What is a Contour Drawing

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In this video I explain what a contour drawing is, how to make a contour drawing and also why it will ramp up your drawing skills fast! Plus, I also talk about how to make a blind contour drawing. Blind drawing is probably the best way to drop into a pure drawing mode, and so if you are interested, stay tuned. I also talk about what i think makes a good / versus bad drawing.
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25 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 86

@ryanclemons1 2 года назад

good video but i don't understand what you mean at 1:05?

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

What you see as an "edge" is not actually an edge, it's just our perception of an edge. So, if you are drawing this perceived edge, it helps to have in mind that the form continues on behind what we see as the limit. It's just a conceptual thing to keep in mind. Most people don't think about this and that can often become evident in their drawings, and make their drawings look way to "outlined" - they draw a thick heavy line all around the outer edge like some sort of boundary, and it just makes a drawing extremely flat and 2 dimensional. So..... hope this makes sense, it's a really subtle point, and if you want further clarification let me know.

@lyucii822 7 месяцев назад

@@Drawing-Lifeagree

@sylvainst-pierre8725 Год назад

'....what makes a good drawing or a beautiful drawing, is one that is beautifully observed '' i love that phrase. It will have great impact on my drawings. Thanks again.

@barbarajohnson1442 Год назад

Thanks for acknowledging the beauty of blind contour!!!

@fallingalice2601 9 месяцев назад

I'm a writer. I've been a professional writer for nearly 30 years now. I've taken up visual arts for a number of reasons. The first and most important reason is to get out of my "head," and to truly see what I'm looking at rather than conceptualizing. I loved, loved, loved your comment that a good drawing is one that is beautifully observed. Candidly, I think that when you get down to it, the same holds true for writing. A good to great piece of writing is one in which the subject is beautifully observed. Technique is secondary in the grand scheme of things. Thank you so much for your channel. Not only is the content terrific, it's beautifully presented. Simple. Nothing extraneous.

@Drawing-Life 9 месяцев назад

Wow, thank you so much. This comment is so wonderful to read. Makes it worthwhile and is so encouraging. I love reading that you resonate with the idea of observation, and to really see, rather than conceptualize. It's an important door to open in our practice! I feel that our observation of the world is key - trying to erase out our imperfect techniques in order to craft something perfect sometimes erases away the unique perspective each of us has. Coming from a writer, this really means so much to me - thank you!! ❤

@fallingalice2601 9 месяцев назад

@@Drawing-Life - Thank YOU. After decades of honing my skills as a writer, I've found that the practice of writing -- including professional writing in commercial and business contexts -- has changed a great deal. Especially within the past decade or so. Conventional verbal/written literacy has always come easily to me. But we live in an era that's increasingly dominated by the visual image. Language falls further and further behind as a dominant mode of communication. At this point, visual literacy seems to me far more important in terms of communications. I suppose that I should bemoan this fact, but I've become so weary of the cacophony of sound, the seemingly infinite number of talking heads with their continual "hot takes" creating dangerous social media echo chambers, that taking time to focus silently on a visual image feels healing and grounding.

@Yomi-san 3 месяца назад

Somewhat comforting in my later life to realise I was contour drawing beacause it felt right before I was taught a more mechanical process at art school. For me you are expressing your perception of the subject onto the paper not trying to make it photorealistic. Thank you for helping me to this realisation.

@davidbentle929 2 года назад

Finally, this is by far the most informative, succinct description of contour drawing I’ve seen. Thank you.

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

Wow, thank you! That's so great to hear, I appreciate it! :) Contour drawing has helped me so much to control my drawing and get detailed, so hope it helps you in your work! thank you so much for watching

@patszer8314 3 года назад

I just finished watching this video Ma'am and again I would like to thank you for all of your kind instruction. I know it must take great effort on your part to create a new video every week but believe me that there are so many of us that not only appreciate you and what your doing but also look forward to each and every video that comes out. As always I send you my warmest regards. God Bless!

