is in more shadow so hatch over that area again making it even darker.
    • To shade in the sphere, use crosshatching lines that are slightly curved. This is also called contourhatching. Turn and make another set of slightly curved lines in another direction. Leave the highlighted area white and the reflected highlight area (at the bottom, in the shadows where the light hits the table and reflects back onto the sphere) slightly lighter.
    • Sketch in slightly curved hatch lines, following the bottom contour of the cone. Allow the lines to go about halfway across the cone. Make lines in another direction but only cross about halfway over the first set of lines to show a transition to lighter values.
    • Add shadows at the base of the shapes where they meet the table by drawing lines and then adding another set of lines going in the opposite direction.

    Notes

    Keep your first lines and guidelines or marks very light so they are easy to erase if needed.
    You can keep going over a crosshatched area in different directions until it is as dark as you want it.
    For very light areas don’t use any cross-hatching at all, just leave it the color of the paper.
    Hatching and crosshatching lines do not always need to be regularly spaced, the spacing can be different between different marks or different areas of a drawing.
    Crosshatching can also be combined with shading to create overall value in a drawing.

    Lesson Downloads

    Still Life for Drawing PracticeDownload

    For More Practice

    • Set up your own still life from objects around your home. Draw it and then shade it in using crosshatching.
    • Sketch a landscape or figure and add in crosshatching.
    • Experiment with different materials. Try crosshatching with colored pencils, markers, charcoal, and pen and ink.
    • Draw something from a photo. Crosshatch it with a ballpoint pen and then paint it with watercolor paint.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What is crosshatching used for?

    Hatching and crosshatching techniques are commonly used in sketching and drawing to add a sense of shading and texture. It can also be found in traditional printmaking techniques such as etching and engraving. 

    How are crosshatching lines done?

    Hatching lines are done by sketching a series of parallel lines close to one another to create a sense of shading and texture. The lines can be either regularly spaced or irregularly spaced.
    Make the lines darker and closer together to show a darker value, lighter, and further apart for a lighter value. The direction of your lines can also help indicate different planes of the object or subject that you are drawing.

    What is contourhatching?

    Contour hatching is simply regular hatching or crosshatching but drawn to follow a curved contour. Anything that is curved or rounded can be enhanced with contour hatching.

    Cross hatched drawing of a cone, sphere, and box on a spiral ring sketchbook next to some drawing pencils and an eraser.

    You Also Might Like

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    • How to Draw a Box

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    Hi, I'm Sam! Creating is a journey. While learning basic skills is important, the process of making is much more important than the finished project. Experiencing hands on drawing, painting and other art activities is fulfilling and enlightening.

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