"Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere."
G. K. Chesterton (1874 - 1936) English essayist, novelist, journalist, poet Orthodoxy, 1908.

Dusan Pavlic's lines are short, frantic, heavy, playful and dramatic. His visuals are doors into fairylands and wastelands. Line seems to breed line until whole villages confront the viewer in the shape of the human condition - or of some strange animal or landscape from Dusan's imagination. Dusan has won many awards for his magazine and book illustrations, cartoons and artwork, so I was thrilled when he granted permission to display his work here to show examples of the use of line as an element in graphic design.

It's impossible to reduce Dusan's work and still be able to see the intricacies of line in each piece. If you click on the artwork in this article, a new window will open to a page on his site where you can see the larger version. I suggest you do this, so you can see the minute details involved in each drawing. You'll have the added advantage of perusing his entire portfolio.

Line can be active and visible as a line drawing or a cartoon. It can also be passive; it can be the invisible line between contrasts of color or value. In the first two 'portraits' rendered by Dusan in 1995, you can see the line as very active. Each stroke defines the shape of each man. In the portrait at top left, the heavy lines across the nose are so active they actually form a plane of value that gives dark emotion to the face. The speed of the line is denoted by variables. If a line is thick, the "speed" of direction might be slower than if the line were thin; however, we can see that thick lines, if short and created on the diagonal, can be very fast. The lines duplicate that second of emotion literally crossing this man's face.

If a line is horizontal, it may appear to be more "peaceful" than if the line is vertical. Dusan portrays this technique in the portrait top right. The man is sitting on a horizontal line. He appears to be sitting on a bench or ledge. The 'unfinished' lower half of this portrait gives the feeling of being undone or at odds. The man is waiting, but he may not be doing it with total presence or peace of mind. The oversized proportion of the head and the weight of more linear definition in the facial structure gives the viewer a focus or emphasis in the drawing. The hair, rendered in diagonal strokes, gives motion to a man who is otherwise poised in serious thought.

The passive line is shown in the color drawing of the woman preening with the umbrella. The top of the article of blue clothing on the woman is clearly defined by line. The bottom is defined only by the ending of the blue shape. No line is drawn. When you look at the larger version of this portrait on Dusan's site, you'll see other shapes that are defined with passive line.

Remember that points create lines, lines create shapes or planes and volume. Also - many artists and designers comprehend line as a continuous linking of points or dots, giving the line "movement" and direction. "Message In A Bottle" shown at right is only a portion of this detailed cartoon. It couldn't be reduced and still show the intricate lines of detail in the man's sweater. Notice how each line in the sweater curves to form the shape of the arm and the chest. When you look at the larger drawing, you'll see these lines are made from individual marks drawn in the direction of the shape that is being formed. These lines are forming the shape on paper, or the illusion of form (see Shape and Form). The individual lines drawn on the nose and hands also give shape and value to the drawing.

The advertisement for Gama Electronics, Belgrade to the left is a fine example in using type as a linear tool. You'll also see active and passive lines in horizontal, vertical and diagonal direction (much more clearly in the larger version). This reduction of the piece gives us some interesting takes on how Dusan developed the direction with color and repetition of shape. The red "G" at middle bottom is a point of emphasis, balanced by the larger and lighter values at the top. The 'animal' shape is repeated directly above the "G", which draws our eye upward. The dual sets of horns almost take our eye up and out of the picture, both to the right and left; however, the horizontal layout of the illustration and the lines of type bring us back down into the depths of the lower portion of this advertisement. This entire layout is a repetition of the shape of the horn. You might also want to take a look at the illustration alone, which will give you a finer idea of how Dusan utilized line throughout this piece.

Dusan's portraits, cartoons and drawings are beautiful examples of the use of line in illustration and in graphic design. I hope you enjoy the rest of his work!

Dusan Pavlic was born on June 24th, 1968 in Sremska Mitrovica, Yugoslavia. In 1994 he obtained a B.A. in illustration as a student of Prof. Bogdan Krsic at the Faculty of Applied Arts and Design in Belgrade. He is engaged in producing illustrations, computer graphics, cartoons and comic strips. He has been a member of The Serbian Association of Applied Arts Artists and Designers since 1996. He participated in numerous shows and illustration contests as well as cartoon and comic strip contests in Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Japan, Brasil, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Yugoslavia. His awards include: The Golden Pen of Belgrade Award for a collector's edition of "Alice in Wonderland" in 1993; Politikin Zabavnik Award at the Golden Pen of Belgrade for illustrations "Wild Animals" in 1995; The Grand Prix of the 38th Golden Pen of Belgrade and the 4th International Biennial of Illustration for a series of digital illustrations "the Hedgehog's Shack" in 1996; "With Children Round the World" - children' s book design prize at the Belgrade Book Fair and Neven Prize for 1998; 3rd price on the European Cartoon Contest 1999, Kruishoutem, Belgium.

Use of Dusan Pavlic's artwork granted with written permission from the artist. 2/23/01.