I can no longer teach art classes because of an auto-immune disorder. Your videos are GREAT. You tell people about the basics and just common sense tips for artists. New artists don't now about these foundational premises and you explain them so well. I am telling others about you so they can see for themselves what you have to offer. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for sharing and I am so sorry youre not able to teach anymore. I cant imagine what that must be like. I am glad youre able to continue enjoying art in some way
I agree he's a very great teacher. I've always pressed down hard on my drawings and and just what along with it to this video is actually really hopeful to me. 😁 I'm also very sorry that you can no longer teach, I hope you find other ways to express your art.
Today was one of those 'head empty art not looking how I want it to look' kinda days and this helped change my mood so much! This was so insightful and helpful! Thank you:)
I've been on a streak of this. I struggle with drawing my own poses. Been practicing gesture. Got real good at drawing random people. Then did faces for 3 days and got pretty good at it (after on off for months being dog at it) then on Friday I just couldn't draw anything for shit. It always looked wrong. Idk
If you love to draw, and don't mind making mistakes, but are willing to do what it takes to get your vision on the paper, then you can communicate through any chicken scratch. Excellent tip
Your long pencil lead always looks like it is going to easily break. Yet--I just thought that having a long lead would be good practice to use a light and relaxed grip on the pencil. If it breaks, there is too much pressure. Thank you.
@@joeblankenship377 but 2 dollars for 40 pencils and a cheap razor set for 2 bucks is well worth the effort for someone who simply wants to learn how to control their drawing hand rather than spending all that money lol
This is brilliant! Thanks for posting. With a writer's grip, my focus is on making those slick, cursive lines my favorite cartoonists make, and I end up with wobbly forms and stiff figures with too much underdrawing. However, when I keep my hand off the paper and pull strokes with my arm I shift into a "go with the flow" mindset and I'm able to see forms better somehow. Even when I get it wrong, the results are much looser and more interesting. IOW, I'm giving up the illusion of control and gaining spontaneity, appeal and fun.
thank you for finally getting it to click in my head. "my focus is on making those slick, cursive lines my favorite cartoonists make, and I end up with wobbly forms and stiff figures with too much underdrawing."
This honestly helped me think about my drawings more, i need to start doing entire books worth of rough sketches. And then transitioning to adding more details and tighting the structure up. I feel like im always afraid to make a mistake and its nice when you remember that if you follow your tips then you run less risk of wasting materials such as erasers and pencils
I keep trying to lighten my sketch lines but catch myself time after time pressing too much into the paper. Now I understand why! Draw big, draw form and shapes. Don’t try to draw like you write. Makes sense - thank you!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Nice video.
I had… never even considered that. The words we write being tiny details that are drilled into us since we’re small children. No wonder gesture drawing and using big gestures, my whole arm, never felt natural to me. I’m trying to write instead of draw… wild! I think this could definitely help me. Wonderful video!
References are extremely helpful! I had to tell myself so many times that it’s not bad to look up what you want to draw or look how other drew things like poses.
Mind blown! I would draw a lot when I was young, but by the time I was in my teens the hard lines and indented paper just became the habit I didn't know how to break. I loved comic books and created a bunch of characters and panel art, but my limitations eventually led me to put pencils and pens down and chase other disciplines. Thank you for putting this video out. It has answered some questions I've had for a long time about my drawing limitations.
I've always heard about light grip, drawing lightly etc but it never sank in for me fully into a thing I could process until you said about letting the pencil's weight do the drawing. That's a perfect way to put it and very useful, thank you.
This reminds me of how in high school, I preferred drawing in pencil on melamine-coated desks than on paper. Not because I enjoyed property damage or believed in transient art (it could be wiped off easily :( ). Drawing on melamine just glided so smoothly, I could think more about what I was drawing and less about friction and resistance. Lines are bolder on the first go than on paper. I preferred mechanical pencils over sharpened - but this spoiled me into drawing only *microscopic* detail that could fit in homework margins.
I am a very advanced artist and yet, I never learned this and have always been held back by the “death grip” and small vision to which you speak. I seem to naturally do this looser grip in large paintings (one simply cannot hold a long brush like a writing tool), but that essential life energy eluded me in drawing. You have helped so much - shine a light on the problem. Thank you for this! Cannot wait for your new book and to practice these looser grips for a few months, or for life!
This is so helpful! I'm left-handed so I've always held my pencil differently. I always got so caught up in controlling my hand so that I could make it do what others' did, and thought that would help my art too. I was discouraged to find out that I couldn't get the results I was looking for, and almost reconsidered doing art and animation as a result. I like this approach of letting go of the fine controlled details; it makes my hand feel so much more free. It also frees me from having to try and imitate how others draw (it's pretty empowering since I never felt I could learn to write/draw "properly" but this is all about unlearning all those systems)
Thank you for sharing your artistic experience. I totally agree that relaxation is the key in handling the pencil and, as one of my teachers told me, treating it as an extension of one’s hand and body. What I find helpful for me is to connect the moment of drawing with my breathing. For me it’s still an ongoing unlearning process of bad habits, but it’s literally the “breathing” path of the pencil tip that is the goal I aim at.
That was cool. I was sketching while watching, and immediately got something I liked. Making marks with the weight of the pencil makes the different pencil hardnesses make more sense.
