
It's fine if you wish to erase.Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Contour Drawing Ideas () Contour Drawing Ideasīlind Contour Drawing: This is arguably the most popular type of contour technique and refers to line drawings that you undertake without looking at your paper as you draw. You can start anywhere on your page that you feel comfortable with. When your confidence builds, you won't even notice the whole picture, you will only be seeing the lines you are copying.Ĭopy the picture just as you see it and don't be tempted to turn it the right side up at any time. You'll only need to do this once or twice. Tip: If you feel confused by a large picture, try placing paper over the picture and just reveal one portion at a time. You will most likely notice the calmness that takes over your entire being and that means you are using the artistic (right) side of your brain. Your academic brain doesn't recognize what it is you are portraying, so it hands the job over to the artistic side of your brain.Īhh, pure peace reigns. When you draw upside down, try to take notice of how your mind 'turns off'. If I happened to produce a failure, I wasn't deterred by that because I knew I could draw - I had already proven it with the Pablo Picasso experiment above! You can do this too, try it for yourself. Why? Well, it gave me the confidence that I Ok, my interpretation isn't great but it resembles the original sketch! It is still exciting!Īt a time when I seriously doubted I'd ever be able to draw, the upside down drawing experiment was the starting point of my artistic adventure. When I finished this upside down drawing, I turned my paper the right way up. The Geisha Girl drawing is one that I have practiced with - I always look for images with simple lines so I can turn it upside down and see what I produce.

I didn't do that, I thought it was easier to just focus on the line with no other distractions. Negative space is the area around the object that you are interested in depicting. Negative space automatically plays a part because of the squares and rectangles that are present in the picture and you canĬhoose to draw that shape rather than the lines of the subject. When you concentrate on the distance of the lines to the border and their relation to each other, the image develops by itself. Keep your mind purposely blank and refuse to try to identify what you are portraying. It's your choice where you start so choose top or bottom whichever is your preference. When you start copying, focus only on lines and their direction or angle. It really helps to place a border on your paper with the same measurements as the picture so do this one step before you begin. It was the first upside down drawing that I ever did and not only did I enjoy it, but the encouragement I derived from this exercise ultimately introduced this artistic hobby into my life. It's not correct in proportion but, I can tell you, I was over the moon with the outcome of this exercise! Remember, at that time, I thought I'd never be able to draw properly.Īuthor Betty wisely chose the Picasso drawing because all the lines join together and they form a type of jigsaw puzzle. Of course, I have turned it right side up for viewing. The image on the right is my first attempt at copying that sketch upside down.

Sketch of the 'Portrait of Igor Stravinsky.' In the Betty Edwards art book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty provides an upside down Pablo Picasso Nothing gave me more of a thrill than to finish up with a good reproduction when (in my heart) When I was learning to draw, one of the things I enjoyed the most was the different methods available for trainee artists.


Upside down drawing is a fascinating study of learning to see the way an artist sees, while not actually identifying what you are depicting or seeing.
