Vivid and Lively Hatching and Strokes

If you want to make your hatching expressive and lively, there are two things, that are very important, if you do the shading/hatching with strokes:

1. Study the light and shades

If you observe movement and light, it really trains you in drawing. This drawings shall help and inspire to learn drawing: Draw the shades only, draw the light only, draw the movement only – with pencil and brush …

The easiest way to learn seeing and drawing, is simply to look consciously at the shades, and learn drawing shades:

What is their intensity/grade of black?
How many grades of shades exist?
Create the shades soft or strong contrasts?
Create the shades clear or soft transitions?
(for coloured pencil drawings: study the colours of light zones and shade zones) – often one colour consists of more than one colour and is a mix of two or three different coloures)

2. Study the direction and movement of the pose

I´ve chosen this motive, because it expresses quite clearly a very strong line of action, that leads through body and legs, upwards. The drawings shall express the raising movement in the pose.

The shades in cloth often make visible the movement of a pose. The shades have a direction, you can say, the shades follow the movement. Try to get the relation between movement and shades:

Explore the movement of the pose
Which parts of the body move upwards, downwards,… ?
How ist the spine integrated in the pose?
How is the holding of the head, and how is the head relating to the body?
How is the look, the view of the eyes?
How are the legs and arms integrated into the pose?
What is the main expression of the pose, the line of action?

This three ink brush drawings, are done very fast. Each stroke represents a movement.

3. Where does the light come from?

Study the direction of the light

Does the light come from above, front, side?
Which angle has the light?
Look at the pose by going with the light

3. Unite the inner movement of the pose with the light and shades on the pose and make strokes, that express what you see

The same motive in two different strokes: the single strokes are still visible in the drawing on the left. The strokes are closer and tighter on the right.

This coloured pencil drawing was made with several layers.

If I do the shading, I first have a clear idea of the different grades and intensity of shades. Second, I try to follow and create the movement I have discovered within the pose and try to unite this both observations within the hatching. You shade the shades and you express a movement at once. If the shades in cloth fall down to the floor, try to create a falling stroke movement. If the movement goes upwards, go with the movement upwards. You can be creative and try different things and work on different effects and strokes and study different expressions.