Stippling

スティップリング（点描陰影） / 16th century– / Technique / Hand-drawn

Stippling builds light, volume and surface through the density and size of tiny dots; tone rises from sparse to dense without filling contours with lines.

Countless small dots filling a contour / Narrower spacing in darker areas / Soft tone without hatched lines / Grain up close and smooth volume at distance

Stippling — AI-generated interpretation — AI-generated interpretation, not a reference work

Dictionary entry

Best used for: Scientific illustration, natural history and portraiture with delicate volume · Giving packaging and posters quiet hand-built grain
Type: Use a fine serif or small capitals with enough air from dotted fields.
Composition: Begin at the darkest point and build the subject by density rather than outline.
Material: Keep one nib size and vary spacing more than dot size to construct tone.
Caution: Random noise and halftone are different. Each dot's density must explain form and light.
Further study: Pen-and-ink stippling / Dot density and value / Stipple engraving

Related entries

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