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Lesson
Lesson 2. Leading lines and the diagonal
Learn to find leading lines and understand why a diagonal creates movement and tension, while a horizontal creates calm.
Lines that lead the eye
Leading lines
Leading lines are any lines in a painting that your eye slides along: the edge of a table, a road, a beam of light, an outstretched hand, a row of columns, the line of the figures' gazes. The artist uses them as arrows: they bring you to the focal point.
It's important to understand that these lines are rarely drawn as lines. More often they are the edges of objects or the direction in which something stretches. A pointing finger is a leading line. So is a fallen tree stretching into the distance.
The direction of a line sets the mood:
— Horizontal lines (the horizon, a reclining figure) give calm, stability, quiet.
— Vertical lines (columns, standing figures, towers) give solemnity, strength, loftiness.
— Diagonal lines give movement, dynamism, tension, sometimes anxiety. A diagonal is always “livelier” than a horizontal.
That's why, when an artist wants to show drama or a sudden event, he builds the composition on diagonals.
Lesson notes
Leading lines
Leading lines are any lines in a painting that your eye slides along: the edge of a table, a road, a beam of light, an outstretched hand, a row of columns, the line of the figures' gazes. The artist uses them as arrows: they bring you to the focal point.
It's important to understand that these lines are rarely drawn as lines. More often they are the edges of objects or the direction in which something stretches. A pointing finger is a leading line. So is a fallen tree stretching into the distance.
The direction of a line sets the mood:
— Horizontal lines (the horizon, a reclining figure) give calm, stability, quiet.
— Vertical lines (columns, standing figures, towers) give solemnity, strength, loftiness.
— Diagonal lines give movement, dynamism, tension, sometimes anxiety. A diagonal is always “livelier” than a horizontal.
That's why, when an artist wants to show drama or a sudden event, he builds the composition on diagonals.