Drawing on the right side of the brain - empty space

This next step is another form of contour drawing, but this time, you will look at your drawing.

It is common practice to choose a pair of shoes with laces for this exercise.

The idea is to imagine that the pair of shoes on your drawing table is bound by a square box. When you are drawing the outline of the shoes, you do so in relation to the square (or rectangle, of course). What you are drawing is not so much a pair of shoes (left brain activity) but rendering on paper the lines as they relate to the side of the box, and between each other.

That space between the laces is NOT a space between the laces, it becomes a rectangle, the laces are another rectangle. You make your drawing by defining the spaces BETWEEN the elements, and engage your right brain.

Seeing the spaces between the elements will help you have accurate proportions, even if you can't draw. That little space where the lace falls over the stripe on your shoe becomes a little triangle. It's easy to define its shape and size.

For the next exercise after you do the shoes, draw your non-drawing hand holding something intricate: a pair of scissors, a flower.

Your book offers more exercises to practice.

Remember to date your drawings.

For the next lesson, you will need to get some pieces of gear. You will need:
- a thick overhead transparency, or
- a very thin piece of plexiglass as can be found on picture frames,
- a permanent marker as used for writing on CDs
- and test another marker that will be erasable.

Have fun!