Holding a pencil

[TheMumm]

Hey, call me scrub if I posted this in the wrong forum, but it's kind of a weird question that mostly exists because I'm curious.

I'm wondering if there is a 'preferred' way to hold a pencil -- not so much in the finger placement on the impliment itself, rather how one holds their hand.

I ask because I've been practicing my circles (scrub, told you) and I've noticed that when I have my hand on the paper, the shape gets distorted because I find myself stretching the fingers rather than the side of my hand.

So, excuse the ensuing ramble here.

Is it wiser to hold the entire hand up and off the paper itself? I've tried this, and I can say that I can barely write my name in that fashion.

Would I be better off training myself to move my entire hand around on the paper? I foresee many smudged lines and shades in my future should I take that path.

[bjoern3000]

It depends. If you´d like to have your arm as an extention of your pencil - for example when standing away from the drawing board/easel you would hold it like a conductor holds the baton. It lets you make distinct lines and is good for construction. The movement comes from the shoulder and is less fine motoric. You have seen that you can´t really write your name with this technique.

Similar effects can be achieved by holding the pencil near the end and put your hand onto the drawing - then let the wrist do the work. Your hand and forearm muscles do a better motoric job.

But you can also lay your hand onto the drawing and hold it like when you are writing. This lets you better control your lines since it is much more fine motoric.

[Raoul Duke]

The most general tip I can give you is to Draw from the shoulder or elbow and not the wrist or fingers. Much of this stuff has to do with mileage. If you draw from the wrist or fingers for too long you can get carpel tunnel (a common career killer).

This stuff is easier to show then tell. That's why it's better to pay for good one on one instruction. But here are some vids that might help.

[Elwell]

I'm wondering if there is a 'preferred' way to hold a pencil -- not so much in the finger placement on the impliment itself, rather how one holds their hand.

There are many different "preferred" grips, depending on the circumstances. The main movement can come from the fingers, the wrist, the elbow, or the shoulder. Even with the "writing" grip, try holding the pencil further back from the point and with a looser, more relaxed grip. The pencil isn't your enemy, there's no need to try to strangle it to death.

[Falchion]

Same deal with shooting: Go with what works for you. If you want to hold it all fancy-like, and you can work with it, go for it. Likewise, if you just hold it like you're holding a writing utensil, and you can work with it, go for it. The Art Police have yet to arrest and shoot me for holding the pencil the way I do-

Hold on, there's someone at the door...

[TheMumm]

Many thanks gentlepeoples! I'll get to those videos as soon as I can!

[neonnoodle]

I tend to prefer an "overhand" grip with the pencil held horizontally -- as shown in this post: http://www.conceptart.org/forums/sho...98&postcount=6

It helps keep your wrist locked and your arm as the main source of movement. Then later I switch to precision/writing grip for fine details.

[TheMumm]

@neonnoodle - Holy crap! Just gave that a quick couple of strokes, I definitely like the feel of it. I'll have to experiment a little to get used to it, but that's super comfortable and I got some reasonably accurate lines considering I'd never held a pencil like that before. Thanks!

[jetpack42]

I discuss this in the first few moments of my hit youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YhybNS7seM

[manlybrian]

Arenhaus' blog post about pencil grips pops up around the forums from time to time.

http://chiseledrocks.com/main/musing...old_the_pencil

[seungy]

I try not move my wrists that much but put more emphasis on the elbow movement