Musing About Markmaking

I often get compliments on my linework, which has made me want to talk about my process for some time now.

A demon goat woman drawn in bold, textured, inkbrush strokes. The artwork has been annotated with some text and arrows. The text reads as follows: But while this is obviously a line, at which point does this cease to be a line? And here?

Because to me, as I draw it, none of these are actually distinct.

Three pieces are included in this image. The first piece is another piece in the same bold, textured inkbrush style, of a figure shrouded in a bear's pelt. The next is a lineless, full colour piece of a black woman with white hair dressed in a bold, vibrant outfit. The last is a small line drawing of a dragon. The text reads as follows: And this [piece] has more similarity with my lineless work than it does with my older linework.

Let's say for example, we are going to draw this eye

You could draw the sharp edges and angle changes and mark those with lines like so:

A drawing of the eye, overlaid on top of the 3d render.

Or perhaps simplify things into just a few lines by using different lineweights to convey the edges:

Another drawing of the eye, overlaid on top of the 3d render.

But for me, when I look at this eye, I don't just see the edges and seek to draw those—I also see the overall contours of the subject's form, as well as identifying the darkest areas, and I simplify the shading down to just a few simple colours and shapes:

3 eye images, breaking down the eye render as described

And then that's what I try to describe with the marks that I make.

But it's not just the shape and form I try to describe, but also the texture!

Two drawings of a wolf's eye, one drawn showing just the contours with smooth lines, and the other with the texture of the fur and iris drawn and emphasised with rough marks.

There's a variety of different kinds of mark I can make with my brush

Various different kinds of mark and line are shown.

And even more options if I combine it with other brushes

So, rather than drawing lines, I think instead of it as using marks to describe the subject and shapes of the piece.

A portrait of a demon woman smirking and gesturing loosely with a hand to her mouth is annotated with various arrows pointing at different parts of the piece, and the different kinds of mark used to make that area are indicated beside the arrows.

How I Animate Character Design & Shapes Pricing & Taking Commissions Drawing with 3D Models

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