Why Your Art Looks Like "Chicken Scratch" 🐔

Stop "petting" the line. It's time to commit.

Author

brooks kim
November 25, 2025

Hi, Brooks here. 👋

Today, I want to give you some "tough love."

I’ve been looking at a lot of beginner sketches lately, and I see the same problem over and over again. The drawing isn't bad, but it looks… messy. Unsure.

We call this "Chicken Scratch."

🛑 Stop "Petting" the Line

Look closely at your latest sketch. Are you drawing one confident line? Or are you drawing twenty tiny, short lines overlapping each other to find the shape?

It looks like you are petting a cat rather than drawing a line.

We do this because we are afraid. "What if I get the angle wrong?""What if I ruin the page?"

So you hesitate. You scratch. You pet the line. The result? Your drawing loses energy. It looks stiff and muddy because your fear is visible on the paper.

Fear vs. Confidence.

The Cure: The "Ghosting" Method 👻

A clean line doesn't come from a steady hand. It comes from a steady mind. Here is how I fixed my chicken scratch habit using "Ghosting":

  1. Hover: Lift your pen about 1cm off the paper.

  2. Rehearse: Move your arm (not your wrist!) in the motion of the line you want to draw. Do this 2 or 3 times in the air.

  3. Commit: When you feel the rhythm, lower your pen and draw the line in one single stroke.

If you miss the mark? Leave it. A confident line that is slightly off is 100 times better than a "correct" line made of chicken scratch.

Ghosting in Action: 1 & 2. Rehearse the stroke in the air without touching the screen to find the rhythm. 3. When ready, commit and draw the line in one single motion.

This Week's Challenge

Throw away your eraser. Seriously, put it in another room. Draw something simple—a cup, a fruit, or a face—using only continuous lines. If you make a mistake, do not correct it. Just keep going.

🎨 My Personal Toolkit

While confidence comes from within, having the right tools helps the flow. These are the custom brushes I created and use every day:

  • Brooks' Sketch Brush Set: Designed to mimic the texture and response of real graphite. Perfect for practicing your dynamic lines.

  • Color Flow Brush Set: My go-to brushes for adding life and color once the sketch is done.

Coming Up Next: Drawing Note ✍️

In the next newsletter, I will open my sketchbook and show you exactly how I apply this "Ghosting" technique in a real drawing. I’ll share the process of how I control my lines to create clean, dynamic edges.

Until then, stop petting the line.

Brooks Connect with me on Instagram: @9brookskim