Basic Training
LESSON FIVE
Although this is another exercise in drawing straight lines, you’re now adding the challenge of connecting two specific points with a single stroke. Unlike the last exercise, this assignment helps develop accuracy and control; skills essential to placing confident lines in your drawings. The key to hitting your mark is focus - not on where your pencil is, but on where your pencil is going.
When working on your Connect-the-Dots, it is important to get into the habit of aiming for your end point with your eyes well before your pencil ever gets there. When you fire a gun, you aim your vision at the target, not the bullet. Think of the pencil as your bullet and train your eyes on the target. Let your subconscious bridge that gap for you. This may feel uncomfortable at first, but with practice it will get easier.
The Exercise
Start by turning your paper over to the clean side or get a new sheet. Scatter a generous number of dots across the page. Forty to fifty is a good starting point; more if you're using a larger sheet. Place them randomly and without any deliberate pattern.
Begin connecting the dots with single, deliberate stroke. You can start anywhere, but if you're working traditionally, it’s helpful to build the habit of moving in a direction that helps avoids smudging which means that if you are right-handed, start on the left and move right. If you are left-handed, start on the right and move to the left. This prevents you from running your hand over wet ink.
As you draw, keep your eye on your destination point—not your pencil tip. Let your eyes guide the motion, and allow your hand to follow through instinctively. This may feel strange at first, especially if you are used to watching your pencil closely, but with time this new way of drawing will become second nature.
You’re welcome to:
Cross over previous lines and connect dots you’ve already used
Tilt or rotate your paper for comfort. It’s common for artists to rotate their paper to draw with more fluidity in a particular direction. This is part of discovering how your arm prefers to move: across the body, away from the body, or toward it.
After connecting a good number of dots, trying adding new lines to create simple shapes, like triangles, stars, or other polygonal shapes.
