Practicing the Strokes

Well you can, but if you wish to make great artworks a primary prerequisite is a clean sketch. Whichever media is your choice: a sketch, water color, pastel oil paint you can not oversee the importance of a clean line drawing or under drawing. There are painters and professionals, you can argue who do not use any under drawing for their compositions, obviously I am not talking about those specific cases. Vast majority of professional painters do use a clean  under drawing as base for their compositions.And it’s crucial for cleaner drawing to be able to make steady strokes.

What kind of pencil strokes should I practice ?

Ideally you should be able to draw the clean straight and curved lines without waves and numerous tiny lines. To achieve the same you need to hold the pencil in the correct manner and place your hand on the surface in a proper way to get enough support, yet allow your hand freely to maintain a clean stroke.

Where Should I hold the Pencil?

For a greater control and support and ability to draw a clean underdrawing we should adopt a specific way of holding and supporting the pencil. following pictures will explain how to have a optimum combination. These are just some general guidance but it might differ from person to person based on their preference.