Warm-up exercises
Part 4 of "What is an sketchbook?"
Si hablas español, puedes encontrar la traducción aquí
Welcome back to Sketch Compendium! In my previous post, I talked about how to start a messy sketchbook, the types of paper you can use, the questions to ask yourself before getting started, and how to create a list of things you want to practice.
In case you don’t remember, here are the questions:
What is my budget?
How much time do I have to draw?
What do I like to draw?
Do I want to practice something in particular?
Will I use it only at home, or will I take it with me everywhere?
Do I prefer drawing in a physical sketchbook or digitally?
What kind of materials do I have?
Some people like to open Pinterest or another app to find inspiration before drawing. However, the downside is that it’s easy to lose track of time, endlessly scrolling and wasting the precious moments you could be using to sketch. I enjoy using Pinterest too, but it’s not the first thing I do when I start a drawing session. There are other ways to begin your practice more effectively.
Warm-Up, Baby!
I bet you’ve heard this from other artists: warming up is important. But why is that?
Just like any other physical activity, drawing engages the muscles in your arm and hand. Every time we draw, we put stress on our muscles and tendons. So, just as any exercise routine requires a warm-up before intense movement. Drawing also benefits from warming up before you begin.
How can I warm up for drawing?
Here’s a list of exercises you can try. Aim to do them for at least 15 to 20 minutes at the beginning of your drawin session.
A few important tips before you start:
Don’t rely solely on your wrist—try to draw using your whole arm! It might feel difficult at first, but with practice, you'll get used to the movement.
Use a fine liner or a ballpoint pen. Since these tools create permanent marks, they’ll help you develop precision and confidence over time.
Here are the exercises to warm-up:
Line Quality
Make two dots on your paper, about 2 or 3 inches apart.
Using a single, fluid motion, connect the dots with a straight line (you can ‘ghost’ the motion firts, moving your hand from one dot to the other without actually making the line, to practice).
Try to trace over the same line multiple times (around 5 or 6), each time aiming to match the original as closely as possible.
This exercise helps you build confidence and control in your line work.
Circles and Ovals
Pretty self-explanatory—fill a page with circles and ovals, but try to draw each one in a single, smooth movement. Don’t overthink it, and avoid scratchy lines. You can algo “ghost” your shape first. I also recommend going over each shape two or three times to refine it.
Try drawing circles and ovals of different sizes. At first, it might feel awkward or even intimidating to draw them in one motion, but trust me—this practice will help you tremendously when sketching other things.
Boxes
This exercise is, by far, the most tedious, but also the one I’ve benefited from the most.
Before I properly learned how to do this, I struggled with understanding three-dimensionality, perspective felt impossible, and grasping form and values was incredibly difficult. Cubes and boxes can feel intimidating, especially when you try to rotate them in space, but practicing them is extremely effective.
Fill a page with boxes in different angles and sizes. You can use an actual box to guide you The more you practice this, the better you’ll understand concepts like planes, perspective, and 3D shapes.
If you'd like me to cover how to draw boxes in more detail, let me know!
Cylinders
Another self-explanatory exercise. Drawing cylinders becomes much easier once you’ve practiced ovals, cubes and boxes since they share a similar structure. The key difference is that, instead of having four distinct planes, a cylinder consists of countless tiny planes that together create the illusion of a rounded shape.
Fill a page with cylinders—try drawing them in different sizes, lengths, and angles. This exercise will help you improve at drawing limbs in figure studies and rendering cylindrical objects in your artwork.
Organic 3D Forms
This is a technique I learned from a few Dynamic Sketching classes I took a while ago. Drawing organic shapes and then turning them into 3D forms is one of the most fun exercises I’ve come across. It’s also incredibly helpful for drawing human figures and designing characters with diverse body shapes because it forces you to think in three dimensions.
Here’s how it works:
Start by drawing an organic shape—any shape you like.
Now, imagine it as a 3D form, as if it were wrapped in strings or wires (a concept known as cross-contour).
Draw these imaginary wires across the form to define its three-dimensionality.
At first, this may seem challenging, but after practicing boxes and cylinders, it will feel much easier!
Gesture Drawing
This may be the most intimidating of them all, but it’s a great exercise for avoiding stiff figures—not just in humans, but also in animals and even inanimate objects. Think of gesture drawing as a river flowing through your subject, branching into smaller streams, each following the natural movement of the body. Sometimes, two or more "rivers" may cross, moving in different directions. When we draw gestures, we’re not focusing on details—we’re capturing that flow. Even static objects can have a sense of flow while standing still.
First, study your subject (using reference images of people in motion are the best in the beginning).
Imagine the main river of movement starting at the head, flowing through the torso, and branching into the limbs.
Draw only that movement—don’t worry about proportions, body shape, or facial features. Focus solely on the flow.
Fill a page with different gesture sketches from various references.
Practicing this will serve as a strong foundation for better figure drawing!
These are just a few exercises you can use to warm up. Try mixing them up from time to time, or focus on just one (lines and circles are great for quick warm-ups when you're short on time). If you make warming up a habit, you'll benefit greatly from it.
And now, you are ready for the next step in your practice! Here’s a list of things you can explore in your sketchbook after warming up, h:
Visual bank
Drawing in blobs
Value practice
Exaggeration and simplification
Figure drawing
Anatomy studies
Art studies
Character design iterations
Character spreads
Text + drawing
Practicing techniques
Concepts for drawings and stories
Feel free to use this list as a guide for your own practice. I recommend writing it down in your sketchbook so you can easily refer to it whenever you need inspiration. Over the next two weeks, I'll be diving deeper into each of these topics, but for now, why not try some of them throughout the week? If you do, let me know!
May your art haunt the ages, now and forever.
Until the raven calls again….Keep sketching!