mrlime99:

Artists of Tumblr, those who work with traditional media like ink, marker, paint, etc- how do you stabilize your strokes and movements?

I tend to focus on digital art because programs have optional stabilizers that really help when I’m doing the finished lines. I dabble in sharpie/marker drawings but my hand/arm has a tendency to shake just enough where it can be hard to make the strokes I want, even when I’ve practiced, and makes it frustrating to continue.

Is it simply a matter of continued practice, or do you have a certain way you move your arm/wrist? Or any other ways to improve stability? I would love any tips or advice!

for me it’s …Idk, probably the cumulative result of lots and lots of practice?

But also, making sure both my arm (holding the pencil/pen) and the sketchbook/clipboard on which I’m drawing are well-supported (by a table, or by something big I hold on my lap).

And for me it also usually involves lots of very small strokes, which gradually add up to a smooth-looking line.

I’m actually starting to lean toward doing ALL stages of the work in pencil– first graphite, then coloring in with colored pencils, then darkening the outlines with black colored pencil– It’s not completely erasable in the later stages, but erasing can lighten it a bit, enough to draw over and somewhat correct any errors.

At all of those stages, for me, it’s a few little tiny pencil strokes at a time. So if I see them not adding up to a smooth line or gradient, I can tweak it until they do.

I used to always do the main lines in ink, after the graphite stage. But I’m starting to realize I don’t usually prefer that– because yeah, you’re right, a long stroke of the pen can go all wonky if your hand shakes, and if it’s ink you can’t really fix that.