For most artists, learning to draw with a light hand is an important part of the artistic journey. I’ve heard from many readers who complain of having a heavy hand, so I wasn’t surprised to receive the following appeal.
What can you do if you have not been able to overcome the dreaded heavy-hand?
Thanks,
Romona
Romona’s email conveyed not only her struggle with a heavy hand, but her emotional response. How many of us haven’t struggled with the dreaded heavy hand?
I have the opposite problem. My hand is so light that I have to increase pressure to reach what other artists consider light pressure. If you have a heavier hand, you may see no problem with a light hand, but it’s sometimes frustrating when I have to do several layers of light work just to get the same amount of color saturation other artists get with one or two layers!
The interesting thing is that what works for me in learning to draw with a heavier hand also works for those who want to learn how to draw with a lighter hand.
What is it?
Training!
Tips for Learning to Draw with a Light Hand
Here are a few of the training exercises I use, and that will also help you.
Change the Way You Hold Your Pencil
When you need to draw with a lighter hand, change the way you hold your pencil. Instead of holding it in a normal way, try holding it at the back.
Holding the pencil at the back reduces the amount of pressure you can exert on the pencil.
You will also be holding the pencil in a more horizontal position, which means you’re drawing with the side of the pencil more than with the tip. That means the pencil is skimming across the surface of the paper, hitting the high spots. Less color gets into the tooth of the paper and that produces a lighter value.
It also keeps the tooth of the paper from filling up so quickly, so you can add more layers.
Work at an Easel or Standing Table
Have you ever tried drawing while standing? If not, give it a try.
Working at an easel or drafting table changes the way you approach the paper, especially if the paper is in a vertical or nearly vertical position.
I was an oil painter for over 40 years, and while I usually worked with the painting lying on a drafting table, I did notice a difference on those occasions when I worked with the painting on an easel.
I have done some colored pencil work on an easel and can say that it changes the dynamics between my pencil and my hand, and between the pencil and the paper.
You don’t need a big, fancy easel like this one. A simple table-top model that’s properly anchored so it won’t move as you draw will let you know whether or not this way of drawing helps you.
Give it a couple of weeks, though. It will be uncomfortable at first.
If you try this, you might also want to experiment with working a little further away from your paper. Oil painters often work with the brush held in their extended arm. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work for colored pencils, too.
Keep in mind that you will lose a lot of control, so you’ll have to find the right balance between light-handedness and control.
Drawing Exercises
You might also try some simple drawing exercises, such as those described in Straight Line Drawing Exercises.
Not all of these are designed to help you lighten your hand, but they are all helpful in gaining better control of your pencil. That, in turn, gives you a better ability to control the amount of pressure you use when you draw.
And that WILL help you draw with a lighter hand.
What About a Hand or Wrist Rest?
Typists use rests on their keyboards quite frequently. The rest is only an inch or so thick and you rest your wrist on it. It changes the angle between your hand and your drawing paper, and that might help.
It also takes some of the stress off your hand, and that is always a benefit.
I haven’t tried this myself, but it just might work.
Learning to Draw with Light Hand
Learning to draw with a light hand is a matter of being conscious of how you’re pressing your pencil against the paper all the time. That sounds tedious, I know. It’s so easy to get caught up in the process of creating that we forget how we’re creating.
That’s why I recommend the drawing exercises. You can do those in a drawing pad or on scraps of paper and I believe that if you do them regularly, you will see an improvement in your ability to draw with a lighter hand.
But I’ve used most of these tips myself and they have all helped me control how much pressure I use.
I hope one of them helps you, too!
Got a question? Ask Carrie!
