Athletes stretch and musicians play scales before they perform. Drawing works the same way. A few minutes of simple marks loosens your hand and arm and wakes up your eye, so your first real drawing of the day is not wasted getting loose.
- Straight lines: draw two dots and connect them in one smooth stroke. Move from the shoulder for long lines, not just the wrist.
- Ghosting: before each line, move your pencil above the paper along the path two or three times, then draw it.
- Circles and ellipses: rows of them, round and flat, as in Circles in Depth: Ellipses.
- A value scale: five even steps from white to black, as in Value and the Value Scale.
- A quick contour: one minute of blind contour of your own hand.
Key idea
A few minutes of straight lines, circles, ellipses and value scales loosens the hand before a drawing.
Why it works
Smooth, confident lines come from the whole arm moving freely. At first your hand is stiff and your marks are short and hairy. Warm-ups get the big muscles moving and remind your eye and hand to work together, the same way a runner jogs before a race.
Worked example: A ten-minute warm-up
You have ten minutes before you start a still life. How could you spend them?
- Two minutes of straight lines between dots.
- Three minutes of circles and ellipses.
- Two minutes on a five-step value scale.
- Three minutes of quick gesture or contour drawings of the objects.
Answer: Lines, ellipses, a value scale, then quick sketches of the subject.
Common mistake
People skip the warm-up and spend the first drawing of the day getting loose, then judge themselves by that stiff first drawing. Treat the first few minutes as practice that does not need to look good.