It seems to be a quite common problem - equally amongst experienced and young artists: trembling arms. My personal opinion: maybe one half of us suffered problems with their hands trembling too seriously for sketching at least one time.

Therefore i did this collection of guidelines on how to defeat your trembling arms or even how to get accustomed to it, if it can't be stopped.

Although I have to say this first: when you have trembling arms often and have not done so previously: go and see a doctor!

Often trembling arms are absolutely nothing additional sleep and cutting down on caffeine can not mend (later more on this). However trembling arms can also be the symptom of a number of serious illnesses that require qualified medication.

Having said that, let's consider some natural remedies for trembling arms. Obviously it's always a great idea to live more healthy.

First reduce your coffee usage. And also do the same for drinks that contain caffeine for example cola.

Then always make sure you get enough rest. Depending on your actual constitution eight hours each day are a excellent rule of thumb. Additionally a brief nap right after lunch can work like a charm, too!

I know you don't consume a lot alcohol since this may worsen your trembling, as well. Merely for the sake of completeness: drink alcohol very rarely and moderately.

Perhaps this is a somewhat unexpected discovery for you: shaking arms can be the reaction of a excessive sugar consumption (often in conjunction with an excess of caffeine). Consequently substitute the sugar with more healthy food like fruits and vegetables.

And then it helps you if you get more active. This can be frequent workout routines as well as joining your neighborhood sports club and getting lengthier walks in the neighborhood.

Also a low level of Magnesium can cause muscle tightness leading to trembling arms. A tell tale sign is when you get hic-ups or cramps. Therefore make sure to consume ample veggies as well as salad daily to ensure you have more magnesium.

And then in case you are under medication this might be a factor, as well. In this case - again: consult your physician. He might offer an idea how to adjust your medication to reduce the trembling.

But what if you can't lessen the trembling enough to sketch without having troubles?

Then you can definitely apply all these methods to sketch regardless of trembling arms:

To start with you can find in any nicely outfitted art supply store what are known as drawing 'brigdes' - these are typically little bridge shaped shelves made out of wood or acrylic. You position them over your drawing so that you can rest your arm and stabilize your hand. The downside: you can't do those long and sweeping motions in exchange.

Second you can cultivate your drawing style in a way so you don't need to sketch delicate aspects with great accuracy. Therefore you learn to get a looser more flowing and more forgiving style.

Ultimately it is possible to think about making use of stencils, french curves and rulers.

But most important: do not get discouraged. Just imagine: old Charles M. Schulz (creator of Charlie Brown and Snoopy) had Parkinson. Nevertheless he was able to adapt and compensate the trembling so he didn't stop drawing his comic strips till he retired (at age 77!).