So I'm still trying to get drawing down.

[Sectan]

A few months ago I made a topic similar to this asking if I could learn to draw. Well I got a lot of good advice and I still have a lot of websites bookmarked that I check into once in a while to try some things. To cut to the chase I can't freehand lines. If I try to angle or curve or whatever it turns out weird and not at all what I wanted. It will usually take a half hour and a fluke pen stroke to get a line I like. Are there any hidden gems of advice or things to practice that can help with linework? I get that this should be a question for google, but I'm at a bit of a loss. Thanks.

EDIT: I Should have clarified. Lines in general as in outlines of a face or eyes. I don't know any techniques or any basics. I'm essentially working blind trying to "copy" my references as I'm not able to put my own spin on things.

[sub][sub][sub]I can trace over other people's drawings real quick and it looks nice because I cheated in the first place. I just can't do it without a guide.[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[Chemical Alia]

I don't think anybody draws perfectly straight lines, even if they've been drawing their whole life. If you're just sketching, you can draw a few rough lines to indicate a direction, or draw that lightly and go back with a straight edge and refine it later. If you're drawing anything architectural or involving a lot of perspective, just use a straight edge. If you're drawing in Photoshop, remember the shift key. When I draw, I feel like I undo line strokes more often than I keep them, at least when I'm just sketching out the shapes.

Mostly though, it just takes practice and repetition, and you'll improve over time if you work on the areas that are tough. I had a teacher once who wanted to get into the comic industry and who started drawing later in life. He spent a few months straight drawing nothing but curved lines and straight lines just to practice control of inking. Then he subsequently moved on to every anatomical section of the human body until he had it all memorized and could draw a person from any angle. That sounds like major overkill to me, but it worked for him and now he's awesome!

 

[purplecactus]

If you're talking straight lines then let me know when you master that, I'm still trying and I've been at it for over a decade now. Thing is, I'm a little strange in that I hate using a ruler or anything as a guide if the entire drawing is freehand.

If you're talking lines in general, straight or otherwise, then it's practice. The best advice I can give is to relax when you're drawing. Being all tensed up and peeved because it isn't going how you wanted it to can have an impact on the control of your pen/pencil/whatever. That, and practice. Lots and lots of practice.

 

[thesilentman]

Repeated motion. If you're trying to go in a direction, do several (lightly done) lines and see how well they work out. Then erase the ones that look out of shape. That's as much as I can recommend because as much as I can draw straight lines, I just can't convey the damn shape I'm drawing. Maybe it's because I look at my paper with a slant half the time, which is something I need to fix. x-D

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Practice makes perfect when it comes to drawing. It's rough to have to just keep trying, but the more you do it, the better you'll do. I still struggle with that. I'm much better with clay, personally.

 

[Frezzato]

Get "Drawing the Head and Figure" by Jack Hamm. It's only $11 on Amazon [http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Figure-Perigee-Jack/dp/0399507914/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371666680&sr=1-1&keywords=drawing+the+head+and+figure]. It's so straightforward and simple you'll wonder why nobody ever recommended this book to you until now. And yes it's related to what you're talking about. You're going to have to trust me on this. Get that book.

Also, stop drawing from your imagination. Yes, I can tell even though I don't know you When starting out, even copying photos from magazines is better than drawing from your imagination. Real life is best though. I see what you mean now. Still, I don't think you should try to copy something line for line. If you're going to redraw something, it should be from another angle, another perspective. Working on that will accelerate your understanding of the original work. There's no point in trying to copy anything perfectly, that's what copiers and scanners are for.

And finally, you're going to have to get over the idea of every drawing being precious. You can't afford to move that slowly when you're starting out. Take some advice from an old instructor of mine: You have 999 bad drawings in you and one good one. Start getting the bad ones out.

 

[BeeGeenie]

A long line is just a series of very short lines strung along in a series.

Seriously, just take your pencil, and make lots of quick, short strokes (giggity)in the direction you want the line to go, and erase any outliers.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Hardly ever should you use straight lines. The general rule of drawing something goes:

a) Is it organic? Curves and circles.
b) Is it synthetic? Straight lines, squares, and triangles. And even then, still try to stay with curves and circles

To actually get those lines -- remember, lines that curve still work -- just do one quick motion. It shouldn't take you longer than a second, unless you're moving your whole arm to make a big line.

I can trace over other people's drawings real quick and it looks nice because I cheated in the first place. I just can't do it without a guide.

Well, first thing's first, most artists use a reference picture. There's nothing wrong with it.

However, tracing directly over something is a habit you want to break. It really does help give you a good idea how to visualize anatomy and what parts of a drawing is important, but it is a bad habit otherwise.