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!
You're welcome, Vaish. Lifting your arm will help you to build up some strength in your shoulder over time. I find my arm often fatigues rather quickly at the start of a drawing session, but if I give it a rest for a few seconds every time it bothers me I can keep going for over 2 hours with a couple 3-5 minutes breaks in there. I've been drawing for a couple years; so don't feel like you should be able to do this now; I just wanted to give you an idea of what you can build up to in one session.
When I draw for fun, I'm not so strict about using my whole arm, but I do still try to keep my elbow free so I can lift my arm and draw from my shoulder when I need/want to.
These are what I use when doing these exercises. They usually run somewhere in the middle of the price/quality range, and are often sold in sets of different line weights - remember that for the Drawabox lessons, we only really use the 0.5s, so try and find sets that sell only one size.
Alternatively, if at all possible, going to an art supply store and buying the pens in person is often better because they'll generally sell them individually and allow you to test them out before you buy (to weed out any duds).
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