Drawing Tip #6: Fingerprints

When I started reading about making good drawings, one thing that was repeated was not to touch the paper. Yeah, right, I said. If I wash my hands before I sit down to draw (or even if I don't), I can't have enough oil on my fingers to alter a drawing. I live in the high desert, my hands are dry. I can understand not using your fingers to blend, but just holding the paper can't do much. Well, I'm here to say that a little handling of paper can do a lot of damage, especially if you're trying to get the area a nice even, solid shade. See what happened to the edge of my one of my drawings. So let me tell you first-hand, try not to touch the surface of the paper with your bare hands.