To make your drawing smooth, particularly your lines, focus on using larger movements from your elbow or shoulder rather than small, jerky movements from your fingers.
Achieving smooth lines in your drawings often comes down to controlling your movement source. Instead of relying solely on your fingers, which can create short, choppy strokes, try not to draw from your fingers and try to draw from your elbow or shoulder.
Techniques for Smoother Lines
Drawing from larger joints allows for longer, more fluid motions, resulting in cleaner and smoother lines. This approach changes the pivot point of your drawing motion, giving you better control over curves and straight lines alike.
Key Practices:
- Shift Your Movement Source: Consciously move your entire arm from the elbow or shoulder, especially for longer strokes. This provides a natural arc or straighter path compared to wrist or finger movements.
- Adjust Your Grip: This might require a change of grip. Holding the pencil or pen further back from the tip, similar to how you might hold a brush, encourages arm movement rather than finger manipulation.
- Understand Hand Positions: As highlighted in the reference, there is a great comparison of hand positions for drawing. Experiment to find a grip and posture that facilitates arm movement. A common grip for arm drawing is the "overhand" or "easel" grip.
- Practice "Ghosting": Before committing a line to paper, try ghosting the stroke in the air before you commit. Mimic the exact motion you intend to make just above the paper. This rehearsal helps build muscle memory and ensures you're comfortable with the path and speed of the stroke.
Why This Works
Using your arm provides a wider range of motion. This allows you to draw longer lines without lifting your pen, reducing the chances of wobbly or disconnected segments. It also leverages the larger muscles of your arm and shoulder, which are less prone to the small tremors that can affect finger movements.
Practical Tips:
- Use a comfortable posture that allows free arm movement. Standing at an easel or using a drawing table can help.
- Practice drawing long, continuous lines and curves on scrap paper using arm movements.
- Start lightly. You can always darken a smooth line later, but it's hard to fix a shaky line.
- Slow down slightly and focus on the movement, not just the result.
By incorporating these techniques, especially shifting your drawing motion from your fingers to your elbow or shoulder, you can significantly improve the smoothness and confidence of your lines, leading to smoother overall drawings.
