Artist ergonomics: back, wrist, and eyes in good shape

The workspace

Setting up the place is the cheapest prevention there is. One rule: fit the desk to you, not yourself to the desk.

Desk and chair height

Sit so your feet rest flat on the floor and your knees are at a right angle. Keep your elbows near 90 degrees while you work, with your forearms at the height of the desktop. If the chair is a bit low, add a firm cushion. If it is a bit high, put a box under your feet.

Tablet and screen angle

Place the tablet straight in front of you, centered, with no twist. Set a pen display at 25–35 degrees, like a drafting board. Calibration details are in the guide on how to set up a graphics tablet.

Light with no glare

Light should come from the side. A window behind the monitor washes the screen out. A window behind you puts a glare on it. Eyes tire fastest in a dark room with one bright screen: turn on a small lamp behind the monitor.

Hand and forearm

The hand is an artist's most vulnerable spot, because small motions repeat for hours. You can unload it by moving the work onto larger muscles.

Draw from the shoulder

Draw long lines from the shoulder and elbow, with the wrist barely bending. Save the fingers for small details and hatching. The same technique makes the line straighter. The mechanics are covered in the article on how to draw straight lines.

Support and a neutral angle

Your forearm should rest on the desk, not hang in the air. Keep the wrist neutral: no sharp bend upward, and no twist to the side. Do not grip the stylus hard. The hold should be loose enough that someone could pull it from your hand with two fingers.

Signs of carpal tunnel

It helps to know the warning signs ahead of time:

• tingling or numbness in the thumb, index finger, and middle finger;
• pain in the hand at night or in the morning;
• a weak feeling, with objects slipping out of your hand;
• pain that travels from the hand up into the forearm.

If that keeps happening for more than two weeks, do not diagnose it from the internet. See a doctor.

Back and neck

Your back suffers from holding one pose for hours, not from drawing itself. Your body asks for movement about every half hour.

Screen at eye level

Keep the top edge of the monitor at eye level or slightly below, about an arm's length away. Then your head does not tip forward and your neck does not tire. A laptop almost always sits too low: put it on books and plug in a separate keyboard.

Change position every 30 minutes

Set a timer for 30 minutes and change position when it rings: stand up, stretch, walk to the kitchen. A minute and a half is enough. How to fit pauses like that into a long session is shown in the piece on drawing every day without burnout.

Your eyes

Eyes tire because focus stays at one distance for hours, and we almost forget to blink at a screen. The fix is shifting your gaze, not eye drops you reach for out of habit.

The 20-20-20 rule

Every 20 minutes, look for 20 seconds at something about 20 feet (6 meters) away, out a window or down the hall. Blink on purpose ten times while you do it. The trick sounds dull, but by evening the difference is obvious.

Screen brightness and contrast

Match the brightness to the room. A simple check: a white sheet of paper next to the screen should look as bright as the white canvas in the editor. In the evening, turn on warm light, but do not pick exact colors under it.

One-minute stretches

A stretch belongs with the break, not instead of it. Do every movement slowly and without pain. The goal is to get mobility back, not to stretch to the limit.

Hands and fingers

1. Make a fist and open it 10 times, without rushing.
2. Circle your wrists both ways, 10 times each.
3. Gently pull the hand toward you and away from you, 15 seconds each.
4. Spread your fingers like a fan and relax them, 10 repeats.

Shoulders and neck

Lift your shoulders toward your ears, hold for two seconds, and drop them. Do that eight times. Then slowly tilt your head toward the right shoulder and the left, 15 seconds a side. Skip sharp head circles.

Your back

Stand up, raise your arms, and stretch your whole body the way you do after sleep. Then draw your shoulder blades together as if you were holding a pencil between them, and hold for five seconds. Three repeats are enough. Device size also changes how you sit. There is a guide to graphics tablets for beginners on that.

Time to draw, not just read

Theory fades in a couple of days if you never use it. Open the editor and spend 15 minutes on what you just read. That is enough for the skill to stick.

Topics in this guide

• artist ergonomics
• back pain from drawing
• carpal tunnel
• eye exercises for artists
• how to sit at a drawing tablet

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