Ar.

Irfan Ali Brohi

Lecturer, CEAD, MUET, Jamshoro

Line Weights
The "weight" of a line simply refers to the thickness (or sometimes darkness) to which a line is
rendered graphically. This basic graphic property has enormous effect upon how a drawing is
perceived, and how the illusion of three-dimensional space is produced through two-dimensional
drawings. Similarly, a range of line types (dashed, dotted, etc) may be deployed in different situations
to produce a range of effects.

A general discussion of line weight, style, and type in architectural graphic projection drawings is
presented below. Some conventions discussed here differ for individual drawing types.

Line Weight
Line weight is the visual lightness or darkness and width of a line. Line weights add visual legibility
and hierarchy to a set of drawings while maintaining clarity of representation. The quality of lines in an
architectural drawing are particularly important as drawings are passed from architect to client or
architect to contractor and must retain legibility to each viewer. A successful set of drawings has a
consistent set of varied line weights, with a minimum of 3 or 4 contrasting weights, depending on the
size and scale of the drawing.
Pencil lines should be solid and uniform in width across the entire length of the line. Keep constant
pressure to the paper as you draw a line from start to finish. Though the pencil lead hardness will
remain mostly unchanged, the lead width will need to be altered across different drawing scales. This is
changed by sharpening or dulling the pencil and altering the pressure of the pencil onto the paper.

Line Weights (from lightest/thinnest to darkest/thickest)

Construction Lines (6H-4H, ~0.05mm - 0.1mm / 0.18 - 0.25 pt)
The initial lines of the drawing that help to lay out the drawing on the page and create the basic
geometry and guides for the rest of the drawing. These lines are to be drawn very lightly - dark
enough for you to see while drawing, but delicate enough to be easily erased later. Though these
lines are typically erased for construction documents, they can be kept in presentation drawings to
aid in representing an architectural concept and add visual interest.
Light Lines (4H-2H, ~0.10mm / 0.3 - 0.4 pt)
Action lines (such as door swings), information lines (such as dimension lines and section lines),
overhead lines, and fill patterns are all drawn with light lines. Though these are light lines, it's
important to remember that these are still intended to be visible - do not confuse "light" with "hard
to see."
Medium Lines (F-H, ~0.2mm / 0.5 - 0.6 pt)
Secondary objects such as doors, furniture, cabinets, and other non structural architectural
features are drawn in a medium weight.
Bold Lines (HB-B, ~0.3mm-0.4mm / 0.7 - 1 pt)
Outermost boundaries of objects, or those "silhouette lines" that border empty space or separate the
figure of the depicted object from the ground, in orthographic views or in axonometric drawings.
Cut Lines (B+, 0.4mm and above / 1 pt and above)
Objects that are being cut through by the sectional plane, typically Walls, columns, and other
structural and non-structural objects.