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you so much for this @Roman ... this is great encouragement. Yes, it is hard to create these videos, but there is also a wonderful community of artists here and that makes it really exciting to engage with, I'm a bit behind in my videos, going to get one out this week, so stay tuned, hopefully publish it on Friday.

@johnrouse3061 3 года назад

Wonderful. I appreciate your genuine enthusiasm, your calming demeanor, and your expert advice. I hope you keep making videos! :)

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you, so much, that's encouraging for me to hear :) I appreciate it!

@MaudMargretheRex 8 месяцев назад

Such good explanations.. been drawing for decades, still curious ❤

@sapphicphoenix60 3 года назад

Very clear explanation of the topic. I like doing blind contour because of the fact it isn’t going to look like what you are seeing so it becomes a challenge.

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Yes, me too - it takes away expectations, and control, which I like very much - it doesn't feel like I'm controlling the drawing which actually leads to better drawings haha!

@timothydonnelly9038 2 года назад

This video was extremely useful and informative. Thank you for the time and effort expended on this.

@nokyuen9792 3 года назад

Your 6 mins video is better than my 3 hr lecture.

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Wow! thank you so much :) really appreciate you watching this ☺️

@justintaylor3805 2 года назад

Thank you for the informative video. Really well done. I often will take my eyes off of the page and continue drawing to get more authentic and interesting lines in my abstract drawings. Helps unbalance a bit, and adds more intuition. Blind contour drawing is something Im going to do more often, very nice to know the concepts for the craft. Thanks

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

Thanks Justin, so glad to har this was useful! And interesting that you do this intuitively for more abstract drawings. I love that it adds a bit of unabalance, I feel that with that, the drawing is much stronger, more truthful, and funnily enough it helps me to get more accurate with shape and proportion. Hope you work with this approach more, and see where it leads you in your art! Thanks again for watching :)

@liz-annawaugh8349 Год назад

Thank you! I’m just getting started in life drawing and your videos are very helpful.

@Petercobourg 2 года назад

Hi Siobhan! I am going to be showing this to my little, high school art class tomorrow and then we are going to do some blind contour drawing of our hands. I thought you explained and demonstrated things really well and I am excited for my students to see it. I was worrying about whether they would follow along to Nicolaides but as we don't have enough books I was/am likely going to read it. This video will make that process more successful. Thanks! 🙂🎨

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

Hi Peter! oh great!! I'm thrilled to hear that. Good luck and let me know how you get on. Biggest challenge most students have is 1). obviously: not looking at the page! and 2). drawing slowly. Both this ethings are biggest hurdles. The slower you draw the better chance to really tune into observation and start looking intently, so I would encourage people to focus on drawing slowly even if the drawing does;st get finished. Hope this helps. (also, this is a drawing drill - we should always think of it as a warm up or at least try to do lots and lots over time)

@markbarrera6807 11 месяцев назад

excited to try this

@drawingwithpri 2 года назад

So well explained!

@pumkinseulgi Год назад

thank you for this video! 😊

@joshuaGmartin2023 11 месяцев назад

what a wonderful description, thank you for your video

@Drawing-Life 11 месяцев назад

Thank you Joshua! That's great to hear, glad it made sense :) thanks for watching

@phyllisball1197 3 года назад

This was a very good video that clearly explains Contour drawing. Thank you.

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you Phyllis , really glad you enjoyed , thanks for watching! :)

@vijayanand6798 3 года назад

Thank you very much! I have always thought that what we draw should be look like the object that we are drawing to make us a artist. But you gave me a clarity regarding that. Once again I thank you for boosting my confidence.

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you Vijay! That’s great to hear, I would hope to teach you to draw what you see , instead of what the object looks like, because we need to see what you see. But you can also learn so much from the other approach, it’s good to know both! Thanks for watching :)

@alexisknudsen9469 3 года назад

Thanks for this! One of the best contour videos I've found for to show my high school students!

