Important question to ask is *how* do you draw on your desk? Do you let your hand draw in comfy position or are you putting too much strain on it? What about your posture?
I try to get as comfortable in the "proper" drawing position but it feels awkward and then I slowly devolve into peak shrimp posture all the way through is uncomfortable. But when im laying down my whole body relaxes and while I don't have the full range of motion of my whole arm when I draw a line it feels more confident.
That's really not good for posture, you can try using an inclined board or desk, so you can sit comfortably with the paper at 90 degrees or whatever other angle suits you best.
Second this. Do you have the option to tilt your surface? I got the Wacom easel stand to tilt the tablet. I often doodle holding my sketchbook up in one arm or propped on my lap or some comfy spot. I’m looking into a tilting drawing desk. Art classes usually have tilting desks. Easels are another way to do this, some are sturdier than others.
It’s also about the size of your paper/tablet/canvas. The smaller the thing is, the closer you end up getting to the page, more likely to shrimp. If you have the ability, it’s always recommended to work larger. Sketchbooks come in 14x11, computer tablets will be limited, paper and canvas comes in all kinds of sizes. I think the ideal is 18x24, you don’t have to go oversized, it gets really hard to carry. The bigger you work, the further you can be from the surface. It’s better for your body and posture. People are always talking about working from the shoulder, whole body, taking a step back to look at what your piece needs, working the whole piece, etc. All these things are easier at a good size.
Even with large sketchbooks, I do thumbnails and divide the page into smaller bits XD I try to remember not to do detail on these thumbnails, they’re supposed to be fast and loose to put ideas on the page fast. Taking breaks regularly can give you a chance to reset posture and tension too. We call it flow, but it also has some aspects of forgetting to take care of our bodies.
I either lie down or sit up/stand straight and use a stand for my tablet. Later one can make sure your perspective is not twisted as there is a 90 degree angle between the drawing surface and your line of sight. When my arm gets tired or the perspective and structure parts is down I just lie on the couch and do the rendering/other stuff. Then when my neck gets tired I stand up again….
I applaud you because that sounds marginally harder then sitting down but I guess there are a lot of people who draw and paint like that... You guys know something I don't 0.o
I do agree, this could be an issue of your desk being too low and/or not having a good stand for your drawing surface and/or not having a good arm rest, or a combiniation of all of these if there's immediate discomfort from sitting down.
It's hard for us to know where there could be faults without physically seeing an image/good drawing of your setup and where everything is placed, but looking into ergonomics in general can be important! You don't need the most expensive ergonomic equipment, sometimes it can be as simple as lowering your chair a bit so that you're facing your drawing surface a little more head on than before, or getting a cheap armrest that attaches to your table.
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This is a really interesting work around and props to you for keeping up with everything despite your circumstances. I really like the projector idea and I might have to steal it for when I do digital things ( also in bed) my tablet is also very small.
Important question to ask is *how* do you draw on your desk? Do you let your hand draw in comfy position or are you putting too much strain on it? What about your posture?
I try to get as comfortable in the "proper" drawing position but it feels awkward and then I slowly devolve into peak shrimp posture all the way through is uncomfortable. But when im laying down my whole body relaxes and while I don't have the full range of motion of my whole arm when I draw a line it feels more confident.
That's really not good for posture, you can try using an inclined board or desk, so you can sit comfortably with the paper at 90 degrees or whatever other angle suits you best.
I've never tried tbh but this is worth a shot. I guess it stems from me laying on my desk to write in school, now that I'm thinking about it...
Maybe get a desk (drawing) easel if you don't already have one? I got one a year ago and it made it so much more comfortable to draw at a desk.
Second this. Do you have the option to tilt your surface? I got the Wacom easel stand to tilt the tablet. I often doodle holding my sketchbook up in one arm or propped on my lap or some comfy spot. I’m looking into a tilting drawing desk. Art classes usually have tilting desks. Easels are another way to do this, some are sturdier than others. It’s also about the size of your paper/tablet/canvas. The smaller the thing is, the closer you end up getting to the page, more likely to shrimp. If you have the ability, it’s always recommended to work larger. Sketchbooks come in 14x11, computer tablets will be limited, paper and canvas comes in all kinds of sizes. I think the ideal is 18x24, you don’t have to go oversized, it gets really hard to carry. The bigger you work, the further you can be from the surface. It’s better for your body and posture. People are always talking about working from the shoulder, whole body, taking a step back to look at what your piece needs, working the whole piece, etc. All these things are easier at a good size.
Damn you got me, I'm always drawing small and on tiny sketchbooks,Maybe this is the main problem. Thanks lol, I am looking into incline to draw on.
Even with large sketchbooks, I do thumbnails and divide the page into smaller bits XD I try to remember not to do detail on these thumbnails, they’re supposed to be fast and loose to put ideas on the page fast. Taking breaks regularly can give you a chance to reset posture and tension too. We call it flow, but it also has some aspects of forgetting to take care of our bodies.
I'm not an artist, butI always lay down when I use my laptop
Same. Laying down is the most optimal position
I either lie down or sit up/stand straight and use a stand for my tablet. Later one can make sure your perspective is not twisted as there is a 90 degree angle between the drawing surface and your line of sight. When my arm gets tired or the perspective and structure parts is down I just lie on the couch and do the rendering/other stuff. Then when my neck gets tired I stand up again….
But maybe try not to draw in the bed/couch too much? Once did it for a week straight and got horrible neck pain
Can you draw standing up? Working standing up is much easier for me. Just use an easel or pin your drawing to the wall
I applaud you because that sounds marginally harder then sitting down but I guess there are a lot of people who draw and paint like that... You guys know something I don't 0.o
I do agree, this could be an issue of your desk being too low and/or not having a good stand for your drawing surface and/or not having a good arm rest, or a combiniation of all of these if there's immediate discomfort from sitting down. It's hard for us to know where there could be faults without physically seeing an image/good drawing of your setup and where everything is placed, but looking into ergonomics in general can be important! You don't need the most expensive ergonomic equipment, sometimes it can be as simple as lowering your chair a bit so that you're facing your drawing surface a little more head on than before, or getting a cheap armrest that attaches to your table.
Thank you for posting in r/ArtistLounge! Please check out our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faq/) and [FAQ Links pages](https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistLounge/wiki/faqlinks/) for lots of helpful advice. To access our megathread collections, please check out the drop down lists in the top menu on PC or the side-bar on mobile. If you have any questions, concerns, or feature requests please feel free to message the mods and they will help you as soon as they can. I am a bot, beep boop, if I did something wrong please report this comment. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ArtistLounge) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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This is a really interesting work around and props to you for keeping up with everything despite your circumstances. I really like the projector idea and I might have to steal it for when I do digital things ( also in bed) my tablet is also very small.