Alright folks, it seems like I have stir up some controversy here so here are a few points that I'd like to clarify: 1. This is a huge mistake by me because I thought line weight meant the thick-to-thin transitions within A SINGLE STROKE. The Japanese call it 入り抜き (irinuki), which means the thick-thin transitions in a single line. While line weight in English meant the overall line thickness/strength in the entire drawing. (I think if you watch the video while keeping this in mind, the video will sound less insane.) 2. I'm not saying that you should completely avoid using line weight here. In fact, probably no one does that. In the examples I gave towards the end of the video, there were still minimal line weight used but they are not the standard manga style lines you commonly see. You know, like the ones that have really strong thin-to-thick variation. 3. The point I'd like to illustrate with this video is line weight is not the first priority when it comes to line art. Many younger artists seem to think that line weight will SAVE their bad line art, and overly obsess over it. To prove my point, the thumbnail Gojo is drawn by me, with a brush that doesn't have any pen pressure. I truly apologize if some of you felt like I click-baited you with the thumbnail/title. I will do better in my research and scripting so that there won't be any miscommunications like this again in the future. ☺ TLDR: Sorry for the confusion! Line weight is not a bad thing. I just wanted to demonstrate that line weight is not the first priority when it comes to good line art.

I hate it when people only think good line art must be smooth and precise, it can be messy and grainy too!!!

General Tip: In art there are always rules, like proportions, perspective, lineart, coloring, and many more. "Learn the rules, before you break them." There is a reason why people say to follow then. When applied by beginners or intermediates it is done in a manner where is is unappealing. So thats why you must learn. If you wanna do chickem scratching, do your research. It can look good, you can stylize.

That was super insightful! Now I wanna try Gege's dynamic line art style 👀

Maybe I misunderstood what you were saying but it seemed to me like some of the "no line weight variation" examples you showed didn't really illustrate your point, many of them did in fact seem to have line weight variation imo.

one thing i learnt in my art journey was line weight was never JUST used to represent lighting it was one of the things you could use it for, sure. but i feel like it's the most common and recent "rule" on the timeline, maybe it's because it's the most visually pleasing one? idk interesting things you can do with line weight is, instead of using it to represent lighting, use it for something like grounding your art. or using it for depths/perspective, movement (this one can often come across as low quality and sketchy if too exaggerated ) 3:54 or 4:22 a nice example of showcasing movement with line weight thin lines on the face and hair cuz they are almost constantly in motion so to speak due to talking. facial expressions etc

Line weight is great as an "aesthetic accessory" but if you're learning forms, shapes and perspective takes priority.

i love more messier line styles plus it feels far more easier for me, i never liked having to be very much a perfectionist with lineart anyway it was too time consuming

In my opinion from my experience lines matter... A LOT! But like this video demonstrates it's just really depends on what you want to do! I have a bad bad habit of being perfectionist when it comes to lines, which always makes me suffer while shading because my shading style is more watercolor-y so it benefits a lot from looser, sketchier lines anyway. Everyone should consider what their goals are when it comes to art - neat lines can look nice on their own but torture you later. I have literally scrapped whole lineart because it didn't look right when I was shading and refined the sketch instead which was a good decision. The more painterly your style is the less it benefits from neat lines.

Hierarchy of line, in a practical sense, is just line weight. We are staring at a 2D surface, how to translate the illusion of 3D (be it due to distance and relative light and shadow) to the quality of line uses, hell, necessitates, the same approach....which is varied line weight. It is a misnomer, do not let it distract you.

Gege Akutami sensei's manga is beyond gorgeous. The fact he can continuously give us rough draft level art at MUSEUM QUALITY blows my mind. And you can tell he's just trying to keep up w his weekly schedule bc in JJK 0 he uses entirely different rendering and creates "cleaner" line art. Only thing us peasants have the right to critisize is yeah sometimes his fight choreography is difficult to see, i feel bad for the animators tryna decipher that for tv lol

Oh no, I'm nervous to watch this one. I literally cannot stop doing line art and now I'm gonna find out what I've been doing wrong all this time.

Lineart is exactly what im trying to improve right now and after weeks of trying a bunch of things, my conclusion is that my obsession with doing perfect linearts with absurd control of my pencil pressure and line weight is killing my art Its more comfortable for me to focus on enphasizing the silhouette and occlusion of the subject in a sketchy way instead of precisely representing it and using very smooth lines, i took it from my favourite artist mogoon after watching some of his livestreams i found on youtube

Yeah, so after watching this my belief that lineweight is super important just got reinforced.

good line art is all about CONTROL. If you can make the line do what you want it, then the drawing will be nice.

Honestly I'm genuinely surprised you have not so big reach though this video is such a qualitative content. I know that some day you'll definitely be a well-known art youtuber because this is so good, thanks for making, you've raised an interesting topic!!

at 3:31, in the gege akutami section, that last art work isn't done by him and is, instead, a piece of fanart!

