How to Draw When Hands are Shaking |
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It seems to be a quite common problem - both among seasoned and younger artists: shaking hands. My impression: maybe half of us have experienced problems with their hand shaking too much for drawing at least once.
So I did this collection of tips and tricks how to overcome your shaky hands or even how to get used to it, if it cannot be stopped.
But I have to say this first: if you have shaky hands on a regular basis and haven't done so already: go and see a doctor!
Often shaky hands are nothing a little more sleep or cutting down on coffee can't fix (later more on this). But shaky hands can also be the symptom of some serious illnesses that need professional treatment.
That said, let's look at some homemade remedies for shaking hands. Of course it's always a great idea to live healthier.
So first reduce your coffee consumption. And do the same for any beverages that contain caffeine like cola.
Then always make sure you get enough sleep. Depending on your physical constitution 8 hours per day are a good rule of thumb. Also a short nap after lunch can work wonders, too!
I'm sure you don't drink very much alcohol as this may worsen your shaking, too. Just for the sake of completeness: drink alcohol only occasionally and moderately.
Maybe this is a somewhat surprising discovery to you: trembling hands can be the result of a too high sugar consumption (often in combination with too much caffeine). So replace your sugar with more healthy foods like fruits and vegetables.
Then it will help you if you get more active. This can be regular workouts or joining the local sports club as well as taking longer walks through the neighborhood.
Also a low level of Magnesium can cause muscle tightness leading to shaky hands. A tell tale sign is if you get hic-ups or cramps. So make sure to eat a good amount of vegetables and salad each day so you have more magnesium.
Then if you're under medication this may be a factor, too. In this case - again: ask your doctor. He may have an idea how to adjust your medication to reduce the shaking.
But what if you cannot reduce the shaking enough to draw without problems?
Then you can apply these tricks to draw in spite of shaking hands:
First you can find in any good equipped art supply store so called drawing 'brigdes' - these are small bridge shaped shelves made out of wood or acrylic. You place them over your drawing so you can rest your arm and steady your hand. The drawback: you cannot do those long and sweeping motions in exchange.
Second you can develop your drawing style in a direction where you don't need to draw fine details in high precision. So you get a looser more flowing and more forgiving style.
Finally you can consider using stencils, french curves and rulers.
But most important: don't get discouraged. Imagine: old Charles M. Schulz (the creator of Charlie Brown and Snoopy) had Parkinson. Nonetheless he managed to adapt and compensate the shaking so he didn't stop drawing his comic strips until he retired (at age 77!).
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Drawing With Shaky Hands 
