The Basics

Connect-the-Dots

Although this is, once again, an exercise in drawing straight lines, we are performing the additional task of connecting two specific points with a single line. This is an exercise in hitting your mark no matter the direction or distance being covered. The key technique in perfecting your ability to hit your mark is using your eyes to focus, not on where your pencil is, but on where your pencil is going.

Exercise Two

Jumping right in, go ahead and turn your paper over so that you have a clean area to work on. Place a good number of dots randomly on your paper, filling the page with forty or fifty dots, or more if you are using a large sheet of paper.

The goal here is to simply connect the dots. You can start anywhere you like but if you are working traditionally I suggest you start getting into the habit of working from the left and making your way over to the right, that is, if you are right-hand. If you are left-handed start on the right and move leftward. It is good to get in the habit of moving from the far side of the page towards your dominant side, to help avoid smudging as much as possible. This way you aren't unnecessarily rubbing your hand over the fresh pencil or ink that you just applied on the page. So focus on both, where your lines are going, and that you are moving across the page in the correct direction.

As you start to connect these dots you will want to continuously move from one dot to the next, doing your best to hit your mark and draw a straight line between them. Feel free to cross over previous lines or even connecting new lines to dots that you've already used. Our goal is to make the page as full of lines as possible.

You may find it necessary to turn or tilt your page to more easily draw your lines which is fine. It's common to see an artist rotate their canvas to get the most comfortable and accurate strokes. Doing these exercises will help you figure out which approach works best for you. Be that drawing lines across your body, away from your body, or towards your body.