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250 box challenge - lines come out easier/better in one direction

7:33 AM, Friday January 9th 2026

New artist here, also I have banned myself off of youtube for focus reasons (so could not watch the instructional videos), so I do apologize if this question has been asked already.

For context, I did lesson 1 in pencil (was not graded), and I am in the middle of the 250 box challenge (now with fineliner). While writing notes I notice that lines which I draw where I make a pushing motion with my arm away from my body tend to come out cleaner than lines where I make a pulling motion towards my body (less wobbly, better aim). In both cases I am doing my best to use the "ghosting" method.

While I understand that I am allowed and encouraged to rotate the paper, I am concerned that making a similar stroke for every box edge may mask a fundamental issue with the way I create the lines. I've been trying to rectify the issue by re-doing lesson 1 exercizes as warm-ups but still having difficulties. Would appreciate advice on whether to draw the box with the strong stroke or focus on the weaker stroke.

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2 users agree
9:14 PM, Saturday January 10th 2026

I'm fairly certain that's not just a "you" issue - every person will have a preferred stroke for making strong, confident marks, and most people have the easiest time doing this with strokes going away from the body like you described.

The way I see it, the exercises in this course are meant to be done to the best of your current ability. If the exercise demands that you make a strong, confident line as straight as you are able to freehand it, then you will want to employ every advantage you can get, which includes using your preferred angle for mark making.

In work outside this course (or even during your 50% work), you are free to make marks however you choose, and I would encourage you to practice making marks in different ways when doing so. As an example, I find that making a straight line vertically while using a tripod grip tends to be more difficult than when using an overhand grip, so when I find myself needing to do so, I either rotate the page or switch my grip to accomplish it. I'm not worried about grinding out a bunch of vertical lines using a tripod grip to improve my ability to do so, that seems kind of silly to me. If you can make a mark comfortably and well, then just do that.

The important thing to focus on here is that for work in this course, make your marks as comfortably as you can. If that means using the same stroke at your preferred angle over and over again, then do that. You will get plenty of practice outside of this course making marks in different ways, so don't despair that you're not practicing them in this course. For the purposes of these exercises, focus on making your marks comfortably and confidently.

As a brief aside, I would strongly encourage you to give yourself the freedom to watch the instructional videos - they are not just supplementary materials, they are integral to this course. It's not the same information as the text but packaged differently, they tend to expand on tougher topics in a way that the articles don't.

4:08 AM, Tuesday January 13th 2026

Thanks for the response. Will do my best to try and look at the instructional videos - I might have to borrow a friend's device for that lol. Did not realize they were so integral to the course.

-Nothingv

0 users agree
8:28 AM, Saturday January 17th 2026

That will come in time. Right now, as you're new, you are still developing the mind-muscle connection, using muscles in a way you havent before, so by focusing on one direction, you are giving yourself more room to both improve and progress in other areas, and then over time as you become more confident and have better co-ordination you will be in a better place to improve your lines in other directions.

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