Line

Recall these important ideas before beginning the assignment:

We have a psychological response to different types of lines:

• Curved lines suggest comfort and ease

• Horizontal lines suggest distance and calm

• Vertical lines suggest height and strength

• Jagged lines suggest turmoil and anxiety

The way we draw a line can convey different expressive qualities:

• Freehand lines can express the personal energy and mood of the artist

• Mechanical lines can express a rigid control

• Continuous lines can lead the eye in certain directions

• Broken lines can express the ephemeral or the insubstantial

• Thick lines can express strength

• Thin lines can express delicacy

In your sketchbook:

Self-Portrait using only LINE --- read ALL the steps before you start ---

1. Draw a 5 inch wide by 7 inch tall rectangle in the centre of your page (your drawing will go inside)

2. Brainstorm 3 ideas about yourself (what is your personality? your normal mood? your energy level?) - you want to think about the LINES you think will best communicate something about yourself

3. Using ONLY LINE sketch a self-portrait on the page - it may realistic, abstract, or stylized

4. Remember that your portrait should consider LINE orientation, characteristics, and type that match your personality. For example, if you are a serious person, you may choose to use straight lines that are mechanical (or precise). If you are more of an outgoing personality, perhaps adding lots of curved lines and experimenting with line weight (bold lines) or style (dashed or dotted).

5. You may work with pencil or felt-tip pen. No colour and no shading!

In your sketchbook:

You will create an INFOGRAPHIC that visually tells the story of the 5 most common functions of lines in art.

• On a new page in your sketchbook, measure and draw 5 squares that are 3 inches by 3 inches in size. You may arrange the squares in any way you like on your page.

• Create a title "5 Common Functions of LINE" that is included with your 5 squares.

• In each box, illustrate an example of the LINE function that is described. For example, For Identification function, you could create a still life drawing of an object using contour lines.

• You may include shading and/or colour for this assignment (as appropriate)

Recall The 5 Functions of LINE:

1. Identification function of a line refers to it’s most basic function of capturing the essence of the subject. Meaning, our brain is able to identify a few varying lines put together in a certain way as a human or an object.

2. three-dimensional function of line is to provide a sense of space. Variation of a line in tonality, width, weight, focus and intensity is what allows for the effect to occur.

• For example, if an object is far, the tone of the line will be lighter and thinner, than for the object that is close (darker and thicker).

3. organization function of a line refers to the basic underdrawing (or sketch) for artwork in painting/drawing, as well as separating or grouping elements on a page in design.

• It’s often the stage when one defines the composition of art, where the foreground, middle ground and background lies, as well as the objects within it.

4. movement function of a line refers to guiding the viewer’s eyes in the desired direction, as well as showing the movement of a subject.

• It’s often done through varying line’s width, direction, or using implied lines.

5. texture function of a line is using different variations of a line to imply textures. For example, smooth texture is created with straight or curved unbroken lines, messy texture can be created by using a different tool, and fur textures are created with a specific pattern.