Help! - Shaky hands

[Taelune]

How to you train your hands to be more steady? I am starting to draw with a computer tablet (Wacom Model) and the long slopes kill either my hand or my drawing when I am tracing my art onto a new layer in photoshop.

Any cure or exorcises i can do? And is it any constellation that my drawing hand I broke about 5-6 years ago?  

[Folken_Schezar]

i think you just need to get used to it. its a little different then drawing on paper.

if you really want to try some exercises i'd recommend drawing basic shapes over and over and over and over and over and over again. its almost like learning to draw again.

also i'm not sure how you broke your hand but unless there was nerve damage or some other kind of damage to the bones or muscles i'd doubt the would effect your ability to draw that much  

[Taelune]

Folken_Schezar

i think you just need to get used to it. its a little different then drawing on paper.

if you really want to try some exercises i'd recommend drawing basic shapes over and over and over and over and over and over again. its almost like learning to draw again.

also I'm not sure how you broke your hand but unless there was nerve damage or some other kind of damage to the bones or muscles I'd doubt the would effect your ability to draw that much

Well, I basically broke my wrist in half, so I have to take long breaks when drawing or I'd have the wear a brace for about a week because it starts to hurt a lot.
But I'll practice more with my tablet ^^  

[i_am_chris27]

Well i'm certainly not a master of computer software and tablets, but I have read some other topics where somebody mentioned that it is easier to draw straight lines by:
1. Zooming in where you want to draw the line so there is less wobble in the lines when you zoom back out.
2.Try to draw the lines faster especially on long straight lines, its hard to do im sure but maybe you could get used to it?
Its all about learning your own technique really.  

[Nayumi-kuru]

I used to have a tablet, but it's kinda hard to make steady lines when you try to draw on the zoomed out work, so it's better if you zoom in the drawing and start working part per part, it gives a better line ah.. dunno how to explain it xD but it's something like that.  

[Twilakam]

Raeyu Itami

Well, I basically broke my wrist in half, so I have to take long breaks when drawing or I'd have the wear a brace for about a week because it starts to hurt a lot.
But I'll practice more with my tablet ^^

I used to have similar issues when I was hit by a car back in school and sprained my thumb. Though, yours sounds more traumatic and prolonged.

Ultimately, I think you're going to need to do some exercises to attempt to increase your strength and tolerance in that wrist. Probably a squeezy stress type ball? There's also this vibrating gryo type tool that weighlifters use, if you have some money to spare. You would hold onto it and rotate your wrist, in order to increase the strength of your grip.

But those are long term solutions that you should look into yourself. :3

In the meantime, perhaps you could consider zooming out in the program and doing longer strokes from farther away..  

[Nonobotica]

Instead of trying to draw with your wrist try drawing with your sholder or whole arm, if you have your arm flat on a desk and only use your wrist you can build some some pretty serious problems in the future.
Also drawing with your shoulder allows you to make better lines, so try to use your wrist a little less.  

[Gash Rain]

If you want strait lines thats easy or even just more uniform with less squiggles. I know how well becuase I ink with dip pens so clean lines is my goal. However traditional to digital is different since ink control = thin or thick line, swelling and ebbing.

But Nonobitica is right you have to use your arm as the axis that moves whether it be your elbow or shoulder. Shoulder is the best way I belive. Just start drawing small line over and over and over again till you get a uniform strait line. Then make the lines longer, then longer than that and remember to get a feel for it.

Another little trick that helps to keep your arm moving and your wrist strait not moving is to wear a wrist band. Even the best of the best wear the wrist band like Yashiro Nightow. The Trigun guy.

it takes patience about a week to two  

[ichie-ichiko]

I too have broken my wrists before, and actually have some nerve damage from my elbows down... which is good for sparing, but not so good for fine work. Just to top it off I actually also have disgraphia.

As this arises as an issue for me in ceramics and painting as well as digital art, I definitely feel for you as I read your post.

Anyway, I've come up with strategies for dealing with numbness and quakes over the years. Here's what I've got:

1. Play around with your tablet's settings.
Sometimes reducing or increasing the sensitivity and other things in there will give you a more comfortable stroke.

2. Try gripping the stylus differently
I find that if I hold mine overly controlled like I do my pencils or pens I tend to dislike my bigger strokes. Usually holding it more like a paintbrush while making long strokes and holding it like a pen for shorter works best for me.

3. ctrl+z, ctrl+z, ctrl+z!
Luckily, using computer programs to make art means that you can undo your failed attempts and try over and over until you get it the way you like. This is not only good for the end result, but it's good practice. Actually, many (even non-handicaped) digital artists have to try many times in making a good long stroke before progressing with the rest of their paintings.

4. Make long strokes fast, and small ones zoomed in as much as possible
nuff said right?

5. If all else fails, make triangles.
If you ever find your hand is shaking too much doing something tetious, put your other hand on your forearm and move them together. This is a little something I picked up from ceramics, but I use it a lot in watercoloring as well. I seldom do this in digital art, but if you're having a really bad quaking period, it's better than nothing.  

[Taelune]

ichie-ichiko

I too have broken my wrists before, and actually have some nerve damage from my elbows down... which is good for sparing, but not so good for fine work. Just to top it off I actually also have disgraphia.

As this arises as an issue for me in ceramics and painting as well as digital art, I definitely feel for you as I read your post.

Anyway, I've come up with strategies for dealing with numbness and quakes over the years. Here's what I've got:

1. Play around with your tablet's settings.
Sometimes reducing or increasing the sensitivity and other things in there will give you a more comfortable stroke.

2. Try gripping the stylus differently
I find that if I hold mine overly controlled like I do my pencils or pens I tend to dislike my bigger strokes. Usually holding it more like a paintbrush while making long strokes and holding it like a pen for shorter works best for me.

3. ctrl+z, ctrl+z, ctrl+z!
Luckily, using computer programs to make art means that you can undo your failed attempts and try over and over until you get it the way you like. This is not only good for the end result, but it's good practice. Actually, many (even non-handicaped) digital artists have to try many times in making a good long stroke before progressing with the rest of their paintings.

4. Make long strokes fast, and small ones zoomed in as much as possible
nuff said right?

5. If all else fails, make triangles.
If you ever find your hand is shaking too much doing something tetious, put your other hand on your forearm and move them together. This is a little something I picked up from ceramics, but I use it a lot in watercoloring as well. I seldom do this in digital art, but if you're having a really bad quaking period, it's better than nothing.

Lol! Thank you, you've been the most helpful, I'll try all your strategies, I've never even thought of holding my graphics pen as a paintbrush before, I'm gonna practice that with open canvas, since that program tends to act like paint lol! Thank you very much I appreciate it.  

[Vodou von Prettypants]

Folken_Schezar

also i'm not sure how you broke your hand but unless there was nerve damage or some other kind of damage to the bones or muscles i'd doubt the would effect your ability to draw that much

Oh, hello there, internets!

No, it can affect it very much. It's kind of like wrecking a car -- it might look fine once the repairs have been made, but it never really operates quite the same. I have a friend who broke his hand, and now, several years later, he can't draw nearly as well as he did before.

Not to scare anyone, though! If you really want to continue drawing, it can be done, but the circle exercises are a fantastic idea. You're just going to have to get used to the way your hand moves, now.

I did not see you there.

 

[Shimako Todo]

sorry this is a little late, but try zooming in to the paper page. When you are zoomed out and you work with a tablet, it might be super sensitive and therefor make a shaky line.  

[Taelune]

thanks everyone for the advice, I am practicing greatly, if you go and look on how I improved in my mentee thread heart