You’ve been there. You spend four hours on a sketch that looks fluid, energetic, and alive. Then you start the "final" ink layer and suddenly the soul evaporates. The lines are clean, sure, but they’re stiff. They look like a coloring book page made by a robot. Honestly, learning how to do lineart isn't about having the steadiest hand in the world; it’s about understanding weight, tapering, and when to actually break the line.
Most beginners treat lineart like a boundary. They think it's just a fence to keep the colors from leaking out. Professionals treat lineart as the skeleton of the piece. It’s the storytelling element that dictates where the light is hitting and which parts of the character are heavy. If your lines are all the same thickness, your drawing will look flat. Period.
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The Secret of Line Weight (And Why Your Art Looks Flat)
If you look at the work of legendary comic artists like Moebius or modern masters like Yoji Shinkawa, you’ll notice something immediately: their lines aren't uniform.
Line weight is basically the thickness or thinness of a stroke. It’s the most powerful tool you have. When you’re figuring out how to do lineart, you need to think about gravity. Objects that are closer to the viewer should generally have thicker lines. Areas where two objects meet—like an arm tucked against a torso—should have a "weighted" corner where the lines thicken to simulate a shadow. This is often called an occlusion shadow in the industry.
Think about a chin. The line under the chin should be thicker because it's in shadow and it’s a heavy structural point. The line on the top of the shoulder? Make it thin. Maybe even break it.
I see people stressing over "shaky lines" all the time. Here’s a secret: some of the best lineart is actually kind of messy. If you look at the original scans of professional manga, there are tiny overshoots and wobbles everywhere. The trick isn't being a machine; it's about confidence. A fast, slightly off-target line looks ten times better than a slow, shaky "perfect" line.
Speed and Ghosting
How do you get that smooth taper? You have to move fast.
If you draw slowly, your hand's natural micro-tremors will show up on the canvas. Instead, try "ghosting" the stroke. Hover your pen over the tablet or paper and mimic the motion a few times without touching the surface. Once you feel the rhythm, drop the pen and flick. You’ll probably miss the first five times. That’s what the undo button (or a steady supply of paper) is for.
Digital vs. Traditional: Does the Tool Matter?
Look, a Wacom Cintiq won't make you better if you don't understand the fundamentals, but the tech does change the approach.
In the digital world, software like Clip Studio Paint or Procreate has "stabilization" or "smoothing" settings. Don't crank these to 100. It makes the pen feel like it's dragging through mud, and you lose all the personality in your flick. Keep it low—just enough to take the digital "jitter" out of the sensor.
If you’re going traditional, your choice of nib matters. Copic Multiliners or Sakura Pigmics are great for consistency, but if you want that classic "weighted" look, you need a G-pen nib or a brush pen like the Pentel Pocket Brush. These tools respond to how hard you press. It’s harder to master, but the result is much more "organic."
- The Flick: Start with pressure, end with a lift.
- The Taper: Make sure the beginning and end of lines aren't blunt.
- The Gap: Leave small spaces where the light hits. It lets the drawing "breathe."
Breaking the "Closed Loop" Myth
One of the biggest mistakes in how to do lineart is the urge to close every single gap. You don't need a solid line around every hair strand or every fold in a shirt. The human eye is incredibly good at filling in the blanks. This is called the Law of Closure in Gestalt psychology.
By leaving gaps in your lines—especially on the "light side" of an object—you suggest a high-key lighting environment. It makes the art feel airy and professional. If you close every loop, the drawing becomes a "sticker" rather than a 3D object.
Tangents: The Silent Killer
A tangent is when two lines meet or touch in a way that confuses the eye. For example, if the line of a character’s cape perfectly aligns with the line of their leg, the viewer can’t tell which is in front. It flattens the depth. When you're inking, you have to be hyper-aware of these overlaps.
Always make sure your lines "cross" or stay distinctly apart. Never let them just barely kiss.
Advanced Techniques: Hatching and Texture
Lineart isn't just the outline. It’s also the internal texture.
- Cross-hatching: Used for deep shadows.
- Contour lines: Lines that follow the "curve" of the form, like stripes on a beach ball.
- Stippling: Using dots for a vintage, grainy feel.
Artists like Kentaro Miura (Berserk) used hatching to create a sense of immense weight and grit. If you’re doing a clean, "moe" style anime piece, you’ll use almost no hatching. If you’re doing a gritty Western comic style, the hatching might take up 40% of the page.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Piece
To truly improve how to do lineart, you have to stop treating it as a chore and start treating it as a performance.
- Warm up for 10 minutes. Draw nothing but parallel lines and circles. It calibrates your arm.
- Vary your zoom. If you’re digital, don't ink zoomed in at 400%. You’ll lose the sense of the whole drawing. Stay at 50% to 100%.
- Use a different color for your sketch. If your sketch is light blue or red, it’s much easier to see where your final black lines are going.
- Flip the canvas. Always. Your eyes get used to your mistakes. Flipping the image horizontally reveals wonky perspective and bad line flow instantly.
- Check your "Line Taper" settings. If you're using Photoshop, ensure your brush has "Pen Pressure" turned on for "Size Jitter." Without this, you're just drawing with a dead stick.
The most important thing is to move your entire arm. If you only move your wrist, your lines will be short and "hooked." Use your elbow and shoulder for those long, sweeping curves. It feels weird at first, but it's the only way to get that professional flow.
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Start by taking an old sketch—something you’ve already given up on—and try inking it with the "thick and thin" rule. Forget the color. Just focus on making the lines tell the story of where the light is. You'll see a massive difference in how much the character "pops" off the page. The weight of the line is the weight of the world you're building. Use it wisely.