Hi there, I’d like to give you a few tips for shading with cross hatching/linework. The first thing is you need to understand volume and form so that you can understand how the light affects the object. Understanding form will help you to understand cast shadows versus shadows where the surface is turning away from the light. That will inform your decision making around what shadows to add and where to place them. Then you want to build up your shadows progressively. With hatching you first map out the shadow areas and fill that with a first pass of line. Try to keep your lines consistent. Keep them the same thickness and the same distance apart. Then add the next darkest layer of shadow with additional lines. The new lines should be perpendicular (90 degrees) to the previous lines. To keep adding darker shadows you can either add additional passes of lines that are at 45 degrees or just fill in the darkest areas of your shadow. Alternatively you can use feathering. This is normally done with a brush or a nibbed pen where you can control the thickness of the line by pressing harder. This creates a gradient and is a fairly typical way that inkers add shadows in comic book art. When adding hatching to an organic form, like the human body, it will help add depth if you follow the contours of the form. Your lines should wrap around and help indicate the shape. This is where knowledge and understanding of form really helps. | Artwod Feedback