Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Drawing Tip #3: Draw What You See

My Dad always told me, "draw what you see." Such a simple rule, but so complex in practice. I know, for example, what a hand looks like. However, I may not know what a foreshortened hand in a particular position looks like. Our brains try to insert what we think should be there. Don't let it. Don't think of it as a hand; instead of drawing a hand, draw the shapes that make up the hand. Value drawing is a good way of doing this. You draw contours of varying shades instead of objects. Look at the shapes the shadows make. And draw what you see.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Bob Hale used to say draw what you know is there - in other words - draw what you know must anatomically underlie the surface of the body structurally (foundations) - the physics of the skeleton must be addressed firstly, and then one can 'invent' the muscles and skin (which can be very different from male to female, but their skeletons are very similar; so much so you'de need to be an expert to tell which is which )as per your interpretation of what you see and what you want to say with it...

As you say tonal contrast and shading will certain add more or less interest to areas of your composition and subject - but the physics of their structure will tell the truth of a subjects 'reality' imo.

CONGRATS on a creating this very interesting blog...
7

Heather Ward said...

Thank you for the comment, 7. Yes, knowledge of the internal structure is crucial. I have found that drawing from life is an important step (for me, at least) to learn how the muscles and skin reflect light.

You have given me a great idea for a future post, thank you.