Observational Drawing Workout

Learning to see like an artist!

Emily Valenza 2014

Learning to SEE

Too often, when we try to draw, we

are attempting to remember what

something looks like, or draw a symbol

of it, rather than actually LOOKING!

These workouts will train you to see

in a more effective and active way that

will super-charge your drawing skills!

Air Drawing

● Create an imaginary drawing in the air before

drawing on paper.

● Point with a pencil, finger, or even the nose to

the subject and do a careful imaginary drawing in

the air.

● Air practice is simply pointing to edge of the

object and drawing slowly in the air.

● Draw invisibly on paper with only a finger before

using a pencil.

● Looking carefully means following the contour

slowly--about as fast as an ant could crawl along

the edge.

Kinesthetic practice to observe more carefully before drawing

Blind Contour Drawing

● Look carefully at the contours of your subject- try an

air drawing first!

● Arrange your paper and drawing surface so

everything is stable- tape paper to the table if needed

● Looking ONLY at your subject, draw the outside edge

of your subject without letting your pen or pencil lift

from the paper.

● Use a “blinder” on your pen if you are tempted to

peek!

● Loop your line around to reach areas that might be

difficult to reach.

practicing more careful observation by drawing without looking at your paper

Blind Contour Drawing Examples

Contour Drawing

● This is blind contour drawing with only a little

peeking allowed (no erasing!)

● Look carefully at the contours of your

subject- try an air drawing first!

● While looking MOSTLY at your subject, draw

the outside edge of your subject without

letting your pen or pencil lift from the paper.

● Loop your line around to draw areas that might

be difficult to reach within the outside edges.

● Check out the video to the right to see this

process in action ->

drawing with one continuous line, focusing on edges

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL3LiR_pvsU

Upside-Down Drawing

● This process allows you to focus on observing each line and shape,

rather than the finished drawing or shapes you recognize

● Print this Picasso drawing or use an image of your own choosing

● While viewing the original upside down, begin recording lines you see

● This can get tricky! Avoid naming parts that you recognize, try to

focus only on the lines and shapes you see

Removing our previous understanding of images to observe them objectively

Negative Space Drawing

● Draw a contour edge of the

negative space shapes you see.

● Fill these shapes in with a darker

tone, so that the positive space

shapes remain white.

● Look carefully to make sure you

are observing the actual shapes

you see, not the ones you assume

you might see.

learning to observe the spaces around and between objects in order to observe more accurately

Viewfinders & Camera Obscura● Artists used camera obscuras to understand how to

replicate the 3-D world in a flat picture plane

● Viewfinders allow artists to translate images using a

grid system

● We can use simplified versions of these tools to

more easily understand visual information, too

● Try laminating a frame of paper to make a drawing

screen & viewfinder like the one in the upper left

photo

● Practice finding contours with a dry-erase marker

Two-Handed Drawing

● Choose two different pencils or pens

● Put one in each hand

● Without thinking too much, try drawing

with both hands at once

● What happens?

● What do you notice?

● Make some designs

● Draw some shapes

Highlight Drawing

● Use a dark or black piece of paper

● Record only the highlights you see with

white pastel, colored pencil or crayon

Shadow Drawing● Use a light piece of paper

● DO NOT use lines, just shapes of shading

● Record only the shadows you see with a

dark pencil, charcoal or crayon

Highlight & Shadow Drawing

● Use a mid-tone piece of paper

● Record highlights with white

pastel, chalk or colored pencil

● Record shadows with black

● DO NOT use any lines- just

shapes of highlight and

shadow!

Reflection:● Which of these techniques was most

difficult for you?

● Which technique felt the most natural?

● What did you learn from practicing these

techniques?

● How might you observe differently in the

future?