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Hatching is a really fun and interesting way to shade your work. I just love the unique style and character it adds to the drawing. People don’t talk about this much, but it is quite challenging (in a very subtle way) to get right. Once you get the hang of it though, it becomes a breeze to do, and is much faster than traditional shading. But what about hatching with pen?
To hatch with a pen, you need consistent, evenly space hatch-lines. You can use a ballpoint pen, or fineliners of varying thickness. You need take your time and be patient, because there’s no option for errors. Practicing hatching exercises and line-weight exercises daily is a great way to learn how to hatch with a pen.
(FYI: I learned most of what I know about hatching with pen from the talented Alphonso Dunn. He’s the top guy when it comes to pen and ink drawing. His book is out of this world and tells you virtually everything you need to know about hatching with a pen, and pen & ink drawing as a whole. It’s presented in such a clear, intuitive way and I couldn’t recommend it more. You can get it here on Amazon.)
What exactly is hatching?
Hatching is a technique many artists use to shade. It involves placing many parallel lines close together. The amount of lines, as well as the thickness and darkness of the lines, determine how dark that area will be.
It’s different to regular shading in the way it’s done, but similar in principle.
What is the difference between hatching and cross-hatching?
Hatching, also known as parallel hatching involves using – you guessed it – parallel lines to shade! There is no overlapping in parallel hatching.
Cross-hatching is the same as hatching, only it involves adding layers of lines that go in a different direction.
More and more layers of lines going in different directions can be added to achieve the desired value.
What is contour hatching?
Both parallel hatching and cross-hatching use straight, parallel lines. But there is also contour hatching.
Contour hatching is the same as parallel hatching, except the direction of the hatch lines follow the form of the object they’re drawn on. This helps to describe the volume and shape of the object.
The importance of line weight and consistency in hatching
The two most important things necessary for good, accurate hatching are correct line weight, and consistency with your strokes.
Line weight is just the thickness and strength of the line. Having a nice, tapered line weight is the key to hatching. That is how hatching is able to describe the form, because the lines start thick in the darker regions, and gradually get thinner as they most towards the lighter ones.
You can see in the image the difference in look between the two. Not only does proper line weight function better in describing the form, it also looks better and far more professional.
The good thing about hatching with pen is it’s very pressure-sensitive. You can easily make a range of thicknesses and tones just by varying your pressure.
There are 4 useful exercises to do for practicing line weight at the bottom of this post.
How to hatch with a pen
Types of pen to use
Another benefit of hatching with pen and ink is you can use pens of all shapes and sizes. You can swap back and forth between different pens while drawing, depending on the effect you want to achieve.
I mainly use two pens – a 0.5mm tip, and a 0.1mm tip. I also use thicker pens and brush pens from time to time.
Pitt artist pens are my favorite by far, because they are made with such high-quality, and your drawings stay black (and don’t fade).
Here is the set I use on Amazon, it’s my all-time favorite set of pen, with 8 different types.
Hatching with a pen
Hatching with a pen is similar to hatching with a pencil, but with two main differences: one, your lines will all be virtually black, and two, you can’t erase!
This might seem like a negative, but not being able to erase forces you to be more thoughtful and careful with your strokes. And having all of your lines the same value forces you to think more carefully about the impact of each lines, and choose smarter, more effective ways to render the shadows.
This is why I always recommend starting out hatching with a pen, not a pencil.
When hatching with pen, I use the thicker 0.5mm pen mainly for the outlines of the shapes, for any fully-shaded parts and for any hatch lines that are in very dark shadow.
I then use the smaller 0.1mm pen to do most of the hatch lines and any details.
I prefer to do the majority of hatch lines with this pen (unless it’s a huge section I’m hatching) because it allows you to lay down so many strokes, resulting in more accurate hatching. It’s also great for adding more of a taper to any lines made with the 0.5mm pen.
Remember though, there are no rules for which pens to use. I mix and match these two and others all the time with my hatch lines, which creates variation.
The importance of hatch-line consistency
Keeping your hatch lines consistent in length, spacing and/or curvature is super important.
The reason hatching works to describes the form is because it sort of tricks the viewer’s mind into believing that these places are in shadow. But this only works when they are in a consistent pattern. If they are uneven and messy, the function of the hatch lines changes from describing the form, to just looking like messy lines drawn on the object.
Look at the image of the two cylinders. In the first, the hatch lines clearly establish the form. Whereas the second cylinder just looks weird, like a cylinder that has a strange, messy design on the side of it.
This effect is true for every type of hatching.
Instead of thinking of the individual hatch lines as you draw them, think of the overall effect that these lines are having on the object. Remember, people viewing your art will be viewing it from much farther away than you. This is when the hatching really takes effect. A really valuable tip I learned is to squint your eyes from time to time, or look at your work from a distance. This really helps gauge the effect that your hatching is having.
But remember, your lines don’t have to be (and shouldn’t be) all the exact same. Adding some variation is always a good thing.
Exercises for improving pen hatching
Like I said earlier, line weight and consistency of your strokes are the most important things to get right when hatching.
Here are four exercises to improve both (please excuse my atrocious handwriting!)
Do each of these five times per day and your hatching ability will improve immensely (and quickly)! It only takes 10-15 minutes to do all four exercises five times each!
In the first exercise, you start off with a small vertical line, and focus on drawing it with a nice smooth motion, and tapering at the top. Gradually increase you’re line height with each new line, also trying to keep the distance between the lines as equal as you can. Then go decrease each line again, then increase again and so on. As you get better, you can increase your speed, and the length of the lines.
For the second and third exercises, start off with a small curved line, and gradually increase the size of each new curve you draw. Again, your focus is to get nice clean lines with a tapered tip.
For the last exercise, draw two cylinders, and then draw evenly spaced, even length curved contour lines. There are two cylinders so you can practice drawing these lines at a variety of angles. You should draw the cylinders at a different angle each day to create that muscle memory. Soon you’ll be able to draw contour hatch lines at any orientation!
And that's it!
Now you can start your journey into the world of hatching with pen!
Hopefully this article has sparked an interest in pen and ink drawing as a whole. Learning to hatch with pen certainly sparked one for me, so check it out online!
Have fun!
