line drawing

American  

noun

1. a drawing done exclusively in line, providing gradations in tone entirely through variations in width and density.

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line drawing British  

noun

1. a drawing made with lines only, gradations in tone being provided by the spacing and thickness of the lines

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Etymology

Origin of line drawing

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

He went back and forth with art director Oliver Munday on 15 to 20 different iterations of the image, which is typical, and it started as a simple line drawing of Zelensky.

From Washington Post

On one rack, there was a line drawing of Mr. Shear reclining and reading; nearby was a self-portrait by Mr. Kelly, naked except for his glasses.

From New York Times

Even simple line drawings of the female anatomy can be given a "sensitivity cover" online - where people are warned the image might be "graphic or disturbing" before they can view it.

From BBC

Picasso identified with the owl’s interrogatory gaze, and he later created a self-portrait of himself as an owl — with his own piercing eyes staring out from a line drawing of the bird.

From New York Times

The crisp line drawing “looks like a spatula now,” she said almost 22 months later.

From Seattle Times