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20241102172736-Principle_of_Observation

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Principle of Observation

From “Look Before You Leap¨ in Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner

[…] look carefully before drawing, and sustain long lines wherever possible. Digest the edge in front of you; don’t just glance and go. Give your eyes time to move along the edge of the object […]. Project the shape of that line from start to finish on your paper so you get a brief feel for starting point and destination. When you draw, you can follow the pattern of the line you’ve projected.

When starting a drawing, it is important to do the following (Garcia 2003, 24):

  1. Observe the object
  2. Digest the outermost to innermost longest horizontal or diagonal edges of the object seen, tracing and re-tracing them with one’s eyes
  3. Project the direction and curvature of that edge as a line, or as a shape it comprises, onto the surface being used–the projection should involve a mental simulation of the movement or motion required to draw it
  4. Draw following the pattern of the projected line or shape–make sure this line is made with “slow pressure; don’t lift your hand until it’s logical to do so¨

This is a dynamic, iterative process, and is better illustrated as a graph:

flowchart RL
A --> B --> C
D --> E --> A
C --> D
D --> C
A["Observe object"]
B["Digest edge"]
subgraph id1 ["subprocedure"]
C["Project edge"]
D["Simulate line"]
end
E["Draw"]

It can be surmised with the acronym ODPD.

If not sure where to begin with the object to be drawn:

From “Look Before You Leap¨ in Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner

Look for a long horizontal or diagonal line at the top of your object as a starting place.

art visual_art iteration loop perception psychology social_science drawing psychology_of_art observational_drawing observation hand-eye_coordination hand-eye_co-ordination aesthetics contour_drawing contour procedure algorithm projection

bibliography

  • Capp, Robbie, ed. “Look Before You Leap.” In Drawing for the Absolute and Utter Beginner, 24. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2003.

Graph View

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