Arts, Music, and Recreation › Hobbies & Activities Crosshatching - What is Crosshatching? Share Flipboard Email Print rgiudici/Flickr Hobbies & Activities Drawing & Sketching Basics Learn to Draw Art Supplies Hiking Paddling Fishing Sailing & Boating Scuba Diving Playing Guitar Painting Playing Piano Collecting Gambling Card Games Other Hobbies View More by Helen South Australian artist Helen South works in graphite, charcoal, watercolor, and mixed media. She has a B.A. in printmaking and is the author of "The Everything Guide to Drawing." Updated August 23, 2018 Crosshatching is an extension of hatching, which uses fine parallel lines drawn closely together to create the illusion of shade or texture in a drawing. Crosshatching is the drawing of two layers of hatching at right-angles to create a mesh-like pattern. Multiple layers in varying directions can be used to create textures. Crosshatching is often used to create tonal effects, by varying the spacing of lines or by adding additional layers of lines. Crosshatching is used in pencil drawing, but is particularly useful with pen and ink drawing, to create the impression of areas of tone, since the pen can only create a solid black line. Alternate Spellings: cross-hatching Continue Reading