Learn to Draw by Ignoring What You See
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Send to a friend by YMI am often asked which art instruction book is the best for teaching beginners to sketch. And my answer is always the same: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards. I believe everyone can draw - you just need to learn to unlock your abilities. And Edwards shows you how.
I am often asked which art instruction book is the best for teaching beginners to sketch. And my answer is always the same: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards.
This art instruction book has been around for years, and it is still one of the top sellers. That's because the techniques Edwards teaches are applicable to any sketching situation. She does not give you fixed rules about the distance between the eyes and nose, or the math involved in drawing perspective, or lessons on the anatomy of the eye. No, Edwards just teaches you how to sketch what you see, pure and simple.
Doesn't every art instruction book book teach you that? It sounds pretty easy, right? Well, it isn't. The reason is that there is a big difference between what you really see in front of you, and what your brain tells you that you are seeing.
Your brains tricks you by processing visual input to make it more understandable. For example, imagine you are looking at a table. Your brain tells you that the table is flat, because, well, that's what tables are. But your eyes are seeing an object in perspective, with slanted sides and a sloped top. Well, when you try to sketch a picture of that table, you will probably sketch a table with a flat top and straight sides. But your sketch will be wrong, because you will have ignored the perspective of your viewpoint.
Your brain plays a lot of perceptual tricks like that. Those tricks affect how you judge the size of things, their distances from one another, and their shading. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain illuminates those tricks, and teaches you how to ignore them. This is an art instruction book, but it is also something of a psychology book.
Ignoring your brain is definitely a skill that takes some practice, but Edwards provides a series of exercises that help you along the way. At first, they seem like art instruction for children (like tracing the shape of your hand as seen through a sheet of plastic), but they all help to break down the barrier between what you are really seeing, and what your brain tells you that you are seeing. If you have never tried these art exercises before, you need to give them a shot. I guarantee that you will be astounded at your abilities.
Once you learn to ignore what your brain tells you, and just draw what you see, you will be able to tackle any sketching challenge.
Below you will find two of Edwards' art instruction books: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, and a companion workbook with some exercises. You don't necessarily need the workbook, but it does provide some additional practice with Edward's techniques. Enjoy!
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