Thank you for sharing, Alphonso. This is something my Art teacher couldn't communicate to me. She told me to change my grip without explaining the reason behind it, just like you are illustrating in this video. I value your work.
thats on you, the entire video is how you control the grip and the weight, its gonna break if you put too much pressure. Honestly its a good way to practice the light strokes
I'm a drawing hobbyist who learns from TH-cam vids and drawing manuals. Your explanation has pinpointed all my problems and struggles in mastering my craft so I can finally go to the next step: Fixing things up. Very appriciated 👍
Oh wow I didn't know how much I needed to hear this. I haven't been drawing, despite wanting to for quite some time... and you're right, it's my writing mindset that has always been a hill for me to climb! We were taught very small about 6 years old, to write with crayons with these awful yellow rubber triangles around them to 'help us grip' but actually you're right that notion has kind of destroyed (over time not just on its own) my drawing and I never realised that the tension between the two factors had been such a problem. I was an avid drawer as a child but an atrocious writer, as teen that flipped and the details became a focus and almost a trap as the hand chokes up on the pen all the time, even when I'm using a digital pen! As an aside to this, I just watched a video about being unable to relax due to an anxiety of always needing to be 'busy' which also feeds into why I can't relax when I'm trying to. Ugh this has put too many things together at once today.
I have been woodcarving for 60 years, never learned to draw and according to many people write, either. A few years ago I started learning to draw( not steady) and my writing improved immediately, I now write not only legible but approaches beautiful.
I absolutely love how you give uncommon advice like this and that's what makes your tutorials stand out so much! Every other tutorials might go over the same 5 tips, which is helpful for those who might not have heard of these things before, but they can only help for so far. Thank you so much for what you do!!
This video is exactly what I needed to see. I tend to draw really small, probably because I'm drawing like I wrote, and when it comes down to drawing something that requires long, flowing pencil strokes I falter and get frustrated. Guess I have a lot of (un)learning to do!
the way you explain everything is so fluid and actually invokes visual examples of what you're saying. i was worried i was just talentless for art, but with your videos i realize i just needed a different explanation to understand everything perfectly. thank you so much!!
Wow! I needed to hear this because I definitely grip my drawing tools low and tightly! I’ve been drawing for many years and holding them differently is very uncomfortable. I’m going to try to change, no promises.😬Thank you for sharing!
I’m a relatively new artist drawing and painting is a hobby of mine and I feel I am getting the hang of it but I am one of those people with the choppy lines 😂I have been trying to find ways to extend me strokes and after watching you video I have more confidence in my strokes and my sketches thank you for opening my eyes and new techniques ❤
One thing I found that helped with choppy lines was taking a deep breath in, loosening your elbow and then on the exhale draw your whole line, and just practice that with straight lines and curved lines until you’re comfortable making longer lines without the breaks
Interesting! In the last couple of years, I’ve taken up Zentangle, which is mostly a pen-drawing method focusing on small works (the classic is a 3.5” square “tile” of heavy paper.) Because the practice is about meditation at least as much as the art, though, one of the first things they teach is to relax and lighten our grip. One of the co-founders, Maria Thomas, is a skilled offset calligraphy pen artist as well, and her motions are always so fluid, no matter what pen she’s using. She’s a great example to watch. I’ve gotten better at wielding the delicate Sakura Micron 01 pens over the past 2 years, but I still need to remind myself regularly to lighten up. Your tip of “use the weight of the [pen]” is intriguing and one I’ll need to experiment with to see if there are places it will help me improve further. Your insight also helps me to explain why, when I loaned one of my precious microns to my sister - an interior designer with quite a lot of artistic experience! - in order to sign her name on something, she managed to bend the nib! I had expected her, as someone with artistic experience, to be able to handle the pen delicately, but she was approaching the pen as if it were any other writing tool. Which makes sense, given her intention, according to your video! 😂 Fortunately, she only bent it, and didn’t break it, so that pen is still useable. But I think of her every time I use that one, and have to adjust my grip to account for the bend! 😂😂 Thanks!
I’m beginner level but can get some decent drawings done but once I started holding it like you were saying - was crazy I didn’t think I could sketch like that with speed. Insane improvement moving away from wrist that was nuts
Yesss! Big swooshy gestural drawing is the best. I realized that having a looser grip helps immensely. part of the issue with drawing like you write is that the precision needed to create legible letters requires a lot more pressure than drawing. had the same issue with knitting. I would death grip the needles and try to be very precise but every stitch was coming out way too tight and it made my hands hurt. once I let up on them the process was much easier. more of a flowing movement of transferring the yarn back and forth instead of jabbing and yanking.
You won't know how much I've been telling myself to draw some "bold lines" because I tend to draw lightly. I thought it's a bad line, but now I get it. The flexibility and the satisfying sensation of loose grip is just so good, and I suppose to value that even more. Thank you 🥺
It makes perfect sense!! And it explains so much. Of COURSE it's gonna be small hard and tight because that's what's been drilled into our heads...for writing. No one ever explained it like that before. Thank you. ❤
Great video, this is the most important information a newer artist needs to learn specially the part about being loose and the way to hold the pencil when sketching.
