Crosshatching in Pen and Ink: The Complete Practical Guide

by August Lamm

Crosshatching is a drawing technique that emerged in Medieval Europe and was perfected by Old Masters such as D�rer and Rembrandt. It later fell out of favor and into obscurity with the advent of the offset printing press.

Recently, ink drawing has enjoyed a huge resurgence in popularity, and the art community on Instagram has embraced crosshatching anew. With its impressive historical roots and realistic results, it is seen as the sophisticated, fine-art alternative to more stylized techniques in graphic novels and commercial illustrations.

This practical book takes readers from the very basics of crosshatching through to drawing concepts such as light, shape and shadow. For each topic -- still life, portraiture, figure drawing and landscapes -- August Lamm uses a combination of fine-art examples, illustrations and step-by-step tutorials to take the reader through the fascinating and accessible process of crosshatching, from perception to execution. This is a comprehensive guide, suitable for beginners and artists of every level.

Genres: Drawing, Art, Art Design

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2022

About the author

August Lamm is a writer and visual artist. She is the author of two books. Her instructional art book was published by Octopus in 2022, and her debut novel is forthcoming from Dialogue Books in 2025.

Reviews

[Philip DiWilliams · Rating 5 out of 5]

The artist presents her system of creating pen & ink drawings, using a wide variety of subjects to demonstrate the versatility of the technique. Her approach is highly methodical, serving to free the artist from any stylistic decision making, and instead allowing the opportunity to focus on fundamental concepts that will create a successful crosshatched image. This is extremely beneficial for learning or improving ink work, since it restores discipline to the practice of an unforgiving medium.

One of this book’s many strengths is its decision to focus on ONLY the technique of the crosshatch. Many art books have such a broad scope, it can feel easy to get lost in the endless possibilities, and can leave the artist feeling a sort of option paralysis. By contrast, this book gently guides the artist down a specific path, which can later be expanded upon at the artist’s own discretion once this technique is learned and understood.

Overall, I believe this book has a great quality of clarity that makes it an important addition to any artist’s book collection, and is a great place to start for anyone who finds themselves fascinated by ink work and wants to dive in. Highly recommend!

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful book, well worth the time of anyone who likes ink on paper!

I think this is the only book I've seen specifically about hatching as a technique, usually hatching is mentioned in sections of books on rendering in pen and ink and thus given a shorter treatment.

The examples and advice are well done, and the print edition has a lot of nice touches in the quality of paper and printing. Beautiful layout and font choices as well.

[Tanja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy and clear learning process. No fluff, just the right amount of information and so easy to read. I enjoy her writing style. Really makes this technique feel achievable. Would recommend!

[Anton Barnard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even as an experienced artist I find this book to be full of practical tips and an enjoyable read. I can recommend it highly!

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course the technical advice is excellent and I will do my best to implement it. But the book contains a few wonderful stray observations that will stick with me. From page 127, on landscapes: "It is not possible to draw every leaf or every blade of grass: you will therefore have to make editorial decisions regarding what to leave out, and how to elegantly summarize all that you’ve left in. Indeed, every added detail in an ink drawing reduces the white space that provides a necessary visual respite for the viewer. To record every detail in a landscape is to end up with an opaque black silhouette against a blank sky." Exactly right.

This gets me thinking (always a bad sign). Drawings are like writing or the mathematical models of physical science or explanations in social theory in that they convey something about the real world precisely by eliminating detail. Because the world is for all practical purposes infinitely detailed, it is only possible to represent it by omitting details that are not relevant to whatever you're trying to say. Complete representations are not possible, but if they were they would be useless because they would not explain or convey anything about their subjects—they would in some sense be what they depict. Gesturing at a falling rock does not say anything about why it is falling. This is how to think about a sketch. If you're drawing your cat in ink, don't aspire to perfectly represent the cat. Might as well go get your audience and introduce them to the cat. Think instead about how best to use lines and space to convey something about what it was like to see your cat on this occasion. If he is sleeping soundly with his head resting on his arm, loosening up or changing the direction of the line work below his nose will perhaps show that the fur is moving and thus convey his little cat snores, which is what made you want to capture the moment in the first place. The lesson is to be deliberate about your sketch, even if it is only a few lines.

[Dave McGr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book that is already one of my favourites. It's full of straightforward practical instruction on how to cross hatch, illustrated with plenty of examples. Everything is explained clearly and concisely making it possible to cover a huge amount in one book. But my favourite thing about this book is the insight it gives you into August's own approach to art, and her own work itself which is incredibly beautiful.

[Alessia Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, concise and easy to follow. The book covers every step of the way while staying entertaining. I will be referencing this book in the future.

"This book offers advice on the technical and creative challenges of learning to draw in ink. It will provide tips and tricks gleaned over the course of my career as an ink artist. What it will not provide is the motivation to learn. This is something you will need to find within yourself.

[Ann Walsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

you should learn something from this book

August Lamm provides very good instruction on cross hatching, with many examples. It’s well worth reading if you wish to develop your pen and ink skills

[Joel Resare · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very in-depth and thorough explanation of the technical aspects as well as the history. But somehow still a light read easily accessible for both beginners and artists. Will read again from cover to cover and have already come back to as a reference.

[Dr Carol A Carrell, NMD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emphasis on practical!

Clear practical information in addition to practice daily! After completing I have a clear path to develop mastery of cross hatching and ways to increase creativity. This is a book that. I will be able to come back to again and again.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put it down, thank you so so much, for putting this into the world!!

[Arnout De Jong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a really big help! There are so many good tips and the best of advice on the topic of cross hatching! A must have for anyone who wants to learn/get better at pen and ink drawing.

[Kanako Okiron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crosshatching is such an interesting medium, thank you August Lamm for bringing back such a cool way to sketch with this book! I hope I get to take a face to face class with her someday.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the not the book I read, but it's the closest to You Don't Need a Samrtphone by the same author, August Lamm.

[Mrs Heather Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

Crosshatching has been really well explained and tips on getting started and studying masters really helpful. Really like the author’s work and she explains other artists work.