Posture, Grip and Drawing from the Shoulder

Most beginners draw the way they write: hunched over the table, fingers gripping the pencil near the tip, moving only the wrist. That's great for small letters and terrible for drawing. Long, smooth lines come from the arm, not the fingers.

Set up your space

• Sit upright, feet flat on the floor, with your drawing in front of you, not off to the side.
• Tilt your paper. Drawing on a flat table distorts proportions because you see the top of the page at an angle. Use a drawing board resting on your lap and against the table edge, or an easel, so the paper is roughly perpendicular to your line of sight.
• Good, steady light coming from the side opposite your drawing hand avoids casting your hand's shadow over your lines.
• Take breaks. Stand up every 30–45 minutes, roll your shoulders and rest your eyes by looking at something far away.

Two ways to hold the pencil

Tripod grip (like writing): precise and comfortable for details, small shapes and final lines. Try holding the pencil a bit further from the tip than you do when writing: it loosens your lines.

Overhand grip: the pencil lies under your palm, held between the thumb and fingers, with the side of the lead touching the paper. You can't do tiny details, but it's ideal for gestures, sketching big shapes and broad shading. It forces you to move your whole arm.

Drawing from the shoulder

Your arm has three main pivots. Each produces a different kind of line:

• Wrist: short strokes and small details.
• Elbow: medium lines and curves.
• Shoulder: long, smooth lines and big curves.

Try to draw a 20 cm line using only your wrist: you'll get a curve or a wobble, because your hand rotates around the wrist. Now lock your wrist and elbow and move the whole arm from the shoulder: the line becomes straighter and more confident.

Pressure and lightness

Start drawings with light pressure. Light lines are easy to adjust and disappear under shading. As you become confident about where things go, press harder. Think of it as "whispering" first and "speaking" later.

Hold the pencil with a relaxed grip. If your knuckles are white, you are squeezing too much: this makes lines stiff and tires your hand.