What Are Implied Lines in Art And How To Use Them (+Examples)

There are 7 elements of art, and one of them is a line. The line describes a physical direction, directs the viewer’s eyes and establishes the composition.

There is more than one type of line, but let’s take two of them: actual and implied lines. It’s very easy to define an actual line because, well, it’s just a regular simple unbroken line that all of us use and see often. So keep an actual line in mind, and let’s use it as a comparison while we’re focusing on implied lines.

What are the implied lines in art?

In art, implied lines aren’t drawn, but they are created with colors, shadows, shapes, textures, and spaces between objects. Their purpose is to guide the viewer’s eyes within the artwork and emphasize certain elements.

The implied line, whenever it’s used, might not be complete and unbroken, and it may consist of small parts and dashes or not be visible at all. The human brain still completes it in the imagination and sees it as a line, and interprets that the line exists. So, you may just start it – and the viewer’s mind will complete it without further help.

The actual lines themselves are used to define the shape and the edges of the object you’re attempting to draw, and this is basic knowledge. Yet, while it’s their main purpose, as we progress in our drawing skills, we find out, through theory or practice, that the visible line isn’t the only way.

How to Create and Use Implied Lines in Art

One way of creating implied lines is through characters’ postures, hand positions or the direction in which they look. This is done to guide the viewer’s eyes as well, making them look at certain important parts of the work.

So, why is the implied line used, besides pointing at objects? It can also indicate a subtle change of plane when a full line would seem too heavy or inappropriate for the composition and the style in general.

For example, when we draw portraits, we don’t define all facial features with full lines, because that wouldn’t look right, but instead, just use shadows and interrupted lines. The viewer’s mind will still know for sure that there is a line there, even though we didn’t exactly draw it, because everyone knows where the certain facial features are and what they look like.

You can use implied lines in still-life and landscape drawings as well. They can be used to capture subtle and curved edges of the objects or the line of the horizon. They can also turn the viewer’s attention to a certain scene that is happening on the drawing – whenever you decide to use them, they’ll help you a lot with building the composition.

How can you learn to use implied lines in your own work?

Actually, it’s not as hard as it might seem. Lots of artists use implied lines intuitively without even knowing it.

One way of learning how to use them is to do a lot of study sketches of simple landscapes or objects. In each sketch, you can think which lines are the most important and which ones can be turned into implied lines. Try to erase parts of them to see how it works out, and draw as many sketches as you want until you master this and it becomes quite automatic.

Another way is to practice drawing using no lines at all. Use only value in your work to define the contours of the object. This might seem more complicated at first, but it’s also a great technique to understand how contrast and plane changes form implied lines.

It is also well known that one of the best ways to figure something out is to look at the masters of the craft who figured it out already. We’ve prepared a list that consists of several works of art, that are a pleasure to look at, and that have implied lines in them. And we tried our best to explain these examples to you. Enjoy!

Artists That Use Implied Lines Examples

Parson Weems Fable by Grant Wood, 1939

The author of this painting is the same person who painted the famous American Gothic, and his personal style is showing. Parson Weems Fable is a classic example of implied lines. They are used both for the sake of composition and to point out something that is happening in the center of the painting.

The entire composition and the way it’s structured builds up around the central figure of George Washington with an ax. This is the main point of the painting, the one that the viewers should focus their attention on. Almost all of the lines are directed towards him.

Now, look at the lines on the painting. Following the rules of perspective, they are all meeting at one point, somewhere on the left. The line of the horizon, the ones that form the house, the shadows on the lawn, even the ladder. But some of the lines are imaginary and incomplete.

The windows of the house seemingly form one line, but it’s not drawn fully. The same goes for the clouds in the sky. But your mind feels them as lines that are still directed towards the point where they meet.

The Unequal Marriage by Vasily Pukirev, 1862

The main focus of this painting are the bride and her hand. And the bride’s hand is an implied line in itself, it symbolizes reluctance and the unwanted, but inevitable future.

The lines in the painting all point towards what’s happening in its center. The positioning of the guests’ heads and eyes all create an implied line, as well as the shadow on the wall on the left.

Another curious formation is built of the priest’s back and head, the groom’s head and the line of the veil. All of them together with high contrast form a shape that focuses the viewer’s eyes on the center of the painting separating the three most important figures from the background.

Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, 1656

Las Meninas is another well-known painting and a good example of implied lines. First of all, the eyes of the characters are directed towards infant Margarita – a small girl in the center. So not only her position on the painting but also the attention of other characters (and the implied lines made by their eyes) make her a central figure.

If you look at the painting a little bit from afar, you’ll also see that it’s kind of divided into two parts. All of the action is happening in the lower part, while the walls and the ceiling are dark and still. The lower part is separated from the upper one by the implied line created by the characters’ heads.

I and the Village by Marc Chagall, 1911

This painting is one of those which can be looked at for a long time. And even after that, you might still find interesting details you haven’t noticed before.

It seems that the painting is very clearly divided into certain sections, but all of these lines are implied. They are created with shapes, colors and interrupted lines that are parts of the objects. Let’s look at just a few examples.

The circle in the center is made of the man’s cheekbone, the spot of color on the horse’s face and several color changes. The pink section, which seems to be a road, is created with the man’s forehead, the horse’s neck and the tree in the man’s hand. Part of the horse’s head also turns out to be the field and the horizon line.

All of these lines, including gazes and positions, seem to interconnect to make sure the viewer’s eye keeps wandering around the work without leaving.

Autumn on the Seine, Argenteuil by Claude Monet, 1873

If you want to see the examples of implied lines in regular (not surreal) landscape paintings, Claude Monet’s works have lots of them. You can probably take any of his landscape works, and you’ll see that he almost doesn’t use actual lines at all. Except for the pieces where they really need to be, like ship masts, railings or buildings.

In this particular painting, you can clearly see the line that divides the riverbank and the water. Yet, this line was never actually painted and it’s created by your mind. You can see where the trees and the faraway buildings turn into reflections in the water, and you recognize it as a whole, solid line.

Also, the perspective lines are created via the trees and their reflection, leading your eyes far into the picture while creating a sense of depth.

Now you can say that you know a little bit more about art and how it’s made. One of the greatest parts of art is that everyone understands and sees it in their own unique way.

So the examples of implied lines, after all, are just examples to show you what they can look like and how they can be used. When you look at the paintings, you may find implied lines that weren’t mentioned at all, but are absolutely obvious to you. It’s just a part of the fun!

When you decide to use implied lines in your own work, use them however you want and emphasize the things that matter to you. Give them a certain meaning, or don’t. After all, it’s up to you what you imply in your own implied lines 😉

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