There is a kind of carefree sketching that people tend to do when drawing in a sketchbook. It’s often hit or miss, but there is a charm and an energy to it that we tend to try and capture in finished illustrations.
Then, there is a rigid educated style, that we normally call, ’our style’, these are more carefully made choices based on our idea of what a good illustration should look like.
You might call the first type of drawing observation mode and illustration mode.
, was the first person I know to refer to these two modes of drawing. He named them O-Mode(observation Mode) and I-Mode(imagination mode).
He put a name to a process I already found myself doing naturally.
O-Mode: is the kind of drawing you do when you are drawing to see. You are downloading information into your brain. Drawing from life or reference. The drawings you make in this mode are not art, they are more like a kind of science. It’s a figuring out.
When I do observational drawing, I’m not looking to complete a drawing, I’m looking to understand, I draw the reference with the intention to understand, often correcting details, or doing multiple drawings of the same thing.
I’m downloading what I see into my head and into my hand.
I-Mode: is then drawing from imagination, you don’t need to do any O-Mode drawings to draw in I-Mode, but a few quick studies (O-Mode Drawings) will dramatically improve your imaginative or illustrative drawings.
These are the two drawing modes toy you would do well to to think about. And you could see them as a process. Study your subjects with O-Mode and interprate them using the stored visual knowledge from your head and hand, to create your illustration.
I would consider this class a requirement for all aspiring illustrators.
TEN MINUTE ARTIST PROMPT
Drawing in two modes.
Step 1:
Pick a subject matter and collect 3 reference images, perhaps an owl, a fir tree or a mug. 3 Reference of the same subject. I provided 3 Mugs that you can use for starters.
Step 2.
Draw each of the references while observing them
Step 3.
Put away the references, and now draw the subject from memory 3 times. Circle your favoutite.
People say the work you show is the tip of the iceberg. There is a mounting of work that goes without notice. Now you have a process for drawing anything better! By using observation on your natural drawing tendencies as the foundation for your imaginative work.
I see building an illustration practice as building a process that produces an outcome, if you don’t have a process consider starting with this one. And once you’re comfortable modify the steps to suite you. Many illustrators have some version of this process of drawing in two modes.
This series is free — but for paid subscribers I have this thing called ‘Breakthrough” where I share my approach to some of the bigger challenges creatives face.
Nice post, Adam! I like your drawing practice, I will give it a try.
Hi Adam, I just joined. Is the gallery in the chat?