Warmups to Improve Line Quality
Warmups to Improve Line Quality
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Warmups to Improve Line Quality
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Bubbles
I wanted to have fun with the quality line exercises, so I drew these cute cats. Then I thought it would look SO COOL animated it so I looked up key poses of a cat running and I did my own :D If you're a beginner like me but want to try to animate something you can find references called “key poses”: like a walk cycle, and that should be enough to guide you to do a small animation. The software is Procreate Dreams.
LESSON NOTES

Hey, welcome back. In this video, I'm going to introduce you to several line quality exercises that you can practice for 5 to 15 minutes before you begin a drawing session. When you start drawing, even simple lines will feel awkward, like your hand just doesn't want to do it. You have to battle through it, and over time your pencil will feel natural to you as if it's just part of your hand.

You can do these warmups in your sketchbook or just get some cheap printer paper. I want you to fill as many pages as possible. If doing these in your sketchbook will cause you to do less of them because you're trying to preserve sketchbook paper, then just use the printer paper. If you don't care about "wasting" a whole sketchbook on line circles and shaded squares, then let's go.

Throughout this course I'll be adding more warmup exercises into your routine for you to do before you start drawing. You only need to spend 5 to 15 minutes on these. But the key is consistency. Don't just do them once. That's like going for a jog once. Warmups are especially important for beginners to develop control and hand-eye coordination, but also to help you get loose and warmed up for a drawing.

Being too tense or having all these high expectations before you start your session can be damaging. These exercises are abstract little practices that are simple to do, but they build essential lifelong skills. Don't skip them.

Join us in the premium course for access to this warmup and all future warmups!

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ASSIGNMENTS

Fill at least one page for each of these warmups.

  • Page Skating
  • Light, Medium, Dark Lines
  • Straight Taper
  • Trace the Ruler
  • Connect the Dots

Remember the key is consistency, these are not meant to be done just once. Don’t be afraid to fill up a lot of paper. As you go through this course, do a page of warm-ups before you start drawing.

Larry
18m
Here are 1 page each of the warm up exercises These are harder than they look; I’m going to keep working on them
Chirantan
13h
Patricia Hardy
I have been practicing lines since May when I watched another video on Proko. Page Skating is new and more challenging. I find it very helpful and will improve.
@kurodore
Light, medium, and dark lines were honestly the hardest ones to do here.
Turbo Fish
Krock
7d
From the lesson I was able to do some practising with lines over the past few days, whether it includes drawing lines via dots, tracing the ruler or switching between light, medium and dark lines. Hopefully this is good for me to draw on projects. If there's anything I can learn from feedback, please let me know.
@ctellez
7d
I definitely need to practice not holding my pencil so tight. My hand hurts after doing all these and that's probably not a good sign.
Mike Bonifacio
Definitely like page skating the best!
Gabriel
19d
Here are mine! + Some bonus mushrooms bc I really need to practice more elypses lol
@mattr
22d
Hayden Cremer
These were fun! Now I'm feeling warm!
Riley Fox
1mo
Got a little ADHD/OCD in me and I'm not sure if that relates to me going over my lines sometimes for no reason. It's like it's a strong urge to make a better outcome when the line is already placed. Maybe I'm thinking too hard, but lines are something I would like to get right instead of it looking like searching lines.
Lyn Umu
2mo
Minh Hiếu Ông
Sorry for bad lighting, i dont got a desk lamp :-)
Jeremie
3mo
@ralk
3mo
it turned into more of a tryout for different pencil tools in the base Krita kit, with podcasts blaring in the background xD
@sharone
3mo
Thank goodness for the first couple lessons from Draw A Box. Like these better.
Glenn Ference
These were very relaxing to work on. Definitely need to keep doing this.
@vafudoyi
3mo
My upper arm tends to get tired after a while of doing this, especially when I consciously try to draw from the arm. Is this to be expected since it's an unfamiliar movement or is it like tensing up the wrist too hard and shouldn't be happening?
@ty1428
3mo
I started doing little exercises every day, similar to the warm ups for gym class, to strengthen my shoulders and back for standing and drawing/painting. My shoulders got noticeably stronger after just a couple weeks of this, stronger in the sense that I could draw longer without noticing a strain. I think the back takes a little longer to strengthen because mine still gets tight after long sessions.
Melanie Scearce
If you're not used to using your arm that way, it may be a bit tired after a while, which is to be expected. It will take some practice to build up the strength/endurance. However, if anything is hurting or very sore after a drawing session that's a sign you may be overexerting in some way and need to change things up.
Michael Hsu
wow this is literally drawabox homework LOL. Especially the ghosting lines, trace the ruler, connect the dots
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