I Can't Draw a Straight Line!

"Bill's Automotive Service Center"

"But I can’t even draw a straight line!” Have you heard that excuse for not drawing at all? In this post I’ll show you how I manage to draw (or erase) a straight line in digital painting, when I really need to.

When my first-grade teacher, Miss Nell, marched everyone to the principal’s office, we weren’t in trouble, we were showing off: like the time we presented our latest drawings to Mr. Hays. He oohed and aahed over each masterpiece.

But when Miss Nell invited him to join our next art period, he quickly demurred, “I can’t even draw a straight line!” I remember her rebuking him, “But you don’t need to draw a straight line.” All of us—proudly displaying our “A” and “Good work!” marks—duly nodded in agreement. None of us could draw a straight line, but we weren’t letting that stymy our budding art careers.

I’m still not good at drawing straight lines and, fortunately, the kernel of wisdom in Miss Nell’s rebuke is that many art projects don’t require them.

But some do. For instance, “Bill’s Automotive Service Center” (above) contrasts that fine establishment’s hard straight lines against soft curves in the sky.

Today digital painting programs have clever virtual rulers: in several steps you position, rotate, and even stretch them, and then draw or erase along their edge.

Yet when it comes to drawing straight lines, I usually go ‘old school.’ I pull out a 6-inch clear plastic protractor my wife has squirreled away from her grade school days.

To prevent the protractor from scratching the computer screen or drawing tablet, I glued nifty felt furniture pads on the back.

Using a protractor to draw or erase straight lines may be ‘old school,’ but it’s quick and intuitive. (I hope Miss Nell will forgive me.)

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Thanks for reading!

I hope that you enjoyed this post and that it inspires you to enjoy digital painting. If you find this post helpful, please share it with your friends. And please send me your insights on digital painting and suggestions for Digital Paint Spot.

Bob Kruschwitz