“How To Draw A Straight Line”

I gave you a challenge in the last posting “What is stopping you drawing?” The challenge was to list as many different ways you could find to help you draw a straight line.

Here are 7 easy solutions to the problem of drawing a straight line…

1. Use a ruler
2. Use a straight edge (draughtsman’s square, T-square, engineer’s rule.)
3. Use the straight edge of the paper or sketch pad
4. Use the edge of the drawing board
5. Use a DVD box edge
6. Use a book edge
7. Use the straight edge of a kitchen work surface or table top

Finally… Draw a freehand straight line.

You’ll agree that it’s not hard to find a straight edge to help you draw a straight line. There are straight edges all around.

It’s easy to say that there are straight edges you can use. However, it isn’t quite so easy to understand how some of the straight edges can be used.

Let’s take a look at each device listed and see what they can do to make it easy for your straight lines…

1. Almost every school child will understand how to use a ruler. They wouldn’t think twice about placing their ruler on a piece of paper and drawing a pencil along the edge. Whether it is a cheap plastic ruler or an expensive steel engineer’s rule you can get a straight line any time you want.

2. There are many draughtsman’s aids that you can buy from your stationary store… T-squares, set squares, rulers and many other tools I have forgotten about (I used to be an engineer draughtsman).

If you want to draw a line at an angle you can easily find that there is a device that has been designed to help.

3. A sketch book has a straight edge. If you hold a pencil in your hand normally, between thumb and first 2 fingers, you have 2 fingers spare. You can use the little finger as a guide.

You draw a straight line by running your hand down the edge of the sketch book. If you want to draw parallel lines you just increase or decrease the gap between the guide finger and the pencil… really easy.

4. If you use a drawing board the same technique can be used as with the edge of the sketch book. The advantage here is that you can swivel the paper to draw lines at different angles.

If you aren’t using a sketch book and aren’t using a drawing board, this is where you improvise.

Anything with a straight edge will help…

5. A CD case or DVD box can be used a ruler.

6. The edge of a book will help you draw a line.

7. The table top or kitchen work surface that you are drawing at could have straight edges. As with a drawing board, this straight edge is all you need to draw as many straight lines as you like.

So, are you getting the idea that drawing a straight line isn’t really too hard? I hope so because there will be a greater challenge in the future…

One day you will want to draw a freehand straight line. This is hard to do but don’t worry about it… I’ll give you some thoughts that make it less scary.

See you soon

Michael


p.s. In the meantime, have some fun drawing as many straight lines as you can. Try to find as many different ways you can think of to draw your straight lines.

p.p.s. For those artists who already know how to draw… I’ve just found a figure drawing resource that sounds great. I’ll give it thorough look and let you know how good it is.