Lines are not only in drawings. They are all around us! A ladder has straight lines. Waves on the water make wavy lines. A snail shell has a spiral.
Key idea
Artists look for lines in the things they see, then draw those lines.
Why it works
When you can name the line, drawing it gets easier. A fence is just vertical lines with horizontal lines across them.
Worked example: Let's look
Rain blows in the wind. What kind of lines do the raindrops make?
- The rain does not fall straight down; the wind pushes it.
- Lines that lean are diagonal.
Answer: Diagonal lines.
Common mistake
Some children look for lines only on paper. Look at real things too: edges, stripes, cracks and the folds in a shirt are all lines.
For the grown-up. On a walk, play "I spy a line": a zigzag on a roof, a wavy line in a puddle, a straight line along the curb.