You can draw like the pros. First break this habit

Many beginning drawing students often ask how  do professional artists seem to use these types   of grips so easily while for them it feels so  unnatural? In a previous video I shared some   reasons why it's important. Now, I'll share a few  tips on how to actually start using them. And as   usual a big thank you to everyone who supported my  books Pen and Ink Drawing: A Simple Guide and the   complementary Pen and Ink Drawing Workbook, thank  you, and again the third book is on the way. Okay   so whether it's an overhand grip, an extended grip  or an underhand grip the truth is it's actually   just a learned practice and it starts with really  understanding that we have to sometimes unlearn   certain old habits as we try to acquire new ones.  so let's look at three quick tips to help you get   started with using these grips. And it starts with  our grip or our way of holding our pen or pencil   you see ever since we learned to write we've been  developing habits that aren't really conducive   for drawing you see like words are essentially  really small details and that's all we focus on   in writing every day and lots of them so just  think about what that has done to our muscle   memory over time then think about the mechanics  of writing all control is in the wrist we learn to   always press hard enough to ensure our writing is  legible so much we often leave an imprint on the   next page now guess what all this must be turned  off in drawing the thinking and mechanics drawing   requires is entirely different and this is one  of the main reasons why using different grips and   drawing is such a huge challenge especially  for adult drawing students with writing you   use pretty much one grip you know with drawing  however you not only use different grips you also   incorporate movement throughout your entire arm  now this doesn't mean you can't use your writing   grip for drawing it's just that the mechanics  in thinking when you're drawing are different   now a key to really start using various drawing  grips is to relax in mind and in body this means   learning to allow the weight of the pencil to do  most of the work you know to do most of the mark   making so when you draw you're almost not pressing  on the point really you're really uh allowing it   to Glide and graze the surface marks are made  mostly by the pressure of the pencil's own weight   right so our grip is there mainly to provide a  stability to provide support to provide Direction   you know you're not choking the pen or the pencil  or pressing the point through the paper in writing   you know we focus on precision and details but in  drawing we focus primarily on process of course   you know drawings have details too you know but  that's just one aspect of drawing of the drawing   process you know other times you will use long  loose lines big General masses and shapes broad   values and it will still make sense in a drawing  and the next important thing is to think big   because you know we're used to writing small  letters we tend to bring that way of thinking   over to drawing so many beginning drawing students  tend to be very detail-oriented and and draw with   small choppy lines and find it challenging  to make you know long sweeping Strokes or   gestural movements or to see big value and shape  relationships we have to break this mindset and   practice to learn to think big and really trust  ourselves many students believe you know their   long lines won't look right so they don't try at  all you know a short choppy lines are safe but the   thing is it takes practice to think big and to  draw big you know to see the whole subject you   know whole shapes and whole form whole gestures  and movements and these grips will feel unnatural   if you're only thinking of making small lines and  focusing on details they're meant to make you more   gestural make you more and help you to think and  draw big so for practicing to control pressure   and using a more relaxed grip you can draw simple  things you know like scribbles and lines shapes   and forms uh with various sizes and values but  I usually advise you do this with one pencil or   one pen you know just fill pages with these simple  exercises and develop your muscle memory until you   become more and more comfortable this is something  I address in much more depth in my upcoming book   now I know it's awkward for many of you to draw  with these types of grips but trust me it's just   a matter of relaxing your mind and relaxing your  body and adjusting the way you approach drawing   as opposed to writing writing you're tight  your controlling with only your risk you're   focusing on details small words with drawing it's  about process you're thinking about whole you're   thinking big you're using big expressive gestures  and movements and lines as well as using a more   controlled grip when you need to but you have  to practice that versatility that freedom of   expression of using fluid motions with your hand  and the key as I mentioned before is thinking   big and also relaxing try to use the weight of the  pencil to make the movements okay so I hope you   found this useful and remember to like this video  and share with who you think may find it useful   thanks so much for watching everyone keep  practicing and I'll see you next video

Channel: Alphonso Dunn

Views: 206,694

Keywords: alphonso dunn, pen and ink, drawing, sketching, drawing tips, tutorials

Id: f94aAaCdCgk

Length: 7min 0sec (420 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 22 2023