Students in an art class practice making lines in a variety of lengths, widths and directions. Some common characteristics include lines that are continuous or interrupted, thick or thin, long or short, crisp or blurry and consistent or changeable. The variations are endless.
According to art teacher James T. Saw, art students learn to use lines in three ways: to define the edges of objects, as in a contour line drawing, to create patterns and textures within images, and to divide a picture plane into separate spaces.
Many art classrooms begin exploring line by drawing with pencil, but other media such as crayons, pastels, markers, charcoal and paint are often used as well. Artists in a classroom can experience different ways to visualize and produce lines.