[Steve922]

As a beginner, I've been following a book called 'The new Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.' One of the earlier exercises is to sketch your (non-drawing) hand and contains the following instruction....

"About 90% of the time you should be looking at your hand." .... "Glance at the drawing only to monitor the pencil's recording of your perceptions." (page 109)

Is this really how it is done? If I don't look at my pencil as I draw the line, then when I do look to monitor it, the line is simply wrong. Am I misunderstanding something?

 

[AZACRYLIC]

Iv'e been doing art a long time, so let me say -First there're no rules, suggestions -like crazy.
I look at my pencil or brush to make sure its where i want otto be in relation to another mark.
Study the object for size and form, make some marks and see if they convey what you are seeing. Dark, Light big or whatever. You can't go wrong its just some marks.

 

[AZACRYLIC]

My error!

Opps -they are refferring to drawing your hand - of course your looking at that form and drawing it. Geese, sorry.

 

[Steve922]

I understand the 'advice' in the book to mean that at the instant of making the mark on the paper, your eyes should be on the object (in this case the hand being drawn) and not on the drawing, pencil or paper. The idea being to see as accurately as possible the detail on the object.

My problem is that if I'm not looking at the pencil/paper, the marks it makes do not look the same as the detail on the object I am seeing.

So my question was meant to be... at the instant you are making the marks on the paper, are your eyes looking at the mark being made or the object being drawn? The book says look at the object, not the mark you are making - unless I have misunderstood (see the quote in the OP.)

 

[DLeeG]

I understand the 'advice' in the book to mean that at the instant of making the mark on the paper, your eyes should be on the object (in this case the hand being drawn) and not on he drawing, pencil or paper. The idea being to see as accurately as possible the detail on the object.

This is the way that I understand it to be saying. I don't think that it is a deciding factor. I think that I do it but I also move my eyes to the paper I'm drawing on while I am still drawing. This is a generalization.

 

[AZACRYLIC]

DLeeG is correct, its a back and forth action. Try not looking at the marks as you draw, boy will you be surprised - could be great or could be belch!

 

[pencils]

For me it depends what Im doing...if it sketching then it`s back and forth, if I`m working on something from a photograph, then I pay a lot of attention to the lines as I`m drawing them to get proportions right then add shading and blending. In art school we did the drawing of the left hand using the right only we were not allowed to look at the paper. Someone once said of...think it was Monet...he drew with his eyes and saw with his hands, don`t ask me to explain that but there is no one correct way, you have to work at it and find what works best for you.

 

[HunnyBun]

Well.. there is no hard and fast rule, it basically depends on what you draw and how u draw..

 

[Nickie]

I say just do what works for you, try a couple of ways and see how you like it and how well you are able to concentrate.