Stop looking at the paper. Seriously. If you want to get good at art, you have to stop obsessing over the white space in front of you and start obsessing over the thing you're actually trying to draw. Most people fail at easy contour line drawing because they’re trying to draw what they think a hand looks like, rather than the weird, shaky, organic edge of the hand that’s actually sitting there. It’s a mental glitch. Your brain is a shortcut machine, and it wants to replace reality with icons.
Drawing is just seeing. That’s it.
When you strip away shading, color, and perspective, you’re left with the "contour"—the outline and the internal edges that define a form. It sounds simple. It isn't. But it’s the most foundational skill you can develop if you ever want to move past stick figures or "kinda looks like a dog" sketches.
The big lie about easy contour line drawing
Everyone thinks "easy" means "looks perfect on the first try." That’s a total lie. In reality, easy contour line drawing is "easy" because the rules are minimal, not because the result is a masterpiece. You’re just following an edge. Think of it like a tiny ant crawling along the very rim of a coffee mug. The ant doesn't care about the "idea" of a mug; it just feels the curve.
We’ve all seen those hyper-realistic charcoal drawings on Instagram. They’re intimidating. But those artists started with simple lines. Kimon Nicolaïdes, who wrote the legendary book The Natural Way to Draw back in the 1940s, basically revolutionized this. He argued that you should draw with your sense of touch, even though you’re using your eyes. He wanted students to imagine their pencil was actually touching the object.
If you’re looking at your paper more than 50% of the time, you’re doing it wrong. You’re drawing a memory of the object, not the object itself.
Why blind contour is the secret sauce
There is a specific exercise called blind contour drawing. It is frustrating. You will hate the results at first. You look at your subject—let's say it's your own wrinkled sneaker—and you put your pen on the paper. Then, you move your eyes along the edges of the sneaker and move your pen at the exact same pace.
The catch? You cannot look at the paper.
Not even a peek.
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What happens? You end up with a mess of overlapping lines that looks like a drunken spider did a jig. But here’s the kicker: the proportions of the small details will often be more accurate than if you had stared at the page. Why? Because you bypassed the part of your brain that says "this is a shoe" and engaged the part that says "this is a jagged line that dips three millimeters."
Getting the equipment right (it’s cheaper than you think)
Don’t buy a $50 set of pencils. You don't need them for easy contour line drawing. Honestly, a cheap Bic ballpoint pen is often better than a fancy 2B graphite pencil. Why? Because you can’t erase pen.
Erasers are the enemy of progress in the beginning. They encourage you to "fix" things, which leads to "petting" the line—making those hairy, short, timid strokes that look like a fuzzy caterpillar. You want one continuous, confident, slightly wobbly line.
- Use a smooth paper like Bristol board or even just standard printer paper.
- Try a felt-tip pen (like a Micron or a Sharpie Pen) for a consistent line weight.
- Avoid pencils with hard lead (like 2H) because they dig into the paper and make you feel tense.
The difference between outline and contour
Most people use these terms interchangeably. They shouldn't. An outline is the silhouette. It’s the "cookie-cutter" shape of a person. A contour includes the inner edges too.
Think about a human face. The outline is the shape of the head and the hair. The contours are the edges of the nostrils, the crease of the eyelid, the line where the lips meet, and the shadow edge of the jaw. In easy contour line drawing, you aren't just tracing the outside. You’re mapping the landscape.
Betty Edwards, the author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, talks a lot about "R-mode" and "L-mode." The left brain wants to name things. "Eye." "Nose." "Ear." The right brain just sees "curved line," "dark spot," "negative space." Contour drawing forces you into that right-brain state. It’s almost meditative once you stop fighting the urge to make it look "good."
Tips for finding your flow
Don't start with a person. Faces are too high-stakes. Our brains are hardwired to spot tiny "errors" in faces. If a nose is two millimeters too long, your brain screams "UGLY!"
Start with a crumpled-up paper bag.
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It’s just a series of random, jagged lines. There is no "wrong" way for a crumpled bag to look. This lowers the performance anxiety. You can focus on the pressure of the pen and the speed of your eye.
- Pick an object with lots of texture. A pineapple, a succulent, or an old boot.
- Set a timer for five minutes.
- Slow down. Most beginners move their eyes way too fast.
- If the line goes off the edge of the paper, who cares? Keep going.
Cross-contour: The 3D upgrade
Once you’re comfortable with the basic easy contour line drawing, you’ll want to try cross-contours. These are the lines that "wrap" around the object. Imagine a person wearing a striped shirt. The stripes aren't flat; they curve over the chest and around the arms. Those stripes are cross-contour lines.
By drawing these imaginary "wireframe" lines across a form, you give it volume. You can turn a flat circle into a sphere just by adding a few curved lines that mimic the surface. It’s a trick used by industrial designers and concept artists to communicate shape without needing any shading at all.
Common pitfalls and how to dodge them
The biggest mistake? The "Hairy Line." This happens when you’re scared of making a mistake, so you make a hundred little tiny lines instead of one big one. It looks messy and lacks confidence.
Another one is "Closing the Loop." Just because you’re drawing a hand doesn't mean every line has to connect. Sometimes a contour just fades out where the light hits it. Sometimes two lines overlap. Let the lines be open. It’s more expressive.
Moving toward a "finished" look
Eventually, you’ll want your easy contour line drawing to look like "art" and not just a practice sketch. The secret here is line weight.
Vary how hard you press.
- Thick lines for things that are heavy, in shadow, or closer to the viewer.
- Thin lines for things that are delicate, in bright light, or farther away.
If you draw a rock with a very thick line at the bottom and a very thin line at the top, it immediately looks like it has weight and is sitting in a sunlit room. You didn't even have to pick up a shading stump.
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Actionable steps to start today
Don't wait for a "spark of inspiration." Just grab a pen. Right now.
Find your non-dominant hand. It’s the perfect subject because it’s always with you and it’s incredibly complex. Position it in a "claw" shape or something interesting.
Spend two minutes doing a "blind" contour. Remember: eyes on the hand, NOT the paper.
Spend three minutes doing a "modified" contour. You can look at the paper 10% of the time, just to check where your pen is, but spend the other 90% staring at those knuckles and fingernails.
Notice the wrinkles. Notice the way the skin folds at the joints. Don't draw "fingers." Draw the specific bumps and dips you see.
When you’re done, look at the two drawings. The blind one will be hilarious. The modified one will probably surprise you with how "alive" it feels compared to a stiff, calculated drawing. This is the path to becoming an artist. It’s not about talent; it’s about training your eyes to stop lying to you.
The more you practice these easy contour line drawing techniques, the more you realize that the world isn't made of "things." It’s made of edges, intersections, and beautiful, sweeping lines. Once you see that, you can draw anything. Get a cheap sketchbook. Keep it in your bag. Draw the person sitting across from you on the bus. Draw your coffee cup. Draw the tree outside your window. Just keep the pen moving and keep your eyes off the page. Confidence follows the pen; it doesn't lead it.