Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Lines that Lead the Eye and Show Movement

D1.3 D1.4 D2.2About 45 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use lines to lead the viewer's eye to the most important part of an art work.
  • I can use lines to create the illusion of force and movement.
  • I can explain the feelings different kinds of lines create.
  • I can draw the contour of a tricky object by looking carefully.

Words to know

leading lines
Lines in a picture (real or implied) that guide the viewer's eye to a certain spot.
focal point
The part of an art work that the eye goes to first; the centre of interest.
illusion of movement
Making something look like it is moving in a picture that is really still.
force
A sense of push, pull, speed or power in an art work.
diagonal line
A slanted line, neither straight across nor straight up and down.
speed lines
Short parallel lines drawn behind a moving object to show speed and direction.
contour drawing
A drawing of the outer edges and important inside edges of an object, made by looking closely.

Remember from Grade 5

Last year you shaded with hatching and cross-hatching, caught action with quick gesture drawings, and noticed implied lines, like the line your eye follows from a pointing finger.

In Grade 6 you will use lines as tools: to lead the viewer's eye where you want it to go, and to make a still picture feel full of force and movement.

Where did your eye go?

Picture a photo of a snowy country road on a winter morning. The two edges of the road and the fence beside it all slant inward, closer and closer, until they meet at a little red farmhouse far away.

Where does your eye go? Straight to the farmhouse! You didn't decide that. The lines decided for you. Artists and photographers use lines like a path for your eyes.

A snowy country road and fence leading straight toward a red farmhouse in the distance.
The road edges and fence act as leading lines. They guide your eye straight to the red farmhouse. AI-generated image
calmactionleads the eye
Three small pictures. Calm: four horizontal lines, straight across. Action: three diagonal lines and a zigzag. Leads the eye: four lines from the edges all point inward to one circle, the focal point.

Lines that lead the eye

Leading lines guide the viewer to the focal point. They can be:

  • Real lines: roads, rivers, fences, railway tracks, a row of trees, the edge of a frozen lake, the boards of a hockey rink.
  • Implied lines: lines you don't see but feel, like the direction a person is looking or pointing. If everyone in a picture looks at the same spot, you will look there too!

Tips:

  • Point your leading lines toward the focal point, not off the edge of the paper.
  • Lines that converge (come together) are especially strong.
  • A curving "S" line, like a winding river, leads the eye slowly through a picture.

Lines that show force and movement

A drawing can't really move, but lines can make it feel like it does.

  • Horizontal lines (straight across) feel calm, still and restful, like a lake on a windless day.
  • Vertical lines (straight up and down) feel strong, tall and stable, like trees or skyscrapers.
  • Diagonal lines (slanted) feel active, fast or off balance, like a skier racing down a hill or a tree bending in the wind.
  • Zigzag lines feel energetic, sharp or even alarming, like lightning.
  • Curving, wavy lines feel flowing, graceful or gentle, like water or a dancer's arm.
  • Speed lines behind an object show which way it's going and how fast.
  • Repeated lines, like several outlines of a moving arm, show motion over time (you see this in comics).
puckcurved path of the shotspeed lines
A hockey shot. A curving line shows the path of the shot rising from the bottom left to a puck at the upper right. Short speed lines trail behind the puck to show its speed and direction.
Worked example

Example: Planning a tobogganing picture with lines

You want to draw kids tobogganing down a big snowy hill so the viewer feels the speed and looks at the toboggan first.

  1. Draw the hill as a steep diagonal from the top left to the bottom right. Diagonals feel fast.
  2. Place the toboggan (the focal point) partway down the slope.
  3. Add leading lines: the tracks in the snow run from the top of the hill straight to the toboggan, and kids at the top point and look at it (implied lines).
  4. Add speed lines behind the toboggan and a spray of snow flying off the front with short curved lines.
  5. Keep the sky and the flat field at the bottom horizontal and simple, so they feel calm and don't compete.
  6. Explain it: "I used a diagonal hill and speed lines to show force and movement, and the tracks and pointing kids are leading lines to my focal point, the toboggan."

Diagonal lines and speed lines create movement; real and implied leading lines pull the eye to the focal point.

Worked example

Example: Analysing lines in an art work

Imagine a painting of a canoe on a windy lake: waves made of curving, wavy lines, a pine tree bent diagonally by the wind, and a paddler leaning forward.

