Look Closely, Draw What You See!

Pick up any small object near you — a pencil, a shoe, a piece of fruit, or even your own hand. Stare at it for ten seconds. Now look away. Can you remember exactly what it looked like? Most of us think we know what things look like, but we often draw what we think is there instead of what is really there. Observational drawing is the skill of truly looking — and then drawing exactly what your eyes see.

Observational drawing means looking at a real object and drawing it from life — not from memory or imagination. Artists do this to practise seeing the world accurately. Here are four steps to help you draw what you see: 1. LOOK FIRST. Spend at least 30 seconds just looking at your object before your pencil touches the paper. Notice its overall shape — is it round, long, bumpy, or flat? 2. START WITH THE BIG SHAPE. Lightly sketch the main outline first. Do not worry about details yet. Ask yourself: 'What simple shape is the whole object closest to?' 3. ADD WHAT YOU NOTICE. Look again carefully. Are there smaller shapes inside? Are there edges, folds, veins, patterns, or textures? Draw those next. 4. KEEP LOOKING. Good observational artists look at their object more than they look at their paper. Try looking at the object, then drawing a small section, then looking again. One important rule: draw what your eyes see, not what your brain tells you. For example, your brain might say 'a leaf is green and oval'. But when you really look, you might see a long triangle with jagged edges and a pale line running down the middle. Trust your eyes!