Confident Straight, Curved, and Tapered Strokes

Welcome back. In the previous lesson, you set up a predictable brush and learned what pressure sensitivity and stabilization can—and cannot—do. Now you’ll use that setup to make three kinds of marks: straight lines, flowing curves, and tapered strokes. The focus is on deciding where a mark goes, rehearsing its movement, and then drawing it without steering anxiously halfway through. Allow about 40 minutes, including time to draw in Ibis Paint.

Give each stroke a plan

A confident line is not necessarily a line that hits its target perfectly. It is a line made with a clear intention and a continuous motion. If you slow almost to a stop to correct its path, the correction often shows up as a wobble. It is more useful to separate deciding where to go from making the mark.

Drawabox calls this the ghosting method. Read its three stages—planning, preparation, and execution—along with its short explanations of overshooting and wobble.

On a touchscreen, “ghosting” means moving the stylus just above the screen along the intended path without making a mark. Rehearse the full stroke a few times at roughly the speed you intend to draw it. Then make contact and repeat that movement. If the rehearsal feels awkward, change your position or rotate the canvas before committing.

Use your arm according to the scale of the mark. The fingers and wrist can handle tiny details, but a longer line or broad curve usually flows more steadily when the elbow and shoulder participate. This does not mean locking your wrist or holding your shoulder rigid. Keep your grip comfortable and let the joints work together.

Straight lines: move through the target

Start with a simple test canvas and the brush you chose last lesson. Keep its size and stabilization unchanged during this session so you can tell what your hand is doing. Place two small dots, ghost the path between them, and draw one stroke from the first toward the second. Watch the destination rather than repeatedly checking the stylus tip.

Proko’s 6 Habits for Good Line Quality demonstrates why pace and drawing direction matter. Watch the selected portions now; the final portion introduces the simple curves you’ll use next.

Follow through does not mean drawing past the endpoint. Keep the motion flowing, but lift the stylus when it reaches the second dot; your hand can continue moving after contact ends. If you routinely miss the dot, adjust your rehearsal or pace on the next attempt rather than braking abruptly during this one.

Spend a few minutes connecting pairs of dots at different distances and angles. Rotate the canvas for directions that make your hand twist uncomfortably. Leave each result as a single line: drawing a second, scratchy line over it hides the movement you are trying to develop.

Curves: change direction without stopping

A straight line asks your arm to maintain a direction. A curve asks it to change direction continuously. Begin with a C-curve: mark a start and end, then imagine the bulge between them. Ghost that whole route before touching the screen. For an S-curve, imagine where the bend changes from one side to the other; pass smoothly through that transition rather than making a sharp corner.

Try a few broad C-curves and S-curves, followed by smaller ones. Keep a pace that lets you follow the intended path without tracing it laboriously. A larger curve may use more shoulder and elbow movement; a small bend may need some wrist movement as well. If an angle feels unnatural, rotate the canvas and try the same shape again.

Later, character contours will rarely be one perfectly simple curve. You can build a complex edge from a few purposeful straight, C-, and S-shaped strokes instead of forcing every change of direction into one long mark. For now, concentrate on giving each component a clear path and an uninterrupted motion.

Tapered strokes: change width on purpose

A tapered stroke narrows toward an end; it may narrow at both ends and be heavier in the middle. Tapers can give a curve a sense of movement and let neighboring strokes meet without blunt, conspicuous joins. Watch Proko demonstrate the mark and show how several such marks can form a longer contour.

On a pressure-sensitive stylus, try a single gentle curve while varying pressure, not the planned path: touch lightly, press somewhat more through the middle, then ease off before lifting. Ghost the curve first so that thinking about its width does not make its direction hesitant. Try the reverse emphasis too—a light beginning that grows heavier toward the end.

If your device does not sense pressure, moving or lifting faster with a constant-width digital brush will not, by itself, create a true width taper. You can use the brush’s start/end thickness or Force Fade controls from the previous lesson to shape the tips, then practise making the underlying movement smooth. Keep that distinction clear: the setting creates the width change; your hand controls the path and where the mark begins and ends.

Make a few tapered straight strokes and a few tapered C-curves. Then try joining two curves into one longer contour, letting their narrow ends meet or overlap slightly. Aim for a readable edge rather than an invisible join.

What to carry forward

You now have a repeatable approach for all three marks: choose the path, rehearse the full movement, and commit at a manageable pace. Longer strokes benefit from comfortable arm movement and canvas rotation; curves need a continuous change of direction; tapers add an intentional change in width. An inaccurate but smooth attempt gives you useful information for the next stroke—there is no need to repair every mark as you go.

Next, you’ll apply this control to ellipses and repeated shapes, where maintaining a flowing motion becomes especially important.