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Warm up drawing with a loose hand | TIP96

When you start a drawing session, you may wonder why your first sketches are clumsy. Your hand muscles are not yet that agile. It’s good to start with a bit of warm up. For that, draw anything with a loose hand.

Warm Up drawing with a loose hand – Wacom Cintiq 22HD with Sketchbook Pro

00:01 Start drawing with simple shapes

00:04 Keep your hand loose

00:12 Draw with a moderate precision

00:15 We’ll adjust later

00:21 Use some light reflexion to the eyes

00:27 Add grey value using oblique hatching

00:31 Don’t follow the hair direction

00:42 Touch up to give more contrast

00:45 Using the bold pressure of the pen

Below is a quick tutorial on how I draw step-by-step.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-a

I start with a vertical axis

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-b

A simple circle for the head

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-c

I add the Chin.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-d

I like to continue with BOTH eyes. I don’t finish one eye to start an other. I purposely draw both together to make sure that both are aligned before adding more details in them.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-e

Then the lips and the nose.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-f

I readjust a bit the chin to make it more narrow.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-g

I start to give the rough shape of the hair style like a “block”.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-h

I draw the hair thinking of the weight. The hair start to curl below the chin.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-i

Ok ! We got our main shape. Time to add some details and add values.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-j

Time to ad some details to the eyes.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-k

Think of adding a bit of light reflexion. It’s just a blank ellipse that partly hide the pupils.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-n

A bit of touch up to give more contrast to the overall.

warm-up-the-Design-Sketchbook-Sketching-o

Voila, for the quick sketch of the day. I often start a drawing session drawing something that is not that accurate but beneificial for a good start.

If you havn’t draw for a while (few weeks for example), at the opposite you can plan to warm up with “precision exercises”. Instead of drawing with a loose hand, trace straight lines, ellipses and circles. You will help your brain to recalibrate with your pen.

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About The Author

Chou-Tac

Hello! My name is Chou-Tac. I am 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 design goal as a student or professional. My aim to help you all along with your design projects and journey. Anytime, feel free to leave a comment in the blog or send me an email at choutac@thedesignsketchbook.com : )

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