Drawing 101: Continuous Line Drawing 1

Hi Tombow friends! It’s Grace from Grace Anne Studio.  Are you looking for ways to improve your drawing? If so, you should try continuous line drawing! Continuous line drawing is simply drawing a subject in one continuous line without lifting your pen. It’s best used when you have uninterrupted time to really focus and make an in-depth study of your subject. Continuous line drawing is one of several ways I like to let loose and practice drawing in-person subjects. Plus, the Tombow MONO Drawing Pens are perfect for it! They have excellent nib strength, don’t skip when they write and dry instantly! All VERY important considerations for continuous line drawing.

Supplies

• MONO Drawing Pen Set
• Paper or a notebook

Step 1: Choose a Subject

Like most art, continuous line drawing takes planning, patience and practice. The first step is choosing a subject and studying it. Note the shape. Pay attention to areas of highlights and shadows. Is the subject in motion? What is the best place to start drawing? In my case, I chose to draw MONO Drawing Pen 03. Since the pen is pretty detailed, I used the MONO Drawing Pen 01.

Step 2: Start to Draw

Next, simply choose a spot to begin and draw. You can easily shade an area without lifting your pen, but highlights are usually best shown as contours. As you are drawing, you may have to double back on lines you have already drawn to avoid excess lines.

Because it is long and skinny with fairly consistent highlights and shadows, I decided to work from the pen cap to the body of the pen and then double back to the middle for the sticker and logo. The last thing I drew were the contour highlights on the sticker.

Step 3: Repeat or Finish

These drawings are meant to be quick, but careful studies. I ended up drawing this project about five times. Each time I adjusted the highlights where I retraced lines and spacing on the pen’s logo. It’s not perfect. However, every time I got a little better and more confident in my drawing! With plenty of planning, practice and patience, you will too!

If you try continuous line drawing, be sure to tag @tombowusa and @graceannestudio so we can cheer you on! For more drawing exercises, check out my post 5 Simple Tips to Improve Your Drawing and Katie’s post 5 Tips for Drawing with Brush Pens.

Happy Drawing!

Grace