Stuck on Drawing Your First Line? The T-Arrow Gives You the Direction.
1.4K views · 2026-10-18
Industrial Design
New to design sketching? Get the free Designer Starter Kit to learn the basics step by step: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/sign-up-and-receive-the-ebook-the-designer-starter-kit/
----
I’m Chou-Tac, a product designer from France.
Stuck on the blank page?
In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to drop your first line fast with the T-Arrow Technique. It’s a quick perspective method that sets your viewpoint and proportions before you draw a single detail. We build a truck from a ground plane, then a 3D box, then the features that make it recognizable.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro: why your first line is hard
1:08 What the T-Arrow is
2:34 Why the front face matters
7:37 Two levels: beginners and fast sketching
12:24 Step 1: Draw the T-Arrow
12:40 Step 2: Draw the side woosh lines
13:28 Step 3: Close the surface
14:15 Step 4: Elevate the box
15:00 Step 5: Close the box
15:40 Step 6: Draw the truck inside the box
18:00 Practice: more T-Arrows at different angles
23:50 Fast and dirty practice
25:22 Same method for a mouse
Read the full written guide with printable steps and FAQ: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/t-arrow-technique-first-line-product-sketch/
Pressure to be perfect? Read how to start drawing without it: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/how-to-start-sketching-without-pressure/
Beat the blank page: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/a-trick-to-beat-the-blank-page-syndrome-for-artists-and-designers/
Subscribe for weekly product design sketching tutorials.
BLOG: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/thedesignsketchbook
INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/thedesignsketchbook
----
I’m Chou-Tac, a product designer from France.
Stuck on the blank page?
In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to drop your first line fast with the T-Arrow Technique. It’s a quick perspective method that sets your viewpoint and proportions before you draw a single detail. We build a truck from a ground plane, then a 3D box, then the features that make it recognizable.
Chapters:
0:00 Intro: why your first line is hard
1:08 What the T-Arrow is
2:34 Why the front face matters
7:37 Two levels: beginners and fast sketching
12:24 Step 1: Draw the T-Arrow
12:40 Step 2: Draw the side woosh lines
13:28 Step 3: Close the surface
14:15 Step 4: Elevate the box
15:00 Step 5: Close the box
15:40 Step 6: Draw the truck inside the box
18:00 Practice: more T-Arrows at different angles
23:50 Fast and dirty practice
25:22 Same method for a mouse
Read the full written guide with printable steps and FAQ: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/t-arrow-technique-first-line-product-sketch/
Pressure to be perfect? Read how to start drawing without it: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/how-to-start-sketching-without-pressure/
Beat the blank page: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com/a-trick-to-beat-the-blank-page-syndrome-for-artists-and-designers/
Subscribe for weekly product design sketching tutorials.
BLOG: https://www.thedesignsketchbook.com
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/thedesignsketchbook
INSTAGRAM: http://www.instagram.com/thedesignsketchbook