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Malcress

The Relentless

Art glove for Drawabox exercises - yes or no?

8:53 PM, Friday September 15th 2023

I noticed it's a lot easier to draw straight lines with an art glove (for context - https://imgur.com/a/0I7Vtr6 - the very last page of the last L1 exercise is done with a glove) - should I avoid it to "properly" learn and work with the irregular texture of my hand (as one won't always have it available, plein air, travel etc.), or will both (with and without a glove) become easier no matter which method I use? Thank you in advance and hope my ADHD-driven parentheses aren't too confusing haha.

Uncomfortable

2 users agree

11:27 PM, Friday September 15th 2023

There is nothing wrong with using an art glove. If you feel it is beneficial in some way (for example, some students with sensory issues find it helps alleviate the discomfort of their hand rubbing against the page), then feel free to use it.

Malcress

The Relentless

10:56 AM, Saturday September 16th 2023

That's a relief haha, thank you! That is one of the reasons, though in my case of ADHD it's more about the differentiating texture being distracting. For example, when a "stroke-to-be" is too close to the edge of the paper, my hand has to go from the surface of the paper to the desk (or any other surface, basically) and change the hovering/stroke-making speed to align with that of the paper.

The art glove is also very effective at keeping hand sweat/oil from ruining the paper (which I struggle with a lot as it prevents ink or any art tool from sticking to the paper, and smoothens the paper texture as well), so to anyone with a similar problem, I really recommend this.

LemonyLite

Basics Brawler

0 users agree

2:40 PM, Friday November 17th 2023

I personally have to use one of those gloves because my hands are so sticky I sometimes wonder if I'm Spider-woman ????

Malcress

The Relentless

2:40 PM, Monday November 27th 2023

Hahaha same here, when trying to be extra clean (like with the 250 Boxes), I use the combo of the glove for my dominant hand and a piece of recycled paper for my other hand, and even that piece of paper had to be changed 4-5 times during the challenge lol. I also have to keep track of my body temperature as it's not very regular in general, and the desk lamp I have is heater-level-hot when on which makes me start sweating around the middle of a Drawabox session so I have to open the window even though it's winter here, otherwise I'd be liquified.

Though it can veeery occassionally be an advantage when not using a glove, as it forces one to do quick strokes so as not to touch the paper too much, which comes in handy when life sketching or plein-air, which are one of my favorite art activities. But the glove does help regulate how slippery the paper gets, with my hand alone it jumps from waterslide mode to an abrupt stop quite often, especially when using a graphic tablet, very funky.

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Sakura Pigma Microns

A lot of my students use these. The last time I used them was when I was in high school, and at the time I felt that they dried out pretty quickly, though I may have simply been mishandling them. As with all pens, make sure you're capping them when they're not in use, and try not to apply too much pressure. You really only need to be touching the page, not mashing your pen into it.

On the flipside, they tend to be on the cheaper side of things, so if you're just getting started (beginners tend to have poor pressure control), you're probably going to destroy a few pens - going cheaper in that case is not a bad idea.

In terms of line weight, the sizes are pretty weird. 08 corresponds to 0.5mm, which is what I recommend for the drawabox lessons, whereas 05 corresponds to 0.45mm, which is pretty close and can also be used.