I usually have a death grip on my pen, I have indents on my fingers from holding it too hard and I've never wanted to change (I'm stubborn), but now, now I got some inspiration to try another way, thank you.
wow thank you for explaining this in a way where i could finally understand the true freedom we have in creating art. There are no restrictions, i Iove it. I decide what’s right, by seeking with an open heart. Peace & Love🔓
Though I've made art my whole life I haven't recently and I think this helped me realize something that was making me fall out of love with art. Thank you ❤
Wow, drawing is one of, if not my biggest frustrations in life. I have absolutely no idea why this came up in my recommendations but it spoke to me directly, all of it makes sense and it even made me think I can draw. Thanks for giving me hope. I will definitely check out your books, and it was an immediate subscribe to your channel
Love your explanations of why it is so important to relax your hand. Also the relation to writing vs drawing extremely important distinction. In fact this difference is crucial. Thank you so much. Great content.
I find that another good reason to use looser grip is because it puts less strain on your hand/wrist/fingers so you can draw for longer periods of time without pain or injury
Nicely put. Even after 30 years of drawing, heavy handed, short strokes is still something I fight to "unlearn". I'm even more interested in how these gestures can be adapted to drawing with a tablet, as even with an apple pencil, keeping the underhanded grip is a bit of a challenge.
Here is the hand positions I use at times that I learned from a professional artist with traditional media 1.Handwriter position 2.Overhand position 3. Underhand position 4. Tripod position
I work as a professional artist, art teacher and art therapist. I teach, amongst others, a life drawing night class and also adult education groups in various education centres. I'm sharing this video with many of my groups. 👍
I want to draw with purpose like kim jung gi, he draws like hes writing words in a sentence and very rarely makes a mistake. One pass with his pen is pretty much a complete picture and he doesn't need to go over it in iterations from vague to clean lines.
Have you noticed his rise to prominence is as an older gentlemen. God bless his soul. Those other years prior were probably spent deep in studying and honing is craft. It may be possible for you too, put your time in
He spent many years understanding forms from every angle and is a master of perspective. He also spent years training his mind to memorize form and details .
I learned more in this video than I have in the last six or seven drawing videos I have watched. Not that they didn’t have things to offer but this was really enlightening. Thank you.
I’ve been attending art college for. Couple of months now and been struggling with my drawings not being “loose”…. Watching this video has been a game changer for me.. thank you 😊
As a lifelong drawing artist with wicked bad ADHD, I'm always interested in the techniques of others bc my skills are there, but I have difficulty in consistency and patience. I thank you for your different views put in very understandable terms. God bless 🙏
Another excellent video! Thank you! I had given up on trying to learn the loose grip, for the reasons you gave, as well as having somewhat shaky hands. The friction from pressing down helps dampen the tremors. Look forward to adding book number three to to my library.
As a professional graphic designer who has recently been tasked with providing deliberately loose hand sketches to clients, this video is hands down the best advice I've yet seen on developing a looser, sketchier style of drawing. Thank you! Subscribed!
Always Fascinated by art & artists, & Driven to become one myself one day, i decided long ago, as a small child, that if we are fearful or angry or in any other way dissatisfied with our creations, what we are doing ceases to be Art & simply becomes work.
Just stumbled on your channel with this video, and it has provided me with more insight than a 6 month sketching course I took so many years back. Thanks for explaining this! Subbing for more on adult drawing :)
To me, it has a lot to do with whether I am sketching, drawing, rendering, or an original artwork using graphite, charcoal, colored pencil ink, Etc... as well as scale and detail in the composition and size of paper or substrate. In the end Practis ! and don't be afraid to try different ways.
This all rings very true to me, I'm very greatful for an art teacher in uni passing this rather essential knowledge to me whereas many others kept bashing me that it's all about talent and practice. Cheers!
This vid is so underrated 😢 I'm in a rough place lately and I was so tense. But I was drawing as a child and I didn't know how I'm not able to do what I liked to do when I was little. You gave it back to me I don't know how to support your channel without paying so at least I wanted you to know how you got me back into art. Thank you brother. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🧠
this is neat, thanks so much man. even after over half of my life drawing, i didn't realise my grip played such a part in my drawing. i write and draw with a grip similar to the 'extended' grip, i've always done this and i got in trouble back in second grade cause i wasn't holding my pen 'correctly' when i write, but i haven't unlearned it lmao. the way you explain things is very nice, it can be applied to any way of drawing. but i've got shaky hands so learning to relax them will be an interesting process, as i don't want shaky lines and have to hold the pen tightly in order to make them less shaky. all of this makes me want to draw right now even if i don't have anything in mind :)
yoooo loosening up my pressure really brought out my learnings ,i thought i was stagnating but it was just my rigidness that stopped me from flowing. subscribed
You are so right. When I first tried to draw I was always drawing small. I didn’t notice you mention directly but definitely inderectly that holding like a pencil when writing also anchors your hand…like what is the biggest line you could make without moving your whole hand and then if you do it’s choppy. My drawings always bugged me and this is why. But also when people hold the pencil as of writing I think they tend to always outline everything, instead of flow and leave parts for later. Thanks, this was a great tip!
😊 very useful/practical/helpful! thanks. I will attempt this. My hands are stiffer than they used to be, so the instruction to relax and let the pencil do the work with the arm will help me alot.
