Ben there, Done that
Highlights and shadows
Have you ever wondered what the difference is between people who can draw well and those who don’t? What if I told you the difference lay with the way we observe the world around us? While studying at university, I was required to take a studio drawing class. What I learned in this class changed the way I saw the world forever.
First, how we perceive the world around us is crucial. Our brains are hardwired for efficiency and pattern recognition. Our eyes focus on outlines, shapes and edges; because of this, we can meet a person and recognize a face while not being able to recall details like eye color. The reason: our brains are forced to do this because we are incapable of fully processing all the stimuli pouring in from the outside world. Instead, our brains emphasize distinctive details and major points, but unique and less useful information is discarded. While helpful in our daily lives, this process is detrimental when we pick up a pencil and begin to draw.
When an untrained person picks up a pencil and attempts to draw a face, he or she will normally go for either the outline of the face shape or the eyes first. This is not surprising considering our brains love shapes and outlines. Once the major features like the nose and mouth are on the page, the drawing hits a wall and looks nothing like the subject. How could this be? The person drawing isn’t looking at the subject properly. They are fixated on the major features and nothing else.
Contrast this with a trained artist who, after studying the subject, will also commence drawing but instead of focusing on the major features will map out the highlights and shadows of the form. The trained artist is concentrated more on the interplay between the lights and darks. Rather than sketching a nose, they draw the shadow cast by the nose. The fine details of the eyes, nose and mouth are among the finishing features to be completed, not the initial ones. This reversal of the drawing process reveals a major distinction between the trained and untrained artists.
Why does this make such a huge difference? The artist has learned to capture the complete subject (or at least very close to it). Our brain’s efficiency leaves us lacking the essential information to create a likeness. Sure, the fine details are good, but without the whole setting around them, the drawing looks more like something from Napoleon Dynamite’s sketchbook than da Vinci’s. The highlights and shadows that map the contours of a face or any given subject, for that matter, provide depth, gravity and a level of realism to a drