Tips on varying line-weight | How to use Thick & Thin Lines 

that's funny. I was in the shower thinking: "I wonder if Alphonso Dunn has a video about line weight". I turned on my computer and this video was in the top of my RU-vid account. ESP? :-)

Thanks for unpacking lines here. Appreciate the principles and concepts - and now to pay attention to my lines and those of others. And the best advice you gave - make a checklist of the things you want to do in your drawing! So will remember line variance.

Wow...... such a simple little thing such as line thickness that can DRAMATICALLY make or brake a realistic image!!!! Thank you Alphonso for waking up my drawing skills which I thought I never had? !!!!

I just would like to thank you. Your videos really motivated me to keep drawing! Its clearly not for views or anything like that, just passion. Also I enjoy to spend time with your book. Its great for begginers - take a rest and focus on basics. 10/10

I love how genuinely excited he is about art. Definitely buying his book because of that

I like your approach very much. I'd love to hear you videos on art discussions.

Great advice, thank you! I would be very happy to have a video that's more of a discussion as well, of you explaining some of the concepts you use / that guide you. - Liron

your videos are extremely helpful!! thank you for sharing them with us!!

I agree with everyone else here, Alphonso. Great, great content! I've always been curious about line variation. I wasn't even sure what to call it. But this is very helpful. Do you think that you could do a follow up video where you analyse a master artist's use of varying and implied lines, kind of how you did with Rubens and cross hatching or Michaelangelo and drawing complex forms? No one has ever explained and illustrated those concepts as well you have. Keep up the GREAT work, and I'm definitely purchasing your book.

your videos are so very helpful. Thank you so much. love to nature journal...watercolor, pencil, etc. Starting...daring..to try ink. Your instructions are great.

Very helpful content! just by applying this a bit, my drawings improved a lot. Thank you!

I am so glad tat I found your channel ^^ right now I am working on a piece wich takes place in a forrest and its one of the first times that I draw a environment so I realy suck at it, but your videos about how to work with perspectivet and how to creat depth really helped me out. Thanks allot for that keep going I realy enjoy watching your videos :D

Thanks for uploading regularly...these vids are truly helpful..thx for all the effort!

You are amazing. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.

Thanks for these details on line weight. I was struggling to complete Exercises 2.1 & 2.2 in the workbook. Making copies of these pages is sometimes very helpful.

thank you! your tutorial are very easy to understand and very helpful, it always makes me want to draw immediately :D

Best art teacher in the whole world!!!!!! 🌎 🌍

Thank you, that was an amazing tutorial!

many thanks Alphonso, i learning to much from you videos. I just apply this to my draws, digital art and da#mn, i never applying this before like you say is another dimension and varieties to our draws, concise clarifying direct to the point of line-weight ;)

I love the way you explained it! It's so "artistic" 😁

You make me feel happy again…..thanks for your inspiration 👍🏻😉

Thank you! You always produce such helpful quality content

Hi AlphonsoYour videos are absolutely brilliant. They have really helped me to improve my drawing. You are so kind to share your expertise. I have just bought your guide book. Delighted with it. Having the book and combining it with your many instructional videos is a great way to develop the skill of drawing. Most of my work is oil painting, but having good drawing skills is a vital part of the process. I am using your guidance in drawing for thumbnails, sketches and compositional work before I embark on a painting. But I am pleased with many of the drawings themselves in their own right. I wouldn't have got this far without your tutorials.I look forward to more videos. Maybe another book as well?

You are awesome dude . I wish I had you as my teacher . Great video an thanks for the advice

I love your videos, they're so easy to understand.

Very helpful! Also, I love your book (pen&ink drawing). Are you going to release other books? It would be awesome!

love it! keep it up man

Another great tutorial, you're a talented artist and a fantastic teacher, Alphonso

That was extraordinarily helpful! Thank you so much!!!

This was very helpful thank you so much

Thanks soooo much for your generous sharing! ❤️

Thanks a lot for your videos! They are really helpful!