Thanks for this video, lately i had problems with line art and line weight so this was pretty inspiring I think for animation they don't really use line weight either since it's hard to be 100 consistant with it

Honestly I have never heard of people varying the line weight to represent light and shadows, interesting that you brought that up. However, usually line weight gives more definition to the details and it’s consistent with the part that’s being outlined (for example, using thinner strokes for the knuckles and joints because they’re bony, and using thicker lines for the parts that have more muscle. And the same goes for objects, usually the tips and corners are thinner to represent a sharp edge, whereas the bulk or center of the object would have thicker lines, etc) line weight can add depth to your piece, it can define the details, it can be used to emphasize hierarchy and it can add fluidity or motion to your piece, but you have to utilize it properly in order to achieve that. If you’re claiming that line weight doesn’t matter, then you have simply ditched a key element that you can use to your advantage to elevate your art. Even the examples you showed at the end that seem to have unified strokes have intentionally used different thickness for the details and the outline of the figures themselves. You can get away with using the same thickness for all of your line-art if your style is very minimal, but if you prefer to add a lot of details to your pieces then you definitely need to use different line weights to avoid having a flat piece and all of your hard work would be lost because everything looks the same and it would be difficult to tell each detail apart.

Said line weight didn't matter but every sample does use the line weight principle...

Great video! First you learn the rules and with experience you learn how to break them.

I fuckin love Geges artwork man. Like his lineart looks so good to me idc what anyone says. And i use that same kind of messy lineart in my own artwork cuz its just really fun to draw that way.

your video enlightened me with my confusion of lineart

tysm this helped so much

I mean.... if you DONT WANT to have it look like [insert here still-good-but-different] style then yes it does matter what you pick (less line weight, more line weight, how you line weight, etc) and your video proves it. There's just no "good" or "bad" way, just not good enough. What doesnt matter is the "only do [insert thing] this way! this is the [only] right way" advice: "only draw from shoulder" (only for painters/big-canvas technique), "only draw fluid gestures" (only for classical paintings technique), etc. Sadly its very popular usually, everyone likes the dream that there's *only one right way to rule them all* (since its less to think about), and they especially like making videos and tutorials about things like that, but reality is just not that, and its far better that its not.

Sick video bro 🔥

when i make dynamic body shots i love dramatizing the line weight. i really crank it up. i want the lineart to be the staple of those hardcore pieces, yk?

This was so helpful man I wish younger me had gotten this video maybe lineart wouldn't have been such a pain for me back then lol.

The only thing that seems to actually matter at all for line art is vision and intention. Your strokes will only come out nicely if you know exactly how they’re supposed to look before you make them

JJK artwork demonstrates that you don't need to deliver something exceptional; you only need luck. It is up to the individual to decide whether this is a good or bad thing. In the end, just choose the level of detail and polishment with which you are satisfied. It will most likely have little effect on popularity, but it will have an effect on the artist's personal goals.

This was pretty helpful

I love Demizu Posuka's style. Any tips on getting that sketchiness?

Don't neglect, line weight, it shows emphasis on certain parts of the drawing, its different pressure you put on your tool and vary your line, it can also show energy.

Idk what it is but the ones you drew look pretty off. Still have to be good with anatomy and shapes to excel in experimental lines

whatever the rule for line weight or flow that is as long as it looks good

Perhaps it's the current generation. But I also grew up in both anime and cartoons. There has been so many variations of stylized lineart. The "chicken scratches" is more so from a psychological perspective of beginner artists, rather than the actual look or technicality of these quick scratchy lines. I really recommend traditional drawing and early animation. So many artists have the most random lines being done on the draft stage and even the final stage. I highly recommend the short animated film The Affairs of Art, if anybody hasn't seen it. Highly stylized traditional animation, with all the big loopy lines and scratches, and a story about an artist who rediscovered her passion for art, in the weirdest and relatable way.

great video bro

I recently did a study on the first page of JJK's chapter from a few weeks ago. It looked like the least detailed page, but to my surprise it took me hours to re create it at subpar results compared to the original. You can literally visually twll that sensei probably did it in minutes lmao

You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. You and other artists, especially beginners, only prevent yourself from growing and improving by thinking like that. I also often see artists who don't want to get dirty learning the basics. If you see a pro drawing in a messy style, it's because he knows how to make it look good. He can utilize it. Be honest with yourself, stop making excuses, look at your work critically and fix the errors to improve. Just learn the basics (fundamentals), study anatomy, keep practising and keep observing. That's how you improve.

I love things that are extreme, and that's why when I was younger my favorite artist was Demizu Posuka and now my favorite artist is the artist for Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun (I don't know the name). The artist for TBHK is amazing at using line weight and contrast to build interest and bring more feeling to their art. I would highly recommend checking them out. (Also, I just started reading Jujutsu Kaisen and I think the art is really interesting and satisfying. It fits really well with the story, and I immediately noticed the unique lining style)

