Welcome to our next lesson. It is time to dive into my favorite topic: continuous lines. Before we start, there are three important rules to remember.

• Rule One: Look for simple shapes. You need to be confident in visualizing these shapes before you try to connect them all with one line.

• Rule Two: Your line needs texture. Always keep texture in mind alongside your basic shapes.

• Rule Three: Less is more. A continuous line sketch forces you to simplify because you simply cannot include every detail. This acts as a wonderful antidote to overworking your drawings.

Important Note: We will be coming back to this exact scene later in the workshop to create a full drawing! For now, just focus on these quick tracing thumbnails and build your confidence with the continuous line.

A practice routine

• For this lesson, you will need some baking paper, tracing paper, parchment paper (i.e. the stuff we almost all have in our kitchens for lining baking trays and cake tins). You can also use cheap office paper.

• You might print the reference photo, or simply use your brightly lit phone screen.

• Even more simply, use the 'mark up' function of your photos app to just sketch on top of the photo.

• We are going to trace the scene to help us understand how a continuous line moves. If none of these solutions work for you - then you can just do the same idea freehand, without tracing.

• If you are struggling - simply do this exercise freehand (more on this below) - in many ways you will learn more from this than tracing. The principles of the exercise are the same, and you can watch my video for a little guidance.

Tracing over your phone screen is a handy shortcut, but turning a sensitive touch screen into a makeshift lightbox can be pretty frustrating if you haven't done it before. I know I said this before... BUT ... If you are struggling - simply do this exercise freehand - in many ways you will learn more from this than tracing. The principles of the exercise are the same, and you can watch my video for a little guidance.

Ideally, and most simply, just print the reference photo. If you don't have easy access to a printer. Here is how to fix the common annoying issues so you can focus on your line work, along with some tips on how to handle the exercise freehand if you want to ditch the screen completely.

ALTERNATIVE ONE: Going freehand instead

If the phone setup feels like too much trouble, just drop the tech and try the freehand approach. Continuous line drawing is not about making a perfect replica, it is about teaching your brain to see how shapes connect.

• The 80/20 rule: Look at your reference image 80% of the time, and look down at your paper only 20% of the time.

• Keep your pen down: Once your pen touches the page, do not lift it up until you are finished. If you need to move to a new area, draw a path right through your existing shapes to get there.

• Embrace the shaky lines: Your proportions will probably look a little distorted without tracing, but that is exactly how it should be. Freehand continuous line drawings look wonderful because they are loose, expressive, and unique.

ALTERNATIVE TWO - digital traving using the built-in markup tool

How to use markup on an iPhone

• Open the photo: Go to your Photos app and select the reference image you want to sketch.

• Go to edit mode: Tap the Edit button in the top right corner of the screen.

• Open markup: Tap the small pen tip icon in the top right corner. This will bring up your drawing toolbar.

• Choose your tool: Select a pen, marker, or pencil from the bottom of the screen. You can tap the tool a second time to change the line thickness or adjust the opacity slider so your lines do not completely block out the photo underneath.

• Draw your line: Use your finger or a stylus to trace your continuous line directly over the image. When you are finished, tap Done in the top right corner to save your sketch to your camera roll.

How to use markup on an Android

• Select your image: Open your standard photo gallery and tap on the picture you want to use.

• Tap edit: Look for the edit button at the bottom of the screen, which usually looks like a pencil icon or a set of sliders.

• Find the drawing tool: Scroll through the options at the bottom until you see a tool labeled Markup, Doodle, or Draw.

• Pick your brush: Choose your preferred pen style and select a bright color that stands out clearly against your photo background.

• Trace your sketch: Draw your continuous line right on top of the screen. Once you are happy with the result, tap Apply and then Save to store the drawn-over image in your gallery.

ALTERNATIVE THREE - Setting up your phone as a lightbox

Stopping the paper from sliding

When your paper moves it can be a little annoying.

• The tape trick: Use a tiny piece of painter's tape or Washi tape to stick the top edge of your paper to the back of your phone case. If you only have regular clear tape, stick it to your clothes once or twice first to take away some of the stickiness so it does not leave a residue on your screen.

• The hand anchor: If you do not have tape, use your non-drawing hand to firmly pinch the top edge of the phone and paper together. You can rest the pinky of your drawing hand on the screen to help steady your position.

Managing a sensitive touch screen

Nothing ruins a drawing faster than accidentally zooming in 400% with your knuckle.

• Lock the screen: On an iPhone, turn on Guided Access in your accessibility settings. This lets you triple-click the power button to temporarily disable the touch screen entirely. On Android, look for App Pinning or a Screen Locker app in the store to freeze the screen while you draw.

The exercise:

Step One: Trace the silhouette, just the top line. Capture the shapes and textures along the very top edge of the scene without lifting your pen. Do not worry about being perfect. We can see this step as the top version on the photo below.

Step Two: Repeat step one, but this time, add a little more detail. Come down into the scene slightly and map out key landmarks or "anchor points," such as a large tree or a prominent tower. I have indicated on the second version below my 'anchor points' with little arrows. Remember to stop at the silhouette though, don't go further just yet...

Step Three: Repeat steps one and two, but now move into the middle of the scene. Use the anchor points you created to keep yourself on track. Use relative measurements and intersections (workshop 1) to figure out where the windows and smaller shapes sit relative to your anchors.

Step Four: Finally, trace the bottom line of the scene. Be very careful here. Cross-measure horizontally so you do not accidentally draw the bottom line too low or too high and lose the perspective of the entire sketch. It is really important to cross check both sides. To make sure that they align. Easy to miss the big picture if we focus down too much.

Step Five: Try it all over again! This time, focus on the connecting lines. Experiment with how you link the shapes. Some connections work well, like moving between windows. Others do not look as good, such as constantly tracing back and forth along a single roofline.

Celebrate the differences

As you repeat this tracing exercise, celebrate the differences between your versions. Ask yourself these questions:

• Does it matter if the sketch is not perfectly accurate?

• Does it matter if I leave a certain detail out?

• Where can I cross-check my anchor points?

• How can I creatively connect different elements?