  1. Describe: wavy lines in the water, a diagonal tree, a diagonal paddle.
  2. Analyse: the wavy lines feel like moving water; the bent diagonal tree shows the force of the wind; the paddle's diagonal shows effort.
  3. Leading lines: the shoreline curves toward the canoe, leading the eye to the paddler.
  4. Interpret: the painting feels windy, tense and powerful, like a struggle against nature.

Talking about what lines you see, what they do and how they make you feel shows how elements of design communicate meaning.

Just for fun

Why was the horizontal line so calm?

Because it spent all day lying down! 😴

Warm up: contour drawing of a crumpled paper

Crumple a sheet of paper and set it on the table. Draw its contour (the outer edges and the main folds) slowly, letting your eyes move along each edge as your pencil moves. Look at the paper more than at your drawing! Because a crumpled paper isn't a familiar object, you have to draw what you really see, not what you think it looks like. This builds careful looking for any drawing.

Hands-on activity

Lines in motion

You need: paper, a pencil, a black marker, a ruler, magazines or flyers, and (optional) a camera or tablet.

  1. Contour warm-up: do the crumpled paper contour drawing from the tip above (5 minutes).
  2. Line feelings chart: fold a paper into six boxes. Fill each with one kind of line: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzag, wavy, speed lines. Under each, write one feeling word.
  3. Line hunt: look through magazines or flyers, or around your home and street. Find two pictures or views with strong leading lines and circle where they lead.
  4. Photo challenge (optional): with a grown-up, take a photo where a road, fence, sidewalk or hallway leads to a focal point.
  5. Final drawing: draw a winter or sports action scene (skating, tobogganing, a soccer kick, a dog chasing a ball). Use diagonal lines and speed lines for movement, and at least two leading lines to your focal point.
  6. Explain it: write two sentences about how your lines lead the eye and show movement.

Your turn

1

What are leading lines?

2

Name three real things that can be leading lines in a landscape.

3

What feeling do horizontal lines usually give?

4

What feeling do diagonal lines usually give?

5

What is an implied line? Give an example.

6

How do speed lines help show movement?

7

Why should leading lines point toward the focal point instead of off the edge of the paper?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a focal point?

2

Which kind of line looks like lightning?

3

Which kind of line feels strong and tall?

4

True or false: Curving, wavy lines can feel flowing and gentle.

5

What is a contour drawing?

More practice: on your own

1

You draw a runner, but she looks frozen in place. Give three ways to use line to show movement.

2

In a picture of a hallway at school, what could lead the eye to a classroom door at the end?

3

Explain why a contour drawing of a crumpled paper is good practice.

4

Describe how you would change a calm lake picture into a stormy one, using only lines.

5

Look at the hockey shot diagram. How do the lines make the puck the focal point?

Challenge

1

Plan an art work about a community issue (for example, cars speeding past a school). Explain how you would use lines to show force and to lead the eye to your message.

2

Can a picture have too many leading lines? Explain.

3

Compare how a diagonal line and a vertical line would change a drawing of a tree. What story could each one tell?

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which lines usually feel calm?

2.

Leading lines ___.

3.

A skier racing downhill is best drawn using ___.

4.

Which is an implied line?

5.

Why draw the contour of a crumpled paper?

6.

Where should leading lines usually point?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: For Grade 6, the curriculum's focus for line is lines that direct the viewer's attention and lines that create the illusion of force or movement. Students use elements of design to communicate ideas (D1.3), use a variety of materials, tools and techniques to solve design challenges (D1.4) and explain how elements and principles are used to communicate meaning (D2.2).

How to help:

  • On walks or drives, point out leading lines: roads, fences, rows of streetlights. Ask, "Where do they take your eye?"
  • Look at comics and sports photos together for speed lines and diagonal action.
  • If your child uses a camera, try a photo walk looking only for leading lines.

Safety: if your child takes photos near streets, a grown-up should be with them.

Common difficulties:

  • Lines that lead off the page. Ask, "Where do you want the eye to end up?" and turn the lines toward that spot.
  • Stiff, frozen action. Tilt the main shape onto a diagonal.
  • Looking at the paper instead of the object in contour drawing. Encourage slow drawing with eyes mostly on the object.