Choosing lines

[Slothboy3000]

How does one go about picking the right lines to define in their drawing? Al Hirschfeld, for example, in this drawing http://gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/Virt...chfeld1984.gif defines a lot of lines on the jacket on the left, but on the right it's a more 'reserved' look (for lack of a better term right now - I'm tired).
Now, I know it gives off character greatly, but there's this problem I can't seem to kick out of my system from advice that my life drawing teacher used to tell me. That every line means something, and the artist has consciously depicted each of those lines.
That's fine, but what makes them decide precisely how many lines to display, for instance on the raincoat's sleeves? Why that many and not one or two less?
Or has this advice just got me into a bad habit of over thinking?

[Kaycy is tanning]

The person on the left is bending, the jacket is trapped in the belt, and more "creases" (sic?) appear in the raincoat, more lines.

The outer lines are thick because they have weight, they define the raincoat and although you can't see it, you would imagine there being heavy contrast against the background, well defined. While the creases are just plane changes and we don't want the viewer focused on the creases but on the figure.

Well, that's my opinion on his choice of lines, feel free to disagree, I didn't make this so it's a wild guess.

[armando]

He needs those lines to write "Nina".

[Slothboy3000]

He needs those lines to write "Nina".

So he does! Guess that's confirming it then.

[armando]

Another reason is that he needs to counteract the thrust of Eastwood's(?) head.

[Slothboy3000]

Another reason is that he needs to counteract the thrust of Eastwood's(?) head.

Thanks! Now, is there any advice that'll help me catch the essence of someone in as few lines as possible like my teacher advised? I tend to get caught up in unessesary details. Obviously, practice is the main one (possibly only one?)

[VirgL]

id say the coat on the left has more compression on the fabrics, his belt seems to be tighter on him, thus creating more little bumps... also the drawing is strongly stylised, the author probably didnt meant to obey precisley all those '' rules ''

[Christian223]

Here is one of my favourite line art drawings, by Ed McGuiness, just study those awesome lines, full of movement.

http://www.thundercatslair.org/comic...cvr/index.html

Also check out Kay Nielsen lines:

http://www.animationarchive.org/2006...-and-west.html

You can do so many things with lines, the thing is you have to be clear with them, if you want to make a texture with lines, then make sure it looks like a texture, if you just want a bunch of lines together, make sure it does NOT look like a texture, but a bunch of lines.

Other principles apply to lines, for example contrast, like if you put a line alone, with nothing close to it, then that line will gather the focus of the eye, if the line is thick, then it will gather even more focus. I hope that helps.

PS: Lines should be there for a purpose, you first have to decide where you want the eye to focus, have a hierarchy of places to look at, then you will decide how to place the lines in order to achieve that hierarchy.

[Shatterdome]

There are so many reasons why someone does something, and not all of them make sense.

In this picture, i'd have to go with others and say that the reason he has so many lines on the one jacket is that the position the body is in just creates more folds.

There is also a convention of "line thickness" when it comes to inking, and this guys follows lots of the "rules" but not all....some of the rules are "thicker line for the outline" "thicker line for things closer to viewer, thinner for further away" "tapering of line thickness from thick to thin, which is going from shadow to light" etc.....of course being the artist you can break any of these rules and create your own aesthetic.

The notion of being aware of every line and it's intent comes from calligraphy and Zen teachings. In which the art was meant to be a balance between the lines you create and the negative space between them (yin/yang), therefore you had to be very aware of the mark you create and how it relates to everything else you have done.

I always like to keep this in the back of my head, especially when working with ink (you can't erase).....however there is alot to be said about gestural sketches full of energy, which is the opposite of deliberate mark making in ink (in my mind, and when you are good, you create that energy in one deliberate stroke).

Still, if you are interested in simplicity and deliberate mark making, you should check out japanese wood block prints....as they embrace the ideals of calligraphy and alot of those Zen notions. Hiroshige and Hokusai are good people to start looking at, but I love them all....

[Slothboy3000]

Christian, thanks for the links! Kay Nielsen's art is awesome (almsot looks like a mixture of Klimpt and Bilibin).

And Shatterdome, thanks for the insight. I think it was the context thing that was throwing me off a bit, since she was so insistent on the rule of making every mark have a purpose, yet it depends on what the artist's individual rules are.

Thanks folks!