Art Analysis Ep.2 | Lines

Table of Contents

Hi friends! This week we will delve into lines, one of the most important aspects of style and design. Our guests of the week are Alphonse Mucha and Nicolai Fechin.

Lines are of key importance at all stages of your creative process. Just understanding how to use lines skillfully and efficiently can massively boost the quality of your work. Even if you mostly work with shapes and painting, having a tight grasp of lines can still be very beneficial for your painting skills.

Key points mentioned in this article

• Lines can guide the direction of the viewer’s eye.
• At the end of the day, analyzing the purpose your line serves in a piece is the best way to gauge where to place them and know how to vary lineweight.
• While contrast in value is used to define the form and the plane changes, lines can also be used to define edges. They can bring out definition through the mess of value and bring back some structure.

First, let’s define some basic terms:

Lines are human constructs. Lines do not exist in real life, but they are two-dimensional guides that can help us define edges when applied on paper.

Design. When I refer to design, I mean the intention behind an action. When I design a line, it means that I have control over the line, and that I understand the role line plays in a piece.

Line Quality is an adjective that describes the width, cleanliness, or the variation of thickness of the line.

Let’s start our analysis with the work of Alphonse Mucha, one of the greatest art nouveau illustrators of his time. By analyzing the work of Mucha, we will learn where to use lines and how to design the thickness of lineweight.

One of the first things to notice in Mucha’s work is where he chooses to use lines. The face is the only section of the piece that doesn’t use lines. Rather, the face is thoroughly rendered with subtle plane changes and delicate edges.

On the other hand, her hands (see what I did there) are completely defined by the usage of thick and bold lines.

The lack of lines in the face indicates that the focal point of the piece is centered around the face. The face is the most important aspect of the painting.

On the note of composition, notice how many of the lines that are used to define the cloth point/radiate towards the face. The many flourishes towards the top of the piece also snake around to point toward the face.

Lines can guide the direction of the viewer’s eye. In Mucha’s piece, lines flow into each other and lead the viewer’s eyes up into the face.

Another interesting aspect of Mucha’s work is the massive variation of line thickness. A very thick lineweight is used around the entire figure. The lines inside the figure have much thinner strokes. The darker outlines of the figure help make the subject matter pop out from the background, giving it more impact.

Additionally, the darker lines give the entire outline of the figure a softer and rounder undertone. Alternatively, the thinner lines are used to emphasize the gesture and flow of the cloth, forming very delicate details. An interesting choice Mucha decided to make is that all of the thinner lines have the same thickness, adding a look of harmony between all of the complex elements of the piece.

Many artists often question how lineweight should be manipulated, when to go with lines or none at all, and why lines are used in the first place. Every artist has their own style and recipe for lineweight. One artist might use thicker lines where two lines intersect while another might use them in cases of ambient occlusion. At the end of the day, analyzing the purpose your line serves in a piece is the best way to gauge where to place them and know how to vary lineweight.

Moebius and Katsuya Terada are some other artists that use lines like Mucha. If interested, check out their works.

Next, we will analyze the work of Nicolai Fechin, a Russian Painter recognized for his painting prowess. Although Fechin is widely known for his brush skills and techniques in his paintings, we will be taking a look at one of his pencil drawings instead. By analyzing the work of Fechin, we will be able to understand how lines can be used to define edges and bring more interest in a drawing.

If you squint your eyes and observe the piece, you will notice how, for the most part, the values are grouped together very closely. While contrast in value is used to define the form and the plane changes, Fechin also uses lines to define edges.

Take, for example, the wings of the nose.

The values between the wings of the nose and the cheek are grouped very closely. However, a line is used in between to define the edge of the nose. While the line could be representational of ambient occlusion between the nose and cheek. Incorporating a line instead of just a tone gives the entire piece more kick and cleanliness.

The cheekbones are solely defined by the usage of lines. Edges that would have been lost are reintroduced. Lines are also used to define contours that are lost in the abstraction around the edges of the face.

The lines bring out definition through the mess of value and some structure is brought back to the face.

Even if you don't use lines in your works very often, you can still think about how you could apply the usage of lines to your paintings. Perhaps you can bring back some definition of lost edges with lines.