Fun line drawing exercises - to loosen up!

I LOVE the following line drawing exercises. Not only they help me to loosen up but they also remind me to observe attentively! Don’t we all search to have expressive lines in our drawings and improve our observation skills! These are the perfect exercises to work in that direction.

How much time you spend looking at your subject?

If you had to give a percentage on how much time you look at your subject and how much at what you draw, what would the result be? 50/50? or are you looking 90% down on your paper?

Danny Gregory writes in his book ‘ Art before breakfast‘ that 80% looking at the subject and 20% on your page would be a good ratio. I agree! The blind drawing exercise will convince you.

In this line drawing exercise you will look the entire time at the subject without looking AT ALL at your paper! There are so many benefits to this! So DON’T CHEAT!

You will observe attentively your object
You will realize that there is no need to constantly look at your hands to draw
You are working on your eye-hand connection
You will have to let go and can’t control everything
Your lines will be creative and free
You have a great excuse not to be so perfect

No matter if you have done this drawing exercise or not, give it a try and have fun!

Continuous line drawing exercise

In this drawing exercise, you will NEVER LIFT YOUR PEN! Draw slowly and observe well. You probably wonder how to get across an object.. Yes, you will simply cross over, no matter if you end up with a line across the middle of a face!

Point of this exercise:

You will link lines and observe how they relate
These additional lines make your drawings original and spontaneous
you will have to draw confidently, there is no erasing

Line drawing exercise with your NON dominant hand

I am completely hopeless with my left hand.. Draw with your non-dominant hand and see how it comes out. I felt so out of control the whole time and was very tempted to stop. When I was finally done, I had to admit that I liked the drawing far more than my regular drawings. This is a also a great way to start a drawing and finish it off with your dominant hand. Let me know how YOU felt!

A simple line is not just a simple line…

Experiment different lines with your favorite art supplies. For example a regular pencil can be used with a very sharp point, held all the way in the back, used on the side. A simple line can also tell a story!