drawing by hand

[Bob Hahn]

Another tip is to sketch out your drawing first. Don’t let your first lines on your page be your final drawing.

With my attached image, I drew two circles – both freehand. The first was drawn with a quick single continuous line. The second was drawn with shorter strokes and rotating the paper. For the second, pretty much using the same wrist motion in the same location. Just rotating the page to complete the circle.

The sketched circle turned out better.

Sketch lightly, so it’s easier to erase and make adjustments. As things are looking good, darken the good lines a bit that will be part of your final drawing. Sketch out your whole drawing, then ink it in later. Or just leave it all done in pencil.

For budding cartoonists, don’t try and go from blank page to finished drawing with your first set of lines you put down on paper. Sketch it out first. Start out with rough shapes until you see what you want, then start adding more detail/form to them. And don’t worry too much on how it turns out if you’re not totally pleased with it, because your next drawing is always going to be done better.