How to draw steady lines without a ruler?
Question from Tina
Hi, I’ve been trying to improve my drawing skills by following your video “Help, I Can’t Draw“.
I have a challenge. No matter how many times I draw lines in perspective, the converging lines just don’t come out straight or I completely miss the vanishing point.
I draw on a vertical drawing board, but I feel like I should just resort to drawing on a horizontal surface because only then can I draw steady, somewhat straight lines.
- Is it just that I haven’t practiced enough?
- Is it OK to draw on flat surfaces?
- Do I just need to move my hand faster or slower to get long smooth lines?
Thank you
Tina
Hi Tina,
Many thanks for your question.
A similar topic has been already discussed in this article:
//drawingacademy.com/how-to-paint-straight-lines
There’s only one reason you can’t draw straight lines – lack of practice. How many hours have you spent practicing drawing lines? If fewer than 20, you haven’t even started.
It is good that you use a drawing board.
- Place the board vertically in front of you at arm’s length.
- Hold a pencil with the “candle” grip, and instead of moving your fingers or your hand, move your entire arm from the shoulder.
- Look not at the pencil tip but where the line should end.
- Draw a line steadily in that direction.
Speed is a by-product of mastery. Draw as fast or slowly as you feel comfortable. With time and practice, you will gradually increase your drawing speed; this will happen naturally.
Best regards,
Vladimir
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Drawing an imaginary chessboard in perspective makes an excellent warm-up exercise. Due to perspective rules, you’ll end up with a wide variety of different line angles and line-lengths that are needed for the shading of the chess board, and each line has a well-defined start and ending point. You can also take the time to practice your hatching techniques using this method.
Straight lines…fantastic question…one I too have struggled with because my former educators failed to address this. I guess along with all the other practice stuff I must start working on this also. Seems like I do more practice than I do drawing.
Thanks for your question. Seems like every time someone asks a question it leads to stuff on the site I never knew existed
Wow!! This actually works for me. Thank you.
This is an excellent question. I also had difficulty drawing a straight line! Then I found a way that works for me. Here’s what I do. First I draw the line without touching my paper a couple of times going back and forth. Next, I actually draw the line. If you are drawing a longer line, you may have to do this technique a few times. I’m not sure why this technique works. Give it a try to see if it works for you!
I was once told by a drafting instructor and also by my driving instructor to “look where you are going and not where you’re at”….so for driving that helped me to stay on the road…I see what that means for drawing lines as well. Beautiful sketches by the way.