The Beginner's Guide to Crosshatching

The Beginner’s Guide to Crosshatching

September 10, 2020

by

Lindsey Bugbee

Sketchbook, Tutorials

If you want to add dimension to your artwork, consider using a crosshatching technique! Today, I’ll show you what you need to get started and walk you through a detailed illustration tutorial.
What is Crosshatching?

Crosshatching is a technique that utilizes parallel, intersecting lines to shade an illustration. The denser the line spacing, the darker your object will appear. For example, take a look at the French flag below. The left represents dark blue, the middle is white (with some folds), and the right is red. Since the crosshatching density is different, we can tell that the color on the left side of the flag is darker than the color on the right side of the flag.
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About the author

Hi, I’m Lindsey Bugbee, the illustrator, calligrapher, and author behind The Postman’s Knock (TPK). Since 2012, the TPK Blog has been a vibrant creative space filled with tutorials and lessons on modern calligraphy, hand lettering, and illustration. After publishing The Calligraphy Book, I wanted to elevate the quality of content even further—so I launched TPK Premium. You can join here to receive access to some of the internet’s best creative inspiration and project tutorials.