Confused and struggling with sketch lines
9d
Apollo
So I started with drawabox to try to learn the fundamentals, and that accidentally taught me that habit of trying to make my sketches in a single smooth stroke, on the first try.
I came to proko and we're trying to build line quality but I'm stuck in between what I feel is almost chicken scratching but with longer lines, or putting down a single smooth line which Stan mentioned in a critique isn't what we're trying to go for.
not sure how to actually build up a line as a shape while I'm sketching, and/or being unable to remember how to do it the way Stan does while i'm drawing something.
I should also mention that neither way of putting a line down for a sketch currently feels natural to me, but i keep hearing my subconscious telling me to put down one smooth line and make it accurate (which i really dislike the look of)
I started with Drawabox too & I find that some things clash a bit both mostly what I learned there is also helpful here. It gives some insight.
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9d
It will take practice to internalize it as a part of your process, especially if you have to unlearn old habits, so you really have to stick with it! The key is to start very lightly with your lines, and only darken the lines that you feel confident in.
As you go around the page and lay in your shapes, stay light enough that you can just barely see your lines. There is no reasonable expectation that the first lines you put down will be correct. You will need to adjust things as you go, so stay light, light enough that there is no reason to erase. After you have your layin of basic shapes that represent the proportions of what you're drawing is the time to do another pass and start to define the contours.
Stan shows this process starting at 2:20 in the demo here: https://www.proko.com/course-lesson/demo-simplify-snail-and-boots-to-csi/comments
Practice with the pressure that you put on your pencil while drawing. Drill your lines -- start light and gradually increase pressure with each line that you do. Practice with straights and curves. Focus on building your muscle memory so you don't have to think about it while you're drawing.
Okay thanks so much!! I really need to work on pressure - I have arthritis so I tend to push harder to stabilize myself on paper and depend on stabilizer settings heavily in digital.
I'll be more cognizant of how hard I'm pressing while doing drills!
I am very grateful for the thorough explanation of building up a line, it was a concept I was simply not clicking with until you showed the demonstration here
