Outline

This is the final physical step of your process before making it digital. While this is a fast step, that can be done fairly easily compared to the others, you still need to think of where your going with your art.

It may just seem like all you need is a pen or marker, but this step its important to consider thicknesses of your medium and the goal your aiming for.

A fine tipped medium can allow for precision, leaving marks only where you want them and not overpowering, but every pro has a con. In this case, if you want a thicker line, its often left jagged and rough. The lack of emphasis from the thin lines can also cause a loss of depth and make an image look flat.

Too thick of a medium can cause the loss of detail, bleeding and going outside of the desired lines. A thick medium often means less control and can be considered reckless. However, the added bold lines create emphasis. They can

be used to portray shadows, closeness, or just to draw the eye into one point. Thick lines are useful in making an image appear more three dimensional.

The bes choice for line art is to use a mixture of thick and thin lines, getting the small details you want, while incorporating depth and interest. That being said, sticking to thinner lines can make it seem more realistic, while having a variety of thicknesses can cause your image to become more cartoonish.

Finally, while thicknesses of your lines is important for depth, you should also consider texture and implied shades. If you choose to add a texture, it may take away from the smoothness, but can help add to the depth of a piece. Repeating a texture in varying densities can help to imply form. Fore example, denser lines on the edges can help to round off an object, or denser lines inside can imply a dent or fold.