[ke_kit]

Hello everybody...

Can you guys tell me the best way to improve my sketching technique. I would really like to make my lines smoother. Are there some kind of exercises to get good results?

10X

[ September 15, 2002: Message edited by: ke_kit ]

[liv the fish]

Kind of depends on what kind of artist you are. Some samples of your sketches would help.

Like, if you're a a tight artist, you can loosen up by doing gesture drawings. Instead of drawing a full figure, you just use lines and strokes to suggest the form of a person. You do these very quickly. Get a big sheet of paper and someone to pose for you or head out to the park and try to do as many as you can in the shortest time possible. I'd say 20 or 30 a minute is a good thing to shoot for.

Basically, smooth line comes from a very steady hand or quick, confident movement. Most artists aren't steady enough so they go for quick and confident. Once you get loosened up from the gesture drawings, you'll need to practice drawing your lines with confidence and trusting that part of your mind that knows where to place the strokes. Don't tighten back up. Tightening is the lack of trust of your abilities and a lack of confidence. Its a lot of work, but worth the effort in the end.

Second exercise, don't critique your work as you draw. In fact, throw your eraser away (or at least store it in a lockbox). The eraser is bad because it breaks your focus on putting down the line. Ultimately, the eraser should mostly be used as a clean up tool and only very rarely a reconstruction tool. Try to do some drawings without it for a while. And don't get mad if your lines are out of place. Be glad you noticed the problem for experience's sake and move on to the next drawing. Eventually you'll build up to a level where you'll rarely need that eraser and you'll be placing your lines where you need them.

And third method. Build your drawings up. I like to use a non-Repo pencil (a blue pencil) to do underdrawings (as do lots of other artists). Using the non-Repo pencil gets your lines where you need them before you work on the final drawing. Others use hard lead pencils (usually between 2H and 4H lead). Re-draw your lines if needed. Erase only if the drawing is getting too cluttered with lines and is hard to read. After you finish your underdrawing, use a soft lead pencil to create your finished drawing.

And now the disclaimer If you're open to the experience, these exercises usually help. But it takes alot of practice to hone these kind of chaotic methods into the sort of smooth confident drawing technique you're looking for.

And if you have any questions about any of the above, feel free to ask.

Good luck,
Brian

[ke_kit]

Thank you "liv the fish"!

That's just the kind of advice i needed. I am actually good at drawing (at least I think), but I just need that something to improve my lines and make my strokes more confident, like you said...
I wanna achieve a skill like the one of artists like Madueira (I think you all know him).
I just wanna draw western manga style comics like Madueira's (and for this I need clean, smooth and confident lines).

Now that you know more about my needs I wold be grateful for some more advice.
Anybody know some other drawing exercise like the one "liv the fish" told me?