While it helps, it is by no means necessary, and the majority of students working through this course are only going to have flat desks to work with. You do not need anything beyond what Lesson 0 lists.
Thanks so much! I'll keep that in mind. It has been easier to make estimations on a slightly inclined board that I place between my desk and me while I'm sitting. The one problem I face with this method is that it doesn't allow free movement of the arm. Any advice on that?
Hi Vaish,
When I use the desk method you mentioned, I find my arm is free to move from the shoulder all the way down. Here's a couple tips I can think of that may help:
make sure to lift your elbow away from you body as you draw (i.e. don't rest your elbow on your hip, etc.)
make sure to use a chair without an armrest (as this could inhibit free movement)
I'm not sure what else could be limiting your movement. Is there any more info you could add to help clarify what may be causing the problem? How big is your board? I just use a 9x12 inch clipboard or my sketchbook. What level is your desk? The top of my desk is about 4.5 inches above my legs when I'm sitting (in my chair); so I can rest my board on my lap and against the desk to get up to a 45 degree angle on my drawing surface (i.e. 45 degrees up from a flat drawing surface).
If there's absolutely nothing you can do to use your entire arm in this position, it may be better to try another solution or draw on a flat surface for now rather than to draw with limited mobility. Getting used to drawing with your entire arm is really important.
I got a chair without an armrest and, ya, I tend to rest my elbow on my hip. Keep forgetting not to. Working on it. Thanks for the tips!
Like the Staedtlers, these also come in a set of multiple weights - the ones we use are F. One useful thing in these sets however (if you can't find the pens individually) is that some of the sets come with a brush pen (the B size). These can be helpful in filling out big black areas.
Still, I'd recommend buying these in person if you can, at a proper art supply store. They'll generally let you buy them individually, and also test them out beforehand to weed out any duds.
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