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Drawing from the entire arm for everything?

1:17 AM, Saturday June 7th 2025

I have a question regarding the approach to take some of the later lessons. I am at lesson three where I am learning how to construct plants etc. The lesson has some elements of drawing the contour-lines, cast shadow etc.

My question is: do we really need to draw everything from the entire arm? Sometimes when I am drawing a small shape for a cast shadow, or a small contour line, my brain defaults to do it mostly from the wrist. Is that ok? Or even the smaller shapes we should be trying our best to draw from the entire shoulder (say for texture etc.).

Thanks!

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1 users agree
11:45 PM, Saturday June 7th 2025

Its fine to draw really small objects from the wrist , the point of drawing from the shoulder (arm) is to ensure that your whole arm is engaged in what your drawing. This also avoid putting strain on the wrist which in turn can lead to things like carpal tunnel or wrist pain. So once in a while is fine honestly and you should really worry if you do it here and there for smaller things , but fully drawing with the wrist can lead to complications later on. If possible you should still try to draw from the shoulder but sometimes its unavoidable to not draw with your wrist.

Hopefully this helps

Cheers!~

6:16 AM, Sunday June 8th 2025

I appreciate your answer! Thanks so much.

Cheers!

0 users agree
8:31 PM, Sunday June 8th 2025

This section from the page that discusses drawing from your shoulder addresses your question: https://drawabox.com/lesson/1/2/wrist. The section below it, discussing the path of least resistance, may also be worth reviewing.

The answer is a little more nuanced than what SlayerDelano explained. More than the size of the stroke, it's about the qualities you want it to have. Marks that need to flow smoothly and consistently with no sharp turns should be executed from the shoulder, even when they're smaller, and marks that need tight control with sudden turns that the shoulder's range of motion would not be able to handle quickly enough would be drawn from the wrist.

7:10 AM, Monday June 9th 2025

Thanks, uncomfortable! I will have a look at the link you sent!

Cheers,

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