This was incredibly helpful and encuraging for me! Only a month ago I started drawing seriously and I almost ALWAYS nearly cramped my hand from holding my pen in a death grip! I appreciate the advice here and will immediately put it to good use, Thank you
OH MY GOD YOURE THE GUY WHO MADE THE PEN & INK DRAWING BOOK?? i got it for christmas a few years ago i had no idea it was you when i clicked on this!! good video
Dunno if anyone else does this, but I sometimes hold the pencil in my two middle fingers and gently rest the other end on the U-shape between my index finger and thumb. My palms could be facing up, down or sidewards depending on what I'm drawing. Usually do this if I need a more gentle touch.
Amazing instruction video, I wish college or university's had this kind of online teachings or tutor. The narrator voice is what makes me wanna learn 🤟🏼
I notice my friend has a vice grip on her writing utensils whether she's writing or drawing. I'll send her this video. Don't know if it will help her draw digitally but this might help. Changing how you're holding the pen/pencil/etc allows different strokes to become easier, it's a natural part of improving. Great video!
And i thought i am afraid of big canvases and cant draw big because i dont allow myself to take up the space, in a multitude of ways.. well, everything is connected :) thank you. ❤
One thing that could helps make the transition, is to draw on a vertical easel, or a simple drawing board angled on your table, and to use larger drawing surface, like A3 or more. The angled board makes it incovenient to draw with your wrist on the board. Bot h combine to entice you to draw with the whole arm. Also using a drawing stick or charcoal help you fforget about your writing grip and encourage overhand/underhand grips.
Thank you for sharing! This is the first drawing video I'v actually watched to the end, and felt like had something of real value to give me. 7 minutes of great value. Thanks!
Thank you sir! This is exactly what i needed right now after getting back into drawing. I doodled all throigh shcool and never learnt proper drawing and still hold my pencil like im writing and really struggle with big lines and circles.
I'm 70yrs young and studied under Albert pels a Robert Beltran ang graduated as an art director. I also met Bob Ross in person. I've been drawing since the age of 7. I always got good grades in art now I just draw for fun. I have many paintings and sketches all over my house. Someday I hope they can be used for inspiration to others. I was also a member of the Hispanic museum when they a studio on third Ave in NY. I really like the way you teach . Thank for helping people get started and learn a very fulfilling art.
Over time as I got better at doodling and just drawing basic characters, my grip got more lose, more gestural, to the point my lines became super confident. I didn’t need my wrist one the table anymore. So, I can speak from experience to say this is true,
I can no longer teach art classes because of an auto-immune disorder. Your videos are GREAT. You tell people about the basics and just common sense tips for artists. New artists don't now about these foundational premises and you explain them so well. I am telling others about you so they can see for themselves what you have to offer. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for sharing and I am so sorry youre not able to teach anymore. I cant imagine what that must be like. I am glad youre able to continue enjoying art in some way
I agree he's a very great teacher. I've always pressed down hard on my drawings and and just what along with it to this video is actually really hopeful to me. 😁 I'm also very sorry that you can no longer teach, I hope you find other ways to express your art.
Couldn't you turn the art classes you WOULD give into a skillshare online course or something?
I would say that even experts should watch this channel.
Is a master content.
Kinda off topic, but I really hope you can have a good life despite everything that comes your way
Today was one of those 'head empty art not looking how I want it to look' kinda days and this helped change my mood so much! This was so insightful and helpful! Thank you:)
Glad I was able help you get out of that “head empty, art not looking how you want it to look” kinda days lol
I've been on a streak of this. I struggle with drawing my own poses. Been practicing gesture. Got real good at drawing random people. Then did faces for 3 days and got pretty good at it (after on off for months being dog at it) then on Friday I just couldn't draw anything for shit. It always looked wrong. Idk
If you love to draw, and don't mind making mistakes, but are willing to do what it takes to get your vision on the paper, then you can communicate through any chicken scratch. Excellent tip
@RepentandbelieveinJesusChrist5 damn even Christ has bots now, just as he intended I bet! Spreading horse shit spouting his word with no love.
@@littlewigglemonster7691 😂😂they fell for the carrot on the stick.
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@@littlewigglemonster7691 dmned one, this won't make your shme go awy.
@@HunnysPlaylists
Well it made that spam bot go away....permanently 🤣
Your long pencil lead always looks like it is going to easily break. Yet--I just thought that having a long lead would be good practice to use a light and relaxed grip on the pencil. If it breaks, there is too much pressure. Thank you.
Seems like a hassle to carve away all that wood. 2 mm lead and lead holders aren't expensive.
@@joeblankenship377 but 2 dollars for 40 pencils and a cheap razor set for 2 bucks is well worth the effort for someone who simply wants to learn how to control their drawing hand rather than spending all that money lol
@@WiltingGardenOfHeathen where are you getting 40 pencils for 2$? hook it up
@@joeblankenship377 it literally takes 30 seconds with an xacto knife
@@hb6747Walmart
This is brilliant! Thanks for posting. With a writer's grip, my focus is on making those slick, cursive lines my favorite cartoonists make, and I end up with wobbly forms and stiff figures with too much underdrawing. However, when I keep my hand off the paper and pull strokes with my arm I shift into a "go with the flow" mindset and I'm able to see forms better somehow. Even when I get it wrong, the results are much looser and more interesting. IOW, I'm giving up the illusion of control and gaining spontaneity, appeal and fun.
I couldnt have said this any better
Nice and Beautifully all Books.interesting Drawing dateals.
