- Task: Draw straight lines, curved lines, wavy lines, and zig-zag lines with varying pressure and thickness. Repeat for consistency.
- Objective: Improve hand control and achieve smooth, consistent strokes.
Drawing Straight Lines
Let’s focus on drawing straight lines freehand, without a ruler. Please note that the goal is to explore our abilities, and nothing more! We’re not trying to create “perfect” lines.
If you feel unsure about drawing a straight line, I’d recommend outlining a line in pencil with a ruler. This line should be barely visible as it will serve as a reference.
When you’re drawing a line, pay attention to the pressure on the tool and the speed of movement. Don’t push too hard. You’ll notice that the starting and ending points of your lines depend on how lightly you touch the paper and how quickly your tool moves.
In the image below, you’ll find several lines:
a – a line with cut (thick) starting and ending points. I call them “full stop” lines because you should slow down a bit to make the ends look like this.
b – a line with sharp starting and ending points. This character of the ends is achieved by a lighter, swifter movement.
c – a line with a dense start and a light, pointed end.
d – a line with a sharp start and a “full stop” at the end.
To be fluent with your lines, I recommend repeating all four examples. Some will be more natural to you and some will require additional practice.
Please keep in mind that slowing your hand movements too much may cause unwanted effects, especially on thin paper. For example, if you leave an ink liner in one spot for several seconds, you can get a dark blob. So finding a balance is important!
To make the exercise more interesting, you can try any tool that provides a variety of line width, depending on the pressure (like a nib pen or a brush pen). Play with your tool and see how it behaves. Some drawing tools allow you to create a dramatic change in the line width.
In the image below, you’ll find my lines made with a brush pen. I’ve created some continuous lines and also lines with gaps.
If you don’t have a brush pen or a nib pen, you could use various forms of the same tool. For example, you could use several ink liners or varying widths. Chances are, you’ll get to know your tools better and find out which one is the most comfortable to you.
Here are my lines created with the 0.1, 0.3 and 0.4 liners respectively…
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