Pen
and Ink Drawing
Creating
Tone and Texture with Pen and Ink
Ink
Drawing Techniques: Cross Hatching and Stippling
View
our completed ink drawing in its actual size
Cross
Hatching and Stippling
are the two basic techniques for the creation of tone
and texture in an ink drawing. These are traditional
techniques that have been used by artists for centuries.
They can be applied in a tightly controlled manner,
as in our drawing of Whitby above, or more freely and
expressively, as in the Van Gogh drawing of trees below.
Vincent
Van Gogh (1853-1890)
Tree
with Ivy in the Asylum,
(ink on paper, 1889)
In
'Tree with Ivy in the Asylum', Van Gogh intuitively
combines cross hatching and stippling to create a bold
expressive technique that naturally reflects the form,
texture and energy of its subject. The spontaneity and
fluidity of his pen strokes say as much about the artist's
personality as they do about the subject. It is the
skill of an artist's technique, filtered though a personal
vision of the subject, that determines the quality of
an artwork.
Combining
Cross Hatching and Stippling
Whitby
Detail 1
(top left)
If
we look at a close-up detail of our Whitby drawing,
it should help to reveal how cross hatching and stippling
are combined for a tonal and textural effect. A range
of cross hatching and stippling techniques have been
used to give tone and texture to the walls and roofs.
These techniques are not used independently from one
another, but are combined to increase their effectiveness.
After the brickwork and roof tile patterns had been
sketched in, areas of tone were hatched and cross hatched
over these to suggest depth and form. Stippling was
then applied in various densities to both plain and
brick patterned walls in order to convey the grime and
texture of the different surfaces.
Whitby
Detail 2
(bottom right)
In
detail 2, graduating densities of stippling have been
used to express the texture of the bushes and trees.
Hatching and cross hatching, combined with stippling,
have been applied to suggest a variety of other surface
qualities ranging from metal lock-up doors, to smooth
concrete and rough brickwork.
As
a general rule, it is probably easier to apply cross
hatching first, in order to build up the tonal structure
of the drawing. Stippling tends to be used later to
add subtlety and texture to the work.
