After two nights straight of livestreaming 4-6 hours my wrist is feeling a little fatigued in a simple matter of even writing. Currently I'm wearing an Ace Bandage makeshift brace to restrict the movement of my wrist while I work so I won't aggravate it.

That being said I remember talking with a watcher about Carpal Tunnel and how it's often caused by how an artist draws with their wrist. A long time ago I had trained myself to mainly use my fingers and elbow/arm to do most of the line work, and the wrist only to continue broad sweeping strokes as well as keeping my wrist relatively straight with the rest of my arm with a give of 15 degrees either direction roughly. However, I've heard this is not a case with those that frequently suffer Carpal Tunnel symptoms due to the manner of which they draw both traditionally and digitally. Most people I've spoken with draw in a manner called Artists Claw - where the wrist is at an extreme wrap-around angle to the drawing in a manner that pinches the nerve on the underside of the wrist (one person I heard even draws with their hand almost 90 degrees to their arm o_O )

It doesn't matter whether it's digital art or traditional art, all artists, particularly the 'younger' ones learning drawing techniques, are at risk of Carpal Tunnel and related inflictions of the hand and wrist at some point due to the methods they draw with their hands. And as we all know - our hands are our links between mind and finished product, take that away and we're screwed.

With that in mind I propose a little experiment for you to try that's easy to do and can be done with home-found materials - all you need is an Ace Bandage (cloth bandage that you wrap around a joint to restrict movement or keep gauze in place). The purpose of this little experiment should be to learn just how much you use your wrist to compensate for your finger and arm movements, and if you decide to go farther - help retrain how you draw. Ergonomics in action!

There are two ways you can 'bind' your wrist:

Method 1 - you simply wrap the bandage up to the wrist and a little over the hand - putting a few extra layers over the wrist area to create resistance, then use the clips to secure it in place. The bandage should be firmly wrapped but not tight - won't do you any good cutting off circulation!

Method 2 - similar as method 1 - but on the last few passes, bring the cloth across the palm and around the webbing between the thumb and index finger once - a little awkward to work with like this, but it also has the similar effect - again, bandage should be firm but not tight!

Now, with your makeshift brace/restrictor, try and draw like you normally do! You should find it difficult to draw with your wrist bent far for long periods of time as the elasticity of the bandage wants to pull the wrist back into a straight position. If you find you are able to bend and keep your wrist bent easily past roughly 20 degrees - then there aren't enough layers over the wrist to restrict it.

Ideally, I find that using my fingers to do the same lines as the wrist can helps improve line quality and allows better control of the utensil. Using my arms for most of my larger lines also has the same effects of steadiness. In all my years of drawing like this I've only experienced two instances of wrist fatigue, and both were work -related (I had worked at the register 8 hours last night so my hands were already tired from typing prior to drawing).

Give it a try and let me know what you find out!