What is the biomechanical motion to draw a straight vertical line?

Question

To draw a straight horizontal line I basically pin my elbow and then move across the page from left to right. Easy. I can hit my marks consistently and everything is good.Vertical lines however I really struggle with. What is the arm and wrist movement I should be striving for to get better straight vertical lines?

Answer 1

Your wrist and elbow should not move, but your whole arm move as a unit. I put the pencil on the paper where the line needs to start, then see where my hand/wrist/arm lies in relation to the edge of the paper. I don't think I've ever started at the bottom, I think I've always started at the top of the line. Anyway, keeping my wrist and arm steady as one unit, I slide my arm down the page, making sure the edge of the paper always touches that same point. Be careful because it gives you a pretty line but is also risky of a papercut haha!

I suppose that would be the simple way to think of it. The point that your hand/arm/wrist is touching the edge, keep everything from that point to the tip of your pencil steady, and "try" to give yourself a movement consistent with giving yourself a papercut (but don't actually do it, ouch!)

Another trick is if you still struggle with vertical but always get a horizontal line right? Flip the page to its side!

Hope this helps!