Drawing is mostly seeing
How to practice seeing
“For the beginner, it would be extremely difficult (and probably counter productive) to try to juggle all these elements while drawing: line, tone, composition are so often employed unconsciously and eventually form an integrated whole. They are learned primarily through drawing and looking at drawings.” -Martin Salisbury
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Perspectives are modes of seeing the world.
Glasses.
You might need reading glasses to see things up close.
And another pair of glasses for everything else.
You could use a pair of sunglasses to keep glare out of your eyes.
Shoes.
Dress shoes could get you into a fancy dress event to provide one view of the world.
Hiking boots could get you up a hill for a wider perspective.
Trying on someone else’s shoes will give you a glimpse of their viewpoint.
Particular
While you may mix and match eye-ware and foot-ware. You can only put on one particular set at a time. Giving you one particular perspective and experience of the world.
If you’re always putting on the same perspective it can be highly comforting and limiting in the same measure.
Looking at drawings or drawing by looking give you very particular perspectives.
TenMinuteArtist Prompt:
Look Again
List ten things you’ve seen today, a piece of toast, your house keys, your mode of transport your cup of coffee etc.
Draw them from memory
Now draw them again with reference
Notice how little you saw the first time around 1
Drawing is seeing, a rule of thumb when drawing a subject 70-80% of your time should be spent looking at the subject and rest of the time looking down at your sketchbook.
To practice this try blind contour drawing, or drawing without looking at your paper.
Share this with the person in your life who wants to draw more
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You are reading part three in a series called Drawing for Illustration.
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Award winning illustrator Adam Ming draws lessons from creative legends, industry experts, and his own experience of rapidly breaking into international publishing from a third world country.
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This exercise is suggested by Martin Salisbury in his book Drawing for illustration
Yikes! I hate blind contour drawing. I sweat blood when I do it. As for the 10 things, the one that sticks in my memory is this: half a dozen black-eyed juncos sitting on the snowy lawn, waiting for me to put out the bird feeder, and scratching to find anything that might be hidden under the snow. So the reference isn't there any more, but the picture is vivid in my memory. All those little faces looking at me expectantly.
I love this explanation, especially this sentence: “If you’re always putting on the same perspective it can be highly comforting and limiting in the same measure.” I see drawing as necessary as handwriting.