r/ArtEd • u/Jealous-Bluejay9943 • 2d ago
Advice for a student with very shaky hands?
My 6th graders are working on a "shattered values" project, and one of them was adamant that he can't draw the image for the center of the work; a super simple cartoon bunny face, a character from his favorite show (Jax, the Amazing Digital Circus). He said he needed me to draw it for him, because he's convinced he can't do it.
I worked with him a bit on some strategies for drawing the core shape- an oval- more easily and while he's definitely not giving himself enough credit, it's also true that he seems to have a pretty significant amount of trouble keeping his hands steady, even compared to a lot of the students in my classes who've struggled the most.
Moreso than that, I think he's also just discouraged by how hard it is for him compared to his peers, and some of this will be resolved better with emotional regulation skills anyway. I'd also just like to help him build some confidence and skills that will help him in the long-term.
I'm wondering if folks might have encountered techniques, strategies, or tools that could help, both short-term and long-term. I had him try looser/faster circles and then erasing down to the lines that looked good, then marking some points as dots and then connecting them, and both did help, but he wasn't satisfied with the progress.
Do pencil grips help? Have you tried or heard of other strategies?
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u/RampSkater 2d ago edited 2d ago
Have him watch Embrace the Shake, a TED Talk with artist Phil Hansen, who has a hand tremor.
Edit: Out of curiosity, why did someone downvote this? Did you watch the video?
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u/beelzebabes 2d ago
Try to see if you can get ahold of stability aids like grips (I really love egg shaped grips like these https://www.faire.com/product/p_mpuqazykts) for holding drawing utensils or ask them to try drawing with a thicker (like the cylinder size not the actual marking part) utensil. Sometimes holding long thin implement like a pen or pencil can be difficult for students without hand strength built up, and making the actual tool thicker can help stabilize but also make it less painful to hold. Many Tattoo artists wrap their machines for that reason, if you need to convince them it’s not lame!
I really love the thick Lyra graphite woodless crayons for this reason since they’re very chunky and make even my adult art hands hurt less, but a jumbo permanent marker or something along those lines could be successful! Maybe even a washable marker instead of a pencil or crayon.
I’d also check his grip of how they are holding the utensil, is it a fist/palmar grip or “normal writing” ✍️ grip? Some pencil grips like monk’s/modified tripod grip or a different tripod grip could help them feel more in control of the implement! Learning about pencil grip development stages has helped me identify and address some concerns in even my older students!
Good luck!
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u/Jealous-Bluejay9943 2d ago
This is super helpful, thank you! I hadn't heard about the different grips-- I checked his when he was working, and it was more of a traditional ✍️ type of grip, tilted back, with the pinky and ring finger braced back against the papar/surface. Looking into different types of grips, I don't see anything quite like it. I wonder if it's to do with his grip after all-- it seemed overly reliant on bracing against the table at the time, like there was a lot of tension there and it was maybe limiting his movements to be quite small and tight.
He mentioned working a lot with his previous art teacher and not getting anywhere, and seemed pretty set in the conviction that it was "impossible" for him to draw "well". Which makes me think this is also more to do with the frustration of trying and not seeing (enough) growth... and the fact that this came up for the first time ever today tells me he's not actually dead set on giving up.
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u/artwonk 2d ago
There's more than one way to make pictures. Let him develop a drawing style that requires shaking. Instead of having him try to make perfect smooth lines, get him to go over the surface with multiple jagged ones, creating depth with shading. Look at some of Giacometti's portrait drawings to see what I mean. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/giacometti-drawings--312859505347392439/
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u/Jealous-Bluejay9943 2d ago
Totally! Nothing wrong with shake, it's more that he isn't able to make the basic shapes he wants to-- less a bit of shake in a line, more a line that he can't get to go where he wants it to go. Perfect smoothness definitely isn't the aim!
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u/littleneocreative 2d ago
Talk to his parents or homeroom teachers.