Thanks 🙏. Reality show the Sketch Vizlistion process, Deom preacatical.❤❤🎉🎉😮😊
thank you for finally getting it to click in my head. "my focus is on making those slick, cursive lines my favorite cartoonists make, and I end up with wobbly forms and stiff figures with too much underdrawing."
I'm sticking to my writing grip.
It works for me ✅️
This honestly helped me think about my drawings more, i need to start doing entire books worth of rough sketches. And then transitioning to adding more details and tighting the structure up. I feel like im always afraid to make a mistake and its nice when you remember that if you follow your tips then you run less risk of wasting materials such as erasers and pencils
Definitely. It’s OK to do sketches and test the waters and just have fun then gradually get more serious.
I'm new Artist. Kindly subscribe my channel because I'm new. I've made some sketches as a beginner, just watch them I hope you like them. ❤🙏
Good for you finalbreath15 keep up doing good work on art
I keep trying to lighten my sketch lines but catch myself time after time pressing too much into the paper. Now I understand why! Draw big, draw form and shapes. Don’t try to draw like you write. Makes sense - thank you!!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Nice video.
Writing cripples creates restriction in drawing for so many of us
I had… never even considered that. The words we write being tiny details that are drilled into us since we’re small children. No wonder gesture drawing and using big gestures, my whole arm, never felt natural to me. I’m trying to write instead of draw… wild! I think this could definitely help me. Wonderful video!
Yes also remember to do your research and learn about what you're drawing (i suggest checking out Mr. Dunn's books)
🙏🙏🙏
References are extremely helpful! I had to tell myself so many times that it’s not bad to look up what you want to draw or look how other drew things like poses.
@@archs1ay3r3 references help so much
Mind blown! I would draw a lot when I was young, but by the time I was in my teens the hard lines and indented paper just became the habit I didn't know how to break. I loved comic books and created a bunch of characters and panel art, but my limitations eventually led me to put pencils and pens down and chase other disciplines. Thank you for putting this video out. It has answered some questions I've had for a long time about my drawing limitations.
Glad it could help🙂🙏
I've always heard about light grip, drawing lightly etc but it never sank in for me fully into a thing I could process until you said about letting the pencil's weight do the drawing. That's a perfect way to put it and very useful, thank you.
This reminds me of how in high school, I preferred drawing in pencil on melamine-coated desks than on paper.
Not because I enjoyed property damage or believed in transient art (it could be wiped off easily :( ).
Drawing on melamine just glided so smoothly, I could think more about what I was drawing and less about friction and resistance.
Lines are bolder on the first go than on paper.
I preferred mechanical pencils over sharpened - but this spoiled me into drawing only *microscopic* detail that could fit in homework margins.
I am a very advanced artist and yet, I never learned this and have always been held back by the “death grip” and small vision to which you speak. I seem to naturally do this looser grip in large paintings (one simply cannot hold a long brush like a writing tool), but that essential life energy eluded me in drawing. You have helped so much - shine a light on the problem. Thank you for this! Cannot wait for your new book and to practice these looser grips for a few months, or for life!
This is so helpful! I'm left-handed so I've always held my pencil differently. I always got so caught up in controlling my hand so that I could make it do what others' did, and thought that would help my art too. I was discouraged to find out that I couldn't get the results I was looking for, and almost reconsidered doing art and animation as a result. I like this approach of letting go of the fine controlled details; it makes my hand feel so much more free. It also frees me from having to try and imitate how others draw (it's pretty empowering since I never felt I could learn to write/draw "properly" but this is all about unlearning all those systems)
Thank you for sharing your artistic experience. I totally agree that relaxation is the key in handling the pencil and, as one of my teachers told me, treating it as an extension of one’s hand and body. What I find helpful for me is to connect the moment of drawing with my breathing. For me it’s still an ongoing unlearning process of bad habits, but it’s literally the “breathing” path of the pencil tip that is the goal I aim at.
Yes, it’s really like an extension of your arm and body. And that’s an awesome tip, about connecting it to your breathing👍
That was cool. I was sketching while watching, and immediately got something I liked. Making marks with the weight of the pencil makes the different pencil hardnesses make more sense.
Thank you for sharing, Alphonso. This is something my Art teacher couldn't communicate to me. She told me to change my grip without explaining the reason behind it, just like you are illustrating in this video. I value your work.
I swear if that pencil breaks
Lol I know right?!? I'm annoyed
thats on you, the entire video is how you control the grip and the weight, its gonna break if you put too much pressure. Honestly its a good way to practice the light strokes
@@kathrynaraguz4816 the entire point was to show that you shouldn't use too much pressure when its not needed, if he uses too much it'll break
l😅😂😂
Not if your strokes* are loose
I'm a drawing hobbyist who learns from TH-cam vids and drawing manuals. Your explanation has pinpointed all my problems and struggles in mastering my craft so I can finally go to the next step: Fixing things up. Very appriciated 👍
Oh wow I didn't know how much I needed to hear this. I haven't been drawing, despite wanting to for quite some time... and you're right, it's my writing mindset that has always been a hill for me to climb! We were taught very small about 6 years old, to write with crayons with these awful yellow rubber triangles around them to 'help us grip' but actually you're right that notion has kind of destroyed (over time not just on its own) my drawing and I never realised that the tension between the two factors had been such a problem. I was an avid drawer as a child but an atrocious writer, as teen that flipped and the details became a focus and almost a trap as the hand chokes up on the pen all the time, even when I'm using a digital pen!
