The Ghost drawing is a simple and powerful technique
that will help you make better sketches
all along your Design journey.

When you are a beginner, you feel intimidated.
He may even be a bit scary to draw. (Perfectionist syndrome)

Your lines are hesitant, clumsy, and lack of precision.
You feel fear of not making progress.

Practicing the ghost drawing for fluid lines.
Practicing the ghost drawing for fluid lines.

The ghost drawing is the solution to gain fast in confidence and line accuracy. You need this technique to make beautiful and professional sketches freehand.

It becomes very simple when you get the daily habit to draw with it all the time.


How does it work?

The ghost drawing is about simulating a movement before tracing it on paper (or any support). It is an INVISIBLE line your eyes can start seeing just before drawing.

For example, if you want to draw a circle,
simulate the circular movement first
– with the nib of your pen at a few mm above your paper.

When you feel ready, simply let your pen nib touch gently the surface of the paper and draw.

PRACTICE: To practice your ghost drawing skills,
a great exercise is to draw ellipses freehand.


Use the Ghost Drawing Very Often!

Without this sketching technique,
I wouldn’t be able to trace fluidly with confidence.

My lines would be hesitant.
The ghost drawing affects directly the quality of your lines and expression.

See also  How to Charge Your Sketching Motivation with Productober

Use it before almost every single stroke, line, curve, circle, or ellipse you draw. With practice, it will become intuitive to you, and your lines will get smoother and even energetic!

Remember to do not draw with your wrist only, but with your full arm. Let your shoulder and elbow free of movement.


To practice it properly, you need the right drawing posture.
We cover this topic here:

Drawing with the Ghost Drawing
Drawing with the Ghost Drawing

I highly recommend you guys to practice the Ghost drawing as often as needed. You will soon get more confidence in your line. When you will adopt the right movement, it will become easy.

Your overall drawings will be lightened.

This technique can’t be mastered without practice. It physically needs your body to “absorb the gesture”. We call this the memory of forms.

Your arm will remember all these movements,
so you can repeat them with precision with no effort.

If you want to train your curve practice, I invite you to start with the C-curve video tutorial.


To get started as a beginner, feel free to Sign up and get the Designer Starter Kit. It’s an easy illustrated guide that will show you step-by-step how to practice this technique and learn to draw the basic perspective.

You will soon make great straight lines and perfect circles as well without feeling afraid of doing mistakes. : )


NEXT DRAWING TIP YOU NEED:

I show you how to sketch with a dynamic style drawing a cylinder.

See also  7 reasons why designers use Photoshop

4 comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hello! I'm Chou-Tac, a Product Designer from France.

If the sketching methods I’ve acquired aid me in my life and in my industrial design career, I believe that they can also help you reach your dream goal as a student or professional designer.

Leave a comment in the blog or send me an email at choutac@thedesignsketchbook.com : )

Chou-Tac

Trending

Last comments

  • John Trant: “UK Teaching Design Looking for accessible tutorials to help train studentsSep 14, 17:32
  • Ummugulsun: “Hello, I’m Ummugulsum, 26 years old, and I am from Wales. I studied design 4 years ago but never went…Sep 14, 06:46
  • Ummugulsun: “Hello, I’m Ummugulsum, I am from Wales. I studied design 4 years ago but never went back to it after…Sep 14, 06:46
  • Hend Faiad: “I am from Egypt. I’m 30 years old. I want to learn to sketch to be able to demonstrate my…Sep 14, 01:29
  • Kashvi: “I am kashvi from India. I am 19 year old. I am pursuing bachelor of design so I want to…Sep 11, 12:05
  • Maria: “I am a 71years old woman from the Netherlands. I teach people how to draw. And I am staying curious…Sep 10, 21:22
  • Nam Binh Trinh: “nothing beside learning to sketchSep 10, 21:01
  • Liana: “I’m from Canada. I have success with my drawing and watercolours but my perspectives are still really weak. You are…Sep 9, 22:25
  • Irene Sharkey: “I am from Canada. I am in my 70s. The process intriques me. Scrolling I found a link. I want…Sep 9, 21:41
  • Kit: “Challenge myself to sketch wellSep 9, 15:31
  • Nasser: “Hi, im a data scientist from kuwait, im 44 , i used to be an artist back in the day…Sep 9, 11:35
  • kunal singh: “HelloSep 8, 20:26
  • Sally Cespedes: “helloSep 8, 12:11
  • Shyam u tiwari: “I come from IndiaSep 7, 14:39
  • nainsuk: “thank you!Sep 7, 05:07
  • Aniket Dash: “I come from India. I am 25 years old. I want to sketch cars and consumer electronics. I discovered this…Sep 5, 17:18
  • Georgia: “Alabama, USA… 43… I want a relaxing hobby and also to be able to sketch castle ruins when I visit…Sep 5, 09:03
  • Z: “.Sep 3, 08:28
  • Pamela: “Photography isn’t as satisfying as I thought. Looking at other peoples sketches lets me feel more connected to a place…Sep 3, 02:13
  • Ale: “Mexico, 41 Love to draw, love art Finding ways to study Nicolaides, via Google ;)Sep 2, 22:19
  • Federica: “Parma, Italy – 43 yrs old personal enjoyment i was serching for learning how to draw shadowsSep 2, 14:38
  • Z: “*Sep 2, 10:11
  • sunghun: “1) I live in Seoul, South Korea and I am 40 years old. 2) I want to express my ideas…Sep 1, 16:39
  • Alicja K: “Such a thoughtful breakdown! I really like how you frame the pencil as a safe space for exploration and the…Aug 31, 02:39
  • Alicja K: “What a beautiful read! I love how you highlight sketching not just as a tool but as an emotional language.…Aug 31, 02:37
close-link
Start Sketching Today Step-by-step!

GET YOUR DESIGNER STARTER KIT NOW!

The
close-link
The
YES! I NEED THE BOOK!
Send me The Book
close-image