Stippling
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Stippling is the technique of using small dots to simulate varying degrees of solidity or shading.
The technique and effect depends on the medium. In a drawing or painting, the dots are made of pigment of a single color, applied with a pen or brush; the denser the spacing of the dots, the darker the apparent shade — or lighter, if the pigment is lighter than the surface. (This is sometimes confused with pointillism, which uses dots of different colors.) In printmaking, dots may be carved out of a surface to which ink will be applied, to produce either a greater or lesser density of ink depending on the printing technique. Stippling may also be used in engraving or sculpting an object even when there is no ink or paint involved, either to change the texture of the object, or to produce the appearance of light or dark shading depending on the reflective properties of the surface: for instance, stipple engraving on glass produces areas that appear brighter than the surrounding glass.
Stippling is one of two techniques for shading by hand in line art; the other is hatching, which uses lines instead of dots. Stippling has traditionally been favored over hatching in biological and medical illustration, since it is less likely than hatching to interfere visually with the structures being illustrated, and also since it allows the artist to vary the density of shading subtly to depict curved or irregular surfaces.
Although halftoning and digital techniques have made it easier to use other forms of shading in printed art, artists may still choose stippling for its simplicity and handmade appearance.
External Links
Detailed Stippling Demonstration (http://www.tothepointdesign.com/stippling_demo.htm)