Priceless Inktober tips. Thank you! :D

great video as always ^^

We always draw flat lines, regardless of which directions they face, through coming in unity with each other, which means they relate to one another through our perspective a sense of depth is created. One object can be flat, but if you place two objects close to each other, or one behind another depth is created instantly. Light and darkness only reinforces this, but in reality light and dark are a part of the details, for in real life we dont really see outlines, we see details, and we begin to differenciate things from things by sensing different color layouts. When it comes to the intensity of a line the same rule is applied, distant things get smaller, while closer things get bigger. If a line begins big, then becomes smaller it creates a sense of distance, in a way it creates motion. Heh, one of the interesting things i recognized just yesterday... is that we always start off with a flat surface, which is the paper, each element we place, is composed of lines, and through adding a multitude of lines, we create flat shapes, flat shapes which then we come to relate to each other, and that creates depth even without adding any more details, details are the exact same, they are flat shapes and intense outlines, what changes is how tense they are, the more small details the more reinforced an image gets. At first i struggled with understanding how the perspective works, because if you were to create a single horizont line on the map, you could already imagine that its a curving hill, yet its not really.. But your mind might think it is, so how do you sense your break of motion? Through imagining plenty of flat lines placed next to each other below the horizont line, since all lines are next to each other and same size, they create a sense of flat space. Which then if different sizes, the smaller towards the distance the closer towards you, then creates distance again. And you can just replace the lines with any other objective form, when it comes to creating a sense of depth near height or flat areas, you do the same thing, except you no more go plainly like, put sometihng on the top and something below, no you draw unfinished shapes, like the top of a stone, which you make sure to showcase to be a stone by drawing similar shapes, or using colors or shading. In a way we are working with the same technical elements, like how you create the perception of depth and distance and detail and relation between elements, and all these things, we work with them we just kinda change up the occasion. So technically you got: -Distance (created through the width of objects drawn and relation between them creates a sense of space) and distance is created through things becoming smaller as they get farther. -Lines (which can also be used to create separate parts, but we only use them to create like stronger outlines, some elements have strongly shaded outlines, for instance a hole on a tree is an outline just placed inside. -Perspective (which angle you look at things from, and how these objects or shapes behave compared to the source point of your perspective) - Brush (like when you create moss, or shadows) - Cuts (as in lines you draw very close to each other to create detail) and then infitine combinations on how to mix up these things to create a palette that by its entirity cooperates to create a sense of image, like even if you draw some darkness by itself it isnt much, but if you put it correctly it can act as shadow, or a type of detail just by how you place things around it, aka in relation to it. and i guess there is a balance to outlines maybe, in which case you place every element so they compliment one another and this could even extend as far as to influence how you place objects and they can create a sense of motion or lack of space around your perspective position, or a sense of space, or whatever. xD Edit: I learnt some of this stuff, thta you talk about, the variables form playing games. I called it the sketch system, after drawing. Coz what is particular about certain elements which make up a game, is that. There is always a transition between full elements, like for instance take yourself you are an element, if you wish to come in contact with a door you must position yourself to it, and to do that, you must channel the act of positioning, which is composed of detailed actions, but as you channel the movement you dont really put much thought into it. However, what you do is you get yourself closer to your goal every passing second, which is the door. In a way it applies to drawin aswell, much like how you said, its all motion, the act of going towards a position in the distance, with your eyes is a transition between elements, which in this case is the far distance and the place where your perpsective is positioned. A tree is motion of two points connecting together, from the bottom it grows upwards and you could imagine that every bit of tht tree is like some friggin noodles, and that is your transition process. Since element of start, aka the element you begin with, will finally create its full effect when it reaches its destination, the element of completion.. you create a point connected by line to point drawing. o___________o And that act of connecting is a motion we sense since it exists to all things, i guess its how humans sense or something.

Thanks for the video! Just in time for Inktober no less!

Another priceless wealth of information, incorporate watercolor into a video like this and I will b your happiest subscriber. I probably am your happiest sub regardless

you convey the lesson so clearly man; thank you big time alphonso

The tip that helped me a lot in line variation is that in nature there is no lines. Just different shades of colors that makes forms.

You always explain stuff so simply :)

Great observation, When I use a technical pen (as an amateur) I tend to just position it 90 degrees from the surface of the paper. Makes sense though, to move the angle as that's what many comic book artists seem to do (using disposable technical pens while creating various line weights)....

Great tutorial!

i am so grateful to watch your videos,dayby day i am improving my skills thank you so much

Thanks for an especially helpful video (all of your videos are great). Do you ever draw with a fountain pen?

You draw eyes awesome! I'm trying to use different types of pens that with the right pressure goes from a thin line to a bold wide line like cartoonist Robert Crumb does! He's a totally awesome artist...

