drawanyway.com

Here is a small thought for you, not unconnected to the post where I mentioned drawing to fill the page.

I suppose it’s about framing. Most of us these days are completely au fait with the idea of a zoom lens on a camera, and frame up our photos without thinking too much. Only the very naive photographer simply points their camera at, say, a group of friends, without making a decision about where to crop the picture - will it show their faces only, or their whole bodies? That common command to ’squeeze up so I can fit you all in’ is simply part of the same process.

But faced with a view, a still life, or an interior to draw, many people simply pick up their pen or brush and start drawing. They stop when they reach the edge of the paper.

It’ll benefit your picture greatly if you do a mental zoom before you draw. Sweeping vista? Pull back. One quirky detail that caught your eye? Zoom in on that. Decide precisely where the edges of the picture will be before you begin.

You know what? There’s a great ‘artistic type’ gesture you can do along with this one. Have you ever seen artists make a square with their index fingers and thumbs, and look through it? It might not help all that much, but it certainly makes you look like a pro.

Apologies; I’m using old images again, which is contrary to the drawanyway ethos… but I’m still dealing with coming back from holiday, preparing for work tomorrow, etc, etc..you know, one day I might just admit it and announce, ‘Actually, forget everything I’ve said. Sometimes you really don’t have time to draw’. But not quite yet.

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