The pinned comment has already been edited to explain that the dude thought line weight had to be clean. I still want to re iterate it though. Line art doesnt have to be clean... and so... line weight doesnt have to be clean either! Jjk has line weight! It has harder strokes or clutters of lines to simulate dept or give you a focal point. 3:50 everything shown is literally FULL of it! 4:01 , the lines on the hands are clearly harsher then the face and hairs. (Its one of the reasons your redraw ended up looking less interesting then og.) Look at 4:09 they do exactly that everywhere. Demizu poska simulate line weight by putting more cluttered strokes on specific places aswell. Which is why 5:18 's redraw looks boring (asside suffering in terms of perspective on the mouth and eyebrows). Look at the chin, the hair splitting on the back of the neck, the forehead, the bottom part of the top eyelashes, the outer part of the ears, the forehead etcetcetc.. I could go on! Its there for a reason. Line weight/line variation is what can really makes a difference between something that feels amateur and something that feels professional. Its a very powerful art hack that can help you make your art have clear focal points by using things other than color. It can make your art breathe life! 6:43 even the drawing on the left has line weight. The parts where the black background arent already doing the job of an outine has some! Like the sleeve going in front of her hair! For short do not eliminate line weight in your work. That would be slowing yall down 🫠. If you do not want to use line weight, its ok. Just make sure you really know your shit in terms of color and composition if youre doing anything with a background and/or a foreground because its very tricky!

i shouldnt have watched this while linearting for the first time in years lmao

lineweight can be conveyed in more than just the size of the line. Line texture, opacity, and, as I’ve never heard talked about, line count. In order to use line count to convey weight, you need to have a good grasp of stroke economy, which is more of a painting concept than a drawing one. Think about artists that will use double lines on the outline, etc.

what proogram are you using

Line weight matters, but there’s a lot of ways it can be conveyed. You don’t need to have lines that vary weight within the stroke, and that’s a better way of putting your last examples. You have inner lines being thinner than outer lines, but strokes themselves are homogeneous along their lengths.

2:02 VOX FULGUR WHAT ARE U DOIN HERE

i saw a dream that an old artist was scolding me bout not defining line weight so i tried drawing with lien weight all day only for yt to recommend me this video in the evening I-

now I'm confused

I wonder how you describe Chainsaw Man's art style as far as its lines go

Art is basically an imitation of real life, aka fake it till u make it, if your ugly lineart can decieve the watcher, then u pretty much successful at art

i think the reason most pepole dislike chicken scratching is because more often than not it's a sign of the artist's lack of confidence in their line work rather than a intentional stylistic choice

Line art? Never heard of her.

moral of the video, depends on your artstyle and what you prefer 😁😁

line weight is a stylistic choice

Lineart is just a clean sketch. Sketch is just a messy lineart.

Jjk,the beauty rough art 😂

Literally everything about this video made me think I was watching a 300k subscriber professional channel. But look at you! You're super underrated, I hope your channel grows!

2:32 why not just use alpha lock?

6:15 Personally for me I do pretty loose lines and messy lines bc im ✨ l a z y ✨

conclusion : line weight matters, and helps for dynamic and more appealing line graphics.

line weight matters if you want it to matter

non-artists commentating on how "bad" artists do their job is just crazy...

also saying megs art looks unpolished or unfinished is so 😭😭 like i GUESS i get what u mean but the wording is soo weird... finished and polished can look very different depending on the artist and what theyre going for

My art can look insecure idgaf. People can say it's messy, people can say I'm "chicken scratching" they can say it's bad but IDGAF! 🖕😤🖕 Lineart has made me almost stop drawing for a year because it took so long and I became a perfectionist! It's so much more fun to just go with the flow. And for me line art was just taking the fun out of making my art because it was so stressful for me! Now my art style is "messy" but i look at all those "messy" drawings with a deep fondness compared to the "clean" line art drawings I've made that make me feel annoyed because it was a pain in the ass to make 😒 So anyone reading this just know: Line art is not everything. It is not for everyone. You don't need "clean" line art to be a good artist. If "clean" line art makes you wanna wrip out your hair and is taking away the fun, THEN F IT!! Make art you enjoy making 💯💋

It appears that some beginner artists, in their attempts to teach others, may not yet have mastered their craft. While their intentions might be good, their skills might not be at a professional level yet. Perhaps they lack enough experience or followers to establish their credibility. Some of these artists resort to shortcuts like creating KZfaq tutorials with click bait titles, but their content might not always be accurate or helpful. It's understandable that beginners might watch these videos hoping to learn, but unfortunately, the quality of instruction might not always be reliable. As a result, beginner artists could find it challenging to improve. It would be beneficial for them to seek guidance from more experienced and established sources to truly enhance their skills.

me who literally started reading Jujutsu Kaisen because I love the art.... O.O"

Detail clustering

My brother in Christ, this whole video is about you discussing the importance of line weight while telling people they don't need it to make good art. What are you going on about with this click bait title, intro, and thumbnail? I'm only interacting to your content because I don't want others to be fooled by this nonsense.

When you draw, think more about the form than anything else. A rookie mistake is to think: it looks right. Because although it looks right, is it really? When everything is in perfect shape, even without the ink you should notice its good.

this video is so weird man... like i could sort of understand the point being made here but only cuz i had previous knowledge from better explained videos on the subject 😣 i really feel this could hinder a beginner artist's growth bc the info here seems really faulty and unsubstantial

Bro I love chicken scratching. I just like how it looks in the end of the process

first