Drawing what you see

One Hundred Nineteenth Post: Drawing what you see

I have been trying out some drawing exercises. In the first one the artist is to draw something from their room and having at least three pieces of furniture. Sounds easy, but I think it’s not. The trick is to draw what you see and if you do that you will maintain the proper perspective. But perspective is a funny thing, we all seem to have one of our own.

A simple drawing would have one point perspective. But depending upon the view there may be more perspective points. This creates a little drawing puzzle: if the artist is positioned still in the room, but moves their head does that throw off the perspective? Will someone looking at the picture see the picture as the artist saw it? Is the artist allowed to do this to show something from a view that couldn’t otherwise be seen?

You always see in cartoons and movies an artist or director forming a square with their hands. They do this trying to establish the best view. An artist works much like a camera drawing the room from his perspective. But the idea of turning the head around the room would change the camera and perspective. But sometimes on a drawing the artist can sometimes get away with changing the exact perspective to show something that would not otherwise be seen.

I am no master at perspective, but the first thing the drawer has to know is that when drawing an object you can’t see the entire object at once. To describe it in detail takes many drawing. This is true in artistic drawing as it is drafting. The trick is to know what is seen and what isn’t. Now that will change your perspective on drawing.