As an aside to this, I just watched a video about being unable to relax due to an anxiety of always needing to be 'busy' which also feeds into why I can't relax when I'm trying to. Ugh this has put too many things together at once today.
We need so much unlearning
I have been woodcarving for 60 years, never learned to draw and according to many people write, either. A few years ago I started learning to draw( not steady) and my writing improved immediately, I now write not only legible but approaches beautiful.
I absolutely love how you give uncommon advice like this and that's what makes your tutorials stand out so much! Every other tutorials might go over the same 5 tips, which is helpful for those who might not have heard of these things before, but they can only help for so far. Thank you so much for what you do!!
This video is exactly what I needed to see. I tend to draw really small, probably because I'm drawing like I wrote, and when it comes down to drawing something that requires long, flowing pencil strokes I falter and get frustrated. Guess I have a lot of (un)learning to do!
At 51 years of age, you have acted as the strongest motivation for me to sharpen a pencil and try some drawing
That warms my heart! Keep going
the way you explain everything is so fluid and actually invokes visual examples of what you're saying. i was worried i was just talentless for art, but with your videos i realize i just needed a different explanation to understand everything perfectly. thank you so much!!
I’m hearing lots of parallels with playing piano. Art is universal
Yes it is
I JUST started doing yesterday this as a beginner, glad to know I’m on the right path! Thank you for your educational videos!
hows the progress going? ^ ^
@@BunnyKip It's going good, rarely catch myself making the mistake these days.
@@I_Dislike_TH-cam_Handles yay thats awesome bro!!! great work!
Wow! I needed to hear this because I definitely grip my drawing tools low and tightly! I’ve been drawing for many years and holding them differently is very uncomfortable. I’m going to try to change, no promises.😬Thank you for sharing!
I’m a relatively new artist drawing and painting is a hobby of mine and I feel I am getting the hang of it but I am one of those people with the choppy lines 😂I have been trying to find ways to extend me strokes and after watching you video I have more confidence in my strokes and my sketches thank you for opening my eyes and new techniques ❤
One thing I found that helped with choppy lines was taking a deep breath in, loosening your elbow and then on the exhale draw your whole line, and just practice that with straight lines and curved lines until you’re comfortable making longer lines without the breaks
@@xwildnessx7845this works!
I just started drawing and sketching and I really love this video. I catch myself pressing down way too hard when I sketch. I need to relax!
This is motivation..motivational... I really miss drawing I was worrying about being too perfect w my lines because I didn't want to waste paper 😅
Waste paper, waste paper, waste paper!
Interesting! In the last couple of years, I’ve taken up Zentangle, which is mostly a pen-drawing method focusing on small works (the classic is a 3.5” square “tile” of heavy paper.) Because the practice is about meditation at least as much as the art, though, one of the first things they teach is to relax and lighten our grip. One of the co-founders, Maria Thomas, is a skilled offset calligraphy pen artist as well, and her motions are always so fluid, no matter what pen she’s using. She’s a great example to watch. I’ve gotten better at wielding the delicate Sakura Micron 01 pens over the past 2 years, but I still need to remind myself regularly to lighten up. Your tip of “use the weight of the [pen]” is intriguing and one I’ll need to experiment with to see if there are places it will help me improve further.
Your insight also helps me to explain why, when I loaned one of my precious microns to my sister - an interior designer with quite a lot of artistic experience! - in order to sign her name on something, she managed to bend the nib! I had expected her, as someone with artistic experience, to be able to handle the pen delicately, but she was approaching the pen as if it were any other writing tool. Which makes sense, given her intention, according to your video! 😂 Fortunately, she only bent it, and didn’t break it, so that pen is still useable. But I think of her every time I use that one, and have to adjust my grip to account for the bend! 😂😂
Thanks!
I’m beginner level but can get some decent drawings done but once I started holding it like you were saying - was crazy I didn’t think I could sketch like that with speed. Insane improvement moving away from wrist that was nuts
I love your book! It helps me a lot to keep drawing. Can't thank you enough for the book and your amazing and professional videos!
Thanks so much!
You helped me get back to drawing after years. Your books are excellent, so well planned and composed. Thank you so much!
Yesss! Big swooshy gestural drawing is the best. I realized that having a looser grip helps immensely. part of the issue with drawing like you write is that the precision needed to create legible letters requires a lot more pressure than drawing. had the same issue with knitting. I would death grip the needles and try to be very precise but every stitch was coming out way too tight and it made my hands hurt. once I let up on them the process was much easier. more of a flowing movement of transferring the yarn back and forth instead of jabbing and yanking.
You won't know how much I've been telling myself to draw some "bold lines" because I tend to draw lightly. I thought it's a bad line, but now I get it. The flexibility and the satisfying sensation of loose grip is just so good, and I suppose to value that even more. Thank you 🥺
It makes perfect sense!! And it explains so much. Of COURSE it's gonna be small hard and tight because that's what's been drilled into our heads...for writing. No one ever explained it like that before. Thank you. ❤
Glad it was helpful! 🙂
Great video, this is the most important information a newer artist needs to learn specially the part about being loose and the way to hold the pencil when sketching.
You’re a great teacher! I’m looking forward to your new book!