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Hi Alexis! That's wonderful to hear!. please do share with them, and let me know any questions. Thanks for watching

@carolp6219 2 года назад

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE CONCEPTS IN THE BOOK( THE NATURAL WAY TO DRAW SO CLEAR AND UNDERSTANDABLE.

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

Hi Carol! So glad that it helped! thanks for watching :)

@Dojahong 3 года назад

That is why we have to learn contour drawing! thank you!

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you for watching! :)

@gruntled_ca 9 месяцев назад

Thank you!

@tonyfrench100 2 года назад

Very nice and help me a lot!

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

So glad to hear that Tony! thanks for watching :)

@christopherwhite5178 3 года назад

I brought this wonderful book years ago and was overwhelmed by it's rigorous schedule. I did some of the exercises and did see their value. it's time to revisit. Thank You!

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you so much Christopher! I'm so glad this prompted you to get back to it - i agree the schedule is a bit rigorous, take what you need from the book and apply it to your drawing :)

@jazmarz 2 года назад

Very informative and positive. Gave me the reasons for doing more contour drawing. Thanks.

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

That's so awesome to hear, thank you! And thanks for watching :)

@limitless28 3 года назад

I loved the video it is so helpful! I also liked your voice.

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thank you so much! :)

@maryaserrano374 3 года назад

Thank you it help a lot

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thanks Marya, I'm so glad to know that!! Thank you for watching :)

@theairypainting 3 года назад

This is an excellent instruction on contour drawing and drawing in general! Great point of view on drawing techniques as well as expression of fine art!

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Wow, thank you so much, that means a lot!! I'm excited to watch your beautiful painting videos, thank you for stopping by here!

@theairypainting 3 года назад

Love your drawings and beautiful studio!

@jeconquy 11 месяцев назад

Hi, I find all of your comments very useful and so true. Thanks for this video and also FOR the suggestion YOU MADE ABOUT the book by Nicolaides. Since I have been practicing blind contour and contour (much harder for me) I find the results of blind contour way more interesting than my normal drawings. They are full of happy mistakes. t's great. By the way, thanks again for clarifying the difference between contour and cross contour.

@Drawing-Life 11 месяцев назад

Delighted to hear that Jerome, thanks for your message. I agree, blind contour drawing creates very beautiful drawings, particularly because they are so driven by observation.

@jeconquy 11 месяцев назад

@@Drawing-LifeCareful and fast observation think but also, it seem,s by a "let go," a sort of short circuiting the brain... It's really enjoyable.

@jakescorpion1 Год назад

Blind turns out awesome drawings. They aren't supposed to be exact. That's what makes them come alive.

@ksamave2 3 года назад

Lovely want to let you know your videos are so good informative and pleasant thanks for sharing your knowledge..!!

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

@ksamave2 thank you so much, that means a lot to hear! :) thanks for watching!

@grdytrinidad 3 года назад

I would definitely try this! Also, your studio looks neat! And I see that Blade Runner poster 👀😆

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

Thanks Gerardo! lol, it looks neat but I put all the mess behind the camera. you get extra points for appreciating the Blade Runner poster! haha... i found it in a random second-hand store, and it's double sided, from the directors cut, so not the original release, I love it though!! Thank you so much for watching, hope you experiment with contour drawing, it can improve your drawing and observation so much!

@rajinirajendrakumar77 2 года назад

Nice

@rajeswararaoganugula417 2 года назад

It is zen meditation, so great but mastering it takes years!

@craigusher1106 2 года назад

This is a very clear video nothing fancy and wonderfully paced for students of all ages, Where are you teaching? Besides online

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

@craigusher thank you so much for this comment Craig, it's so great to hear that feedback. I have been mostly focused on creating online content this past year. Prior to that I was offering figure drawing workshops and hope to get back to that sometime soon! Really appreciate you watching this! Thanks again :)

@juliesteinberg823 6 месяцев назад

Basic to all drawing. 1st step

@davidbentle929 2 года назад

Can you also discuss how and when you decide to shift your attention from the object to your drawing? How much is blind and loose/organic and how much is corrective?

