Drawing Tutorial 024 - Basics(Part - 2) - Hatching and tones

Hatching is one simple technique used for tonal variation in sketching. Though in realistic graphite drawings this technique is seldom used, but in quick sketches it is used frequently. Also, in finished drawings, hatching is used specially with ink drawings and it gives a unique look and feel to the drawing.

Hatching, in its primary types, can be divided in three groups.

1) Simple hatching

2) Cross hatching 

3) Contour hatching

Hatching is nothing but parallel lines drawn in an area of the drawing. The more lines in an area, the more dark tonal value it will indicate. This can be done with different ways.

1) Closely spaced lines

2) Using cross hatching

3) Using dark lines

Alternatively, lighter areas can be rendered with wide spaced lines and using softer lines.

Generally, in a drawing, we observe areas with different tones that can be divided into major three zones viz., highlight, mid-tone and shadows.

Highlight is the area from where light is reflected directly to the observer. The area that is lightened by diffused ambient light. The areas that catch very low light or no  light are the dark-tones or shadow areas.

While depicting this tones, hatching can be used in following manner

Highlight - No hatching

Mid-tone - simple hatching

Shadow - Cross hatching

To bring more subtlety in the drawing, the degree of hatching is varied by narrowing the gap between hatching and creating bold/thin lines for hatching.

The following drawing illustrates the principle. It also shows, the mistakes beginner tend to make while judging the different tonal areas. Though it is true that the side facing the light is bright and opposite side is dark, but there are other areas of reflected lights and position of highlights, that are to be observed keenly while rendering. We will see more of it in our tutorial on tonal values.

The more complex a shape is, more critical it becomes to determine the tonal values for each area. But the principle of hatching remains more or less same. Here is another example of hatching of the same object, one with straight line hatching and another with contour hatching.