Elements of Drawing

Line
is the most basic element of the drawing. It can be uniformed and all one width, or to be more interesting, and to convey more information with a single line, a single line can be of varying widths. It can also communicates emotion and states of mind through its character and direction.

 Horizontal line suggests a feeling of rest or repose. Objects parallel to the earth are at rest in relation to gravity. Therefore compositions in which horizontal lines dominate tend to be quiet and restful in feeling.

 Vertical lines communicate a feeling of loftiness and spirituality. Erect lines seem to extend upwards beyond human reach, toward the sky. They often dominate public architecture, from cathedrals to corporate headquarters.

Diagonal lines suggest a feeling of movement or direction. Since objects in a diagonal position are unstable in relation to gravity, being neither vertical nor horizontal, they are either about to fall, or are already in motion. In a two dimensional composition diagonal lines are also used to indicate depth, an illusion of perspective that pulls the viewer into the picture-creating an illusion of a space that one could move about within. Thus if a feeling of movement or speed is desired, or a feeling of activity, diagonal lines can be used.

 Horizontal and vertical lines in combination communicate stability and solidity. Rectilinear forms stay put in relation to gravity, and are not likely to tip over. This stability suggests permanence, reliability and safety. In the case of the man in this family group, the lines seem to imply stability to the point of stodginess. Deep, acute curves, on the other hand, suggest confusion, turbulence, even frenzy, as in the violence of waves in a storm, the chaos of a tangled thread, or the turmoil of lines suggested by the forms of a crowd.

Shape
occurs when the first line is drawn. Shape is the information that is presented between two or more lines, or is the thing that is enclosed by line. Shape helps define the object that is depicted as much as the collection of lines that make up the object in the drawing.

Proportion and Perspective

Proportion is the size of one picture element in relation to the size of another. In other words Proportion is what dictates that, in humans, legs are longer than arms, the middle finger is longer than the pointer finger, and the nose is the same length as the width of the eye. If proportion is incorrect in a drawing it "doesn't look right".Perspective is the illusion that further away things appear smaller. To make something appear to be farther away from the viewer than the picture plane, draw it smaller than the object that is closer to the picture plane. I've put proportion and perspective together as one drawing element because they both use each other to work. If one is incorrect, chances are the other is also incorrect.

Light and Shadow

It creates depth and atmosphere in a drawing. In order to make a drawing look "realistic" you need shadow because in the real world everything has a shadow. If you draw something with only one width line and don't render shadow, your drawing is going to look flat, two dimensional, and unrealistic. Adding shadow automatically adds a small bit of perspective to the drawing because the shadow indicates that something is in front of and/or behind the object that would cause it to cast a shadow.