Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 7.

7
Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 66.2
Drawspace Curriculum 2.1.R2 - 5 Pages and 9 Illustrations

Drawing

Feathered and
Continuous Lines
Techniques for rendering two types of lines used
in classical and contemporary drawing

Great musicians begin with several months of practicing scales; great artists begin with
many hours of drawing different types of lines. Drawing feathered lines (Figures 1 and 2) is
a basic skill and comes naturally to many aspiring artists.
Figure 1

Figure 2

ArtSpeak
Feathered line: A series of short lines that appear to
be a single line.
Continuous line: A line that is rendered without
lifting the medium from the drawing surface.

ISBN: 978-1-927365-00-7
Copyright 2011 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Drawspace Curriculum 2.1.R2

Conversely, mastering the art of drawing continuous lines (Figures 3 and 4) often requires
several weeks of practice. Not quite boring more like having to learn to tie your shoelaces
when all you want to do is run!
Figure 3

Figure 4

As an Aside
Some of the illustrations in this article have been
digitally darkened in Photoshop so you can clearly
see the various types of lines.

Figure 5

Challenge

Figure 6

Compare preliminary
sketches of flowers
rendered with feathered
lines to their final
drawings outlined
with continuous lines
(Figures 5 to 8).

ISBN: 978-1-927365-00-7
Copyright 2011 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Drawspace Curriculum 2.1.R2

Figure 7

As an Aside
Some artists prefer to erase
feathered lines during or
after the rendering of final
outlines with continuous
lines. Others prefer to have
feathered lines left as part
of the final drawing.

Figure 8

ArtSpeak
Curved line: A line that curves or bends. Curved lines (as in the
letters C and U) can be drawn in any direction and be of any
length.
Drawing space: The area in which you render a drawing within a
specific perimeter. It can be the shape of a sheet of paper itself, or
a shape you outline on your paper, such as a square, rectangle, or
circle.

Sketching with Feathered Lines

Sketches of most subjects, including human figures, are usually lined up, or proportioned,
with feathered lines in the initial stages. To feather a line, you very gently sketch a series
of short lines that involves a constant lifting of the pencil from the paper. Each new stroke
of the pencil is rendered adjacent to the previous one to make the proportions increasingly
accurate.
Arrows identify three lightly-rendered straight feathered lines that were used in the
preliminary sketch for the drawing of a young boy (Figure 9).
ISBN: 978-1-927365-00-7
Copyright 2011 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Drawspace Curriculum 2.1.R2

Figure 9

Challenge
How many curved
feathered lines can you
find in Figure 9?

ArtSpeak
Architect: A person who
uses artistic skills to plan
and design buildings (or
groups of buildings) and
the surrounding property.

Straight
feathered
lines

How to Draw Continuous

Straight Lines
Drawing continuous straight lines is an art unto itself. Each
line has a beginning and an end and cannot be rendered
with a bend or curve. You lift your pencil only when the line
ends.

Grid: A precise
arrangement of a
specific number of
squares, of exact sizes,
proportionately drawn
on both a photo and a
drawing surface.
Set of straight lines: A
grouping of two or more
vertical, horizontal, or
diagonal straight lines,
often drawn parallel to
one another.
Straight-sided shape: A
geometrical object such
as a square, rectangle,
or triangle that is created
when three or more
straight lines connect to
form a shape.

ISBN: 978-1-927365-00-7
Copyright 2011 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Drawspace Curriculum 2.1.R2

Before you put pencil to paper, you need

to visualize the direction each line will
take by imagining small dots at either
end. Connect the imaginary dots in one
slow but decisive movement.
To loosen up before you begin drawing,
shake out your arm, wrist, and hand.
Remember to use you natural hand
movement, rotate your paper, and draw
by moving your arm and shoulder (not
just your hand).

Caution!
Dont draw actual dots on your paper when
rendering continuous lines. Drawing dots on
your paper tends to add stress to the process
of drawing straight lines. If your line misses
the mark, you may feel disappointed. Besides,
who wants to spend a lot of time erasing a
bunch of dots from a beautifully-rendered
drawing?

When you draw straight lines, sets of

straight lines, or straight-sided shapes,
resist the temptation to use a ruler.
You dont want to be stuck with the
bad habit of always needing to carry
around a ruler for drawing straight lines,
especially on excursions outside.

How to Draw Continuous

Curved Lines
Drawing smoothly curving lines
demands a graceful strength. Render
your line decisivelybut dont apply
much pressure to your pencil. Curved
lines should flow downward from your
shoulder to your pencil, and glide
smoothly across your drawing surface.
Take your time; accuracy is more
important than speed. The goal is to
end up with well-defined, gently flowing
curves.

Challenge

As an Aside
All artists need to learn to draw straight
lines freehand. The use of a ruler should
be reserved for projects requiring perfect
accuracy, such as grids, drawing spaces,
guidelines, or architectural renderings.

Tip!
An easy-to-remember process for drawing
continuous curved lines is as follows:

Visualize each curved line before you

begin to draw.

Place the point of your pencil on the

paper, balance your hand lightly with
your little finger, and use your whole arm
from the shoulder to gently move in a
curve.

Draw slowly.

Dont lift your pencil until the line is

complete.

Grab a pencil and paper and try your hand

at drawing feathered and continuous straight
and curved lines.

ISBN: 978-1-927365-00-7
Copyright 2011 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.