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

It's kind of an intuitive process - i shift attention from the object to the drawing if I feel i need to check that I'm staying in proportion, but for the most part I try to stay focused on the object 80% of the drawing, and look back at the page to check my placement etc. In those moments, I'm not really drawing ie the pencil isn't moving. Once I look back again, the pencil moves on. Hope this makes sense :)

@edo_moya Год назад

Pufff! If I do blind contours super slowly I get lost in the length of long contours any tips?? (in zones with more variation i'm kind of fine)

@davidbentle929 2 года назад

Can you discuss how you are able to concentrate and focus on the object? I tend to loose focus and skip ahead.

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

Practice!! :) it's a very, very concentrated process, and in fact can be really tiring after a session of contour, or blind contour drawing. So, it takes time to build up focus. Keep at it!

@Nevarek_ Год назад

What is your opinion about drawing contour lines for significant value/hue changes, like for lighting, and not just silhouette?

@Drawing-Life Год назад

I think I would definitely follow the contours of those areas - for example if it's a shadow shape, or a strong change in value. But, I would most likely treat the line quality a bit different to the lines that follow the form. You don't want to make the drawing look odd by having heavy outlines of shadows. It's an excellent question though. Often the changes in value, or hue, or the shadows can give important visual guides to the structure ,so they don't have to be ignored if it's just a line drawing. It depends on the subject, but in general, i hope this answers your question?

@Nevarek_ Год назад

@@Drawing-Life Yes it does, I appreciate the advice. It's very helpful to know what to consider while attempting to use contour this way. I have seen artists draw contours like this before, and it seems to be more of a preference thing. It's definitely something I'll have to experiment with.

@nicholasgarza951 Год назад

That demo that you do at about 4:30, about how long did that take you? I'm finding that the times in The Natural Way to Draw of ~25min for one drawing is excruciatingly long & tedious

@Drawing-Life Год назад

That drawing was probably 15 to 20 minutes but it was edited and speeded up for this video. The exercise of doing blind contour drawing is one that should be done extremely slowly. If at the end of 20 minutes you have drawn around the whole figure, then you are drawing way too fast!! With blind contour and contour drawing, draw even slower than you think you are drawing. It makes a big difference when you are drawing from life, though. I can imagine that drawing from a photograph will make the process seem tedious and long. When you are drawing the model from life, or any subject from life, and you use blind contour drawing, you get a very strong understanding or feeling of connecting to your subject matter. It doesn't quite come through in a photo. But, anyway, short answer - draw slow. What matters is looking and noticing. Also, stick with it, it definitely seems crazy at first, but remember it isn't something that you will do once, check it off a list and move on, it's something that needs to be integrated into your practice over time :)

@willbarnett8118 3 года назад

you know pat phillips?!?!?

@abdulazeezhosein5360 Год назад

Who is here for work

@alijahmohammed1511 2 года назад

there is a thing called a bad drawing

@Blenderp 2 года назад

Why the hell you comment here Alijah 🤣

@Drawing-Life 2 года назад

@alijahmohammed hey Alijah thanks for this - this is actually a really good question! I am going to make a video on this topic. I'll try to post it next week, I hope you can check it out. To answer you quickly here - I don't really know how to say if a drawing is "bad" or not because that criteria is mis-leading. If you can understand drawing as a way of expressing, just like any other way of expressing then a drawing can't be bad if it represents a person's expression. The real question is: "is there such a thing as a good drawing" .... :)

@willbarnett8118 3 года назад

what are your pronouns💗💗💗

@Drawing-Life 3 года назад

she/her etc.... :)