Lines

Lines

DRAWING LINES.

The power of making a line is of paramount importance. In all pencil or chalk drawing, the shading and finishing are but a repetition of lines, and if one line cannot be made with an equal pressure of the pencil throughout, the evenness of tint necessary to produce the appearance of shadow cannot be arrived at : one line in a mass of shading, uneven in its form or colour, interrupts the continuity necessary to produce the proper effect ; and although we find that a certain amount of mechanical dexterity in handling the pencil is, not difficult to be attained, its necessity is not sufficiently insisted upon in the first instance. Neither must it be forgotten, that when we leave the pencil for the use of the brush, we only change one instrument for another ; the power acquired in the first instance will be our aid throughout our future practice.

The first step in drawing should therefore be to make a line. Let us then proceed to consider the best method of its production. A line is either straight or curved. The mode of drawing curved lines will be explained hereafter. In the case of a straight line, its place and length being determined, the student should make a mark, the point from whence it is to proceed, and another where it is to terminate, and, placing the hand so that it can command the line from point to point, he should pass the pencil a few times between them, until he feels that he can make the line with certainty and precision. When such a line can be made, with facility, something has been attained; a certain amount of connexion between the mind and the hand has been established, and the latter is prepared to become the instrument of the former.

In drawing the figure, a firmer and more careful line is required than in drawing landscape ; it requires also more careful observation and comparison ; and, should the taste of the pupil hereafter incline to Landscape Drawing, the command of hand acquired in this previous practice , will be found of great assistance.