What does crosshatching mean?
Crosshatching is an artistic technique in which an area of a drawing, print, or engraving is shaded by layering two or more sets of closely spaced parallel lines that cross one another, usually at an angle. By varying the number, spacing, density, and direction of the line layers, an artist can produce a full range of tonal values, from the faintest shadow to near-solid black. The method has been fundamental to pen-and-ink illustration, etching, and engraving since the Renaissance, when masters such as Albrecht Dürer and later Rembrandt exploited its precision to model form without washes or colour. Beyond fine art, the term also describes any decorative pattern of intersecting lines, appearing in textiles, graphic design, and heraldic-style ornamentation. Crosshatching connotes craftsmanship, patience, and technical control, and it remains a core skill taught in classical drawing instruction today.
nounCrosshatching is a technique in drawing and engraving of shading an area with two or more sets of parallel lines that intersect, typically at an angle, to create depth or tone. It can also refer to a pattern of intersecting lines used decoratively.
- The drawing or engraving technique of shading with intersecting sets of parallel lines.
- A pattern of intersecting lines used decoratively, as on fabric or in design.
"The artist built up the shadows in the portrait using delicate crosshatching."
"She darkened the hollows of the cheekbones with fine crosshatching."
"The engraver achieved remarkable tonal range through dense crosshatching alone."
Rarely used in the plural; the uncountable singular is standard when referring to the technique generally.
"His sketchbooks reveal hundreds of experimental crosshatchings across every page."
Rembrandt's etchings contain areas of such dense crosshatching that some lines are packed more than fifty per centimetre — close enough that the naked eye can barely separate them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crosshatching
The word combines 'cross' (from Old Norse 'kross', via Latin 'crux') with 'hatching', from French 'hacher' meaning 'to hatch or chop'. The term arose in English during the seventeenth century as printmaking and drawing techniques flourished, describing the crossing of hatched lines to deepen tone. Its cognates include 'crucial', 'crusade', and 'crux', all descending ultimately from Latin 'crux' meaning 'cross'.
Related word forms
How crosshatching is actually used
Crosshatching is a technical term most at home in discussions of drawing, printmaking, and graphic art; it is neutral in register. The plural is rarely used — the mass-noun sense dominates.
Easily confused with crosshatching
Hatching uses only one set of parallel lines for shading, while crosshatching layers two or more intersecting sets.