Thank you :)

Very helpful. thank you.

I was looking for a video like this, so thanks! Do you know if I can use a fountain pen to get similar results to that dip pen? I want to put some line variation in my comics, but I only have a thick brush pen (about 5 mm at the base), so normally I use a fineliner.

You are such an amazing teacher!

Good video! And also I want to see more videos about drawing with fountain pen.

this video comes in handy for INKTOBER :D thanks for sharing!

Using a tech pen for variable lines? never even thought fo that. Thanks,

You deserve the Good Housekeeping Award for Awesomeness.. great video

MAN! Thank you so much for doing these tutorials! I find that when I draw with pen the drawing looks much worse than the sketch with pencil and have never know why, maybe line weight might be why. Do you have any other ideas why my pen drawings looks worse than my pencil ones?

the first time I learned about line weight was through comics when it comes to inking for example lets say I had objects in the background and objects in the foreground I will drawing the lines in the foreground thinner than the lines in the background is much thinker like watching this vid thanks for posting

I started drawing at the beginning of this summer and your videos have helped me improve so much! I just have one question; do you think its better to try different styles for each drawing or; pick one, improve on it, then move to a different style after a few pieces?

Not sure if u have done a video, but how would u approach something like a snowy mountain range.

super helpful!

Great lesson. I've never seen a technical pen used that way.

Hi! Alphonso! You have awesome works! Just wanna ask what kind of pencil is it you us for your pencil work that I see in your videos?

Hola yo no se dibujar, cual es la pprimera clase? como es la secuencia?

Thank you for doing this tutorial! May I ask what kind of paper you are using in this video? or any other you recommend for inking?

Your videos are very useful ..! Thanx man for sharing! :)

THANK YOU A LOT FOR THIS VIDEO!!! there is any video of yours drawing feathers in ink?

Excellent

Mr. Dunn can you make another urban sketching video? Thank you

👍

I got your book and found, that I couldn't do the line weight technique with my radiograph or fineliner. I ended up using a pilot compact pen with a ball to perform. Hopefully this new split nib fountain pen I have coming will eliminate the need for a ball point pen. I absolutely despise ball point pens. What type of paper is good for working with ink? I have googled it, and yeah nothing but confusion, to many people going all over the choice spectrum with Ink type papers.

How do you fix over thicken lines??

Thank you thank you thank you for the videos! :D I can't wait to order your book. Oh btw, do you like drawing in charcoal if so can you make a vid about it? :D

Hello Alphonso! Could you tell about clouds? I think, that it will be very useful for all people. Just I can't find similar video, but drawing clouds is sooo difficult for me. (Please more drafts, I'm not english speaker). P.s. Maybe you wish to tell how you draw young girl face too? с:

The batteries in your fire alarm need changing.

nice tutorial (y) like

omg thanks for putting the pen you used in the description. nobody ever does that.

I tried my hand at pen drawing one time and was told that quill pens were the best for creating line variation: But I always had the same problem. leaky pens that would leave blobs of ink on my drawing. I never solved problem and never returned to that medium.

Where did you get the fountain pen?

What is that black brush looking pen

It looks like you're emulating what dip pens are capable of without the mess really. A good G-pen, for example, should be able to approximate all the line widths you're demonstrating. But using disposable pens is easier from many perspectives.

Those first 14 seconds🙌🏿🙌🏿✒️👍🏿🤗

What exactly is Inktober ? :o Great video btw, awesome work !

which mincron size do u use mostly

Where are you from, Alphonso? i.e., what's that accent?

when you realize his scribble is better art than your actual drawing....

I wanted to draw better , i noticed things about artists drawings for example lighting , shading , color like (how much of it , is it gradient is it dotting, pattern) , lining (line weight). And then when those principles are aplied when drawing even say for example a piece of shit xDD that piece of shit looks hella lot better.

"hey guys today I am going to share some tips with you about line weight varient or thick and thick lines". There can be only one type of line and its thick lol.

Must be raining outside

You broke my teeth

I've said this before... Will you marry me ? Amazing lesson, Thank you :)

had to mute the video and turn on CC because of the horrible sound of a marker scratching on paper. it felt like you even made the horrible sounds louder. I give the sound design of this video a 0/10, that sound makes my skin crawl.

This was very helpful thank you so much