I usually have a death grip on my pen, I have indents on my fingers from holding it too hard and I've never wanted to change (I'm stubborn), but now, now I got some inspiration to try another way, thank you.
You can do it just as you learned to develop that habit you can replace it with another
You can do it just as you learned to develop that habit you can replace it with another
wow thank you for explaining this in a way where i could finally understand the true freedom we have in creating art. There are no restrictions, i Iove it. I decide what’s right, by seeking with an open heart. Peace & Love🔓
I swear you have taught me so much within the last couple hours. It’s unreal thank you very much, sir.
Nail on its head for me: I do find it difficult to draw on a larger scale and a sketchbook feels more safe. I will try it out! Thanks!
Though I've made art my whole life I haven't recently and I think this helped me realize something that was making me fall out of love with art. Thank you ❤
Wow, drawing is one of, if not my biggest frustrations in life. I have absolutely no idea why this came up in my recommendations but it spoke to me directly, all of it makes sense and it even made me think I can draw. Thanks for giving me hope. I will definitely check out your books, and it was an immediate subscribe to your channel
Thanks much! And you CAN draw
you should learn three-point perspective (it’s really important)
@@disrespecc9678 I'll look that up thanks
I'm a professional graphic designer, and you just gave me a refresher class on basic drawing. Thank you so much! I really needed that!
Love this, plain and simple. ❤ Thank you!
I can feel how you are gripping in from the video. Amazing
Mr. Dunn, I’ve been an amateur artist for the majority of my 70 years, but I love your videos and your art. Thank you so much for sharing. 😀
You’re very welcome
How tf u amateur for 70 years bruh
Love your explanations of why it is so important to relax your hand. Also the relation to writing vs drawing extremely important distinction. In fact this difference is crucial. Thank you so much. Great content.
I find that another good reason to use looser grip is because it puts less strain on your hand/wrist/fingers so you can draw for longer periods of time without pain or injury
This is 💯correct
Nicely put. Even after 30 years of drawing, heavy handed, short strokes is still something I fight to "unlearn". I'm even more interested in how these gestures can be adapted to drawing with a tablet, as even with an apple pencil, keeping the underhanded grip is a bit of a challenge.
Here is the hand positions I use at times that I learned from a professional artist with traditional media
1.Handwriter position
2.Overhand position
3. Underhand position
4. Tripod position
What is the tripod position?
I work as a professional artist, art teacher and art therapist. I teach, amongst others, a life drawing night class and also adult education groups in various education centres. I'm sharing this video with many of my groups. 👍
Awesome!! I hope they enjoy it too, and find it useful
I want to draw with purpose like kim jung gi, he draws like hes writing words in a sentence and very rarely makes a mistake. One pass with his pen is pretty much a complete picture and he doesn't need to go over it in iterations from vague to clean lines.
Have you noticed his rise to prominence is as an older gentlemen. God bless his soul. Those other years prior were probably spent deep in studying and honing is craft. It may be possible for you too, put your time in
He spent many years understanding forms from every angle and is a master of perspective. He also spent years training his mind to memorize form and details .
I learned more in this video than I have in the last six or seven drawing videos I have watched. Not that they didn’t have things to offer but this was really enlightening. Thank you.
I’ve been attending art college for. Couple of months now and been struggling with my drawings not being “loose”…. Watching this video has been a game changer for me.. thank you 😊
As a lifelong drawing artist with wicked bad ADHD, I'm always interested in the techniques of others bc my skills are there, but I have difficulty in consistency and patience. I thank you for your different views put in very understandable terms. God bless 🙏
Another excellent video! Thank you! I had given up on trying to learn the loose grip, for the reasons you gave, as well as having somewhat shaky hands. The friction from pressing down helps dampen the tremors.
Look forward to adding book number three to to my library.
As a professional graphic designer who has recently been tasked with providing deliberately loose hand sketches to clients, this video is hands down the best advice I've yet seen on developing a looser, sketchier style of drawing. Thank you! Subscribed!
Thank you, I’ll try it in my next project.
Always Fascinated by art & artists, & Driven to become one myself one day, i decided long ago, as a small child, that if we are fearful or angry or in any other way dissatisfied with our creations, what we are doing ceases to be Art & simply becomes work.
❤ you nailed it - i will start practising
I need to come back to this video six weeks after watching it. Six weeks of better drawing later, I just want to say THANK YOU
Spent several years drawing a lot and instinctively learned to loosen my grip on the pencil like you suggest. Did my best drawing after that.
Just stumbled on your channel with this video, and it has provided me with more insight than a 6 month sketching course I took so many years back. Thanks for explaining this! Subbing for more on adult drawing :)
To me, it has a lot to do with whether I am sketching, drawing, rendering, or an original artwork using graphite, charcoal, colored pencil ink, Etc... as well as scale and detail in the composition and size of paper or substrate. In the end Practis ! and don't be afraid to try different ways.
This was helpful with brush strokes too. Was working on a large canvas while listening to this...relaxed and made bigger, looser brush marks.
This all rings very true to me, I'm very greatful for an art teacher in uni passing this rather essential knowledge to me whereas many others kept bashing me that it's all about talent and practice. Cheers!
This vid is so underrated 😢
I'm in a rough place lately and I was so tense. But I was drawing as a child and I didn't know how I'm not able to do what I liked to do when I was little. You gave it back to me I don't know how to support your channel without paying so at least I wanted you to know how you got me back into art. Thank you brother. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🧠
this guide really helped me as a beginning drawer, I cannot thank you enough!
this is neat, thanks so much man. even after over half of my life drawing, i didn't realise my grip played such a part in my drawing. i write and draw with a grip similar to the 'extended' grip, i've always done this and i got in trouble back in second grade cause i wasn't holding my pen 'correctly' when i write, but i haven't unlearned it lmao. the way you explain things is very nice, it can be applied to any way of drawing. but i've got shaky hands so learning to relax them will be an interesting process, as i don't want shaky lines and have to hold the pen tightly in order to make them less shaky. all of this makes me want to draw right now even if i don't have anything in mind :)
He’s so right because I learnt this all on my own. It was hard to kick it but I definitely don’t draw and write the same (only for details).
Love seeing content in my feed from Alphonso. I know it’s ALWAYS going to be valuable content. Good bless.
🙏🙏🙏
thanks for the tutorial! I wasnt sure how to hold my pencil for drawing until i saw this! You saved my art!
Just gonna throw it out there this guy’s voice is really relaxing!
yoooo loosening up my pressure really brought out my learnings ,i thought i was stagnating but it was just my rigidness that stopped me from flowing. subscribed
You are so right. When I first tried to draw I was always drawing small. I didn’t notice you mention directly but definitely inderectly that holding like a pencil when writing also anchors your hand…like what is the biggest line you could make without moving your whole hand and then if you do it’s choppy. My drawings always bugged me and this is why.
But also when people hold the pencil as of writing I think they tend to always outline everything, instead of flow and leave parts for later.
Thanks, this was a great tip!
😊 very useful/practical/helpful! thanks. I will attempt this. My hands are stiffer than they used to be, so the instruction to relax and let the pencil do the work with the arm will help me alot.
It hope it really helps. Let it glide
Thank you for making this vid. Most artists, me included, forgot to let loose when it comes in art. Needed to hear this
Loved the first 2 books and cant wait for book three such great learning tools thank you
Thanks so much! Working hard on it
I’d like to see a video on how you sharpen and shape your pencils.
coming soon
This was incredibly helpful and encuraging for me! Only a month ago I started drawing seriously and I almost ALWAYS nearly cramped my hand from holding my pen in a death grip! I appreciate the advice here and will immediately put it to good use, Thank you
Thank you for this graceful use of the pencil, it will make all the difference for me!
OH MY GOD YOURE THE GUY WHO MADE THE PEN & INK DRAWING BOOK?? i got it for christmas a few years ago i had no idea it was you when i clicked on this!! good video
🙂🙂🙂
Dunno if anyone else does this, but I sometimes hold the pencil in my two middle fingers and gently rest the other end on the U-shape between my index finger and thumb. My palms could be facing up, down or sidewards depending on what I'm drawing. Usually do this if I need a more gentle touch.
Gonna give this a try. Thanks!
Amazing instruction video, I wish college or university's had this kind of online teachings or tutor. The narrator voice is what makes me wanna learn 🤟🏼
I notice my friend has a vice grip on her writing utensils whether she's writing or drawing. I'll send her this video. Don't know if it will help her draw digitally but this might help. Changing how you're holding the pen/pencil/etc allows different strokes to become easier, it's a natural part of improving. Great video!
And i thought i am afraid of big canvases and cant draw big because i dont allow myself to take up the space, in a multitude of ways.. well, everything is connected :) thank you. ❤
You can do it, I’m sure
great video, thanks for all the tips!
Makes such sense. Thank you for sharing. I’m just starting to learn at 62!
I love how comfortably you draw! When I draw, I tend to grip on the pencil and draw hard😅Thanks for inspiring me to be more relaxed
Thank you. This is so helpful. I’m excited to hear there will be a third book coming out. I love the first two.
This is the best way I’ve ever heard this explained! It makes so much sense, thank you!
One thing that could helps make the transition, is to draw on a vertical easel, or a simple drawing board angled on your table, and to use larger drawing surface, like A3 or more. The angled board makes it incovenient to draw with your wrist on the board. Bot h combine to entice you to draw with the whole arm. Also using a drawing stick or charcoal help you fforget about your writing grip and encourage overhand/underhand grips.
Thank you for sharing! This is the first drawing video I'v actually watched to the end, and felt like had something of real value to give me. 7 minutes of great value. Thanks!
Unfortunately alot of teachers in all facets obtain information but cant quite pass down information so its comprehensible. You have a gift
Thank you sir! This is exactly what i needed right now after getting back into drawing. I doodled all throigh shcool and never learnt proper drawing and still hold my pencil like im writing and really struggle with big lines and circles.
I'm 70yrs young and studied under Albert pels a Robert Beltran ang graduated as an art director. I also met Bob Ross in person. I've been drawing since the age of 7. I always got good grades in art now I just draw for fun. I have many paintings and sketches all over my house. Someday I hope they can be used for inspiration to others. I was also a member of the Hispanic museum when they a studio on third Ave in NY. I really like the way you teach . Thank for helping people get started and learn a very fulfilling art.
Over time as I got better at doodling and just drawing basic characters, my grip got more lose, more gestural, to the point my lines became super confident. I didn’t need my wrist one the table anymore. So, I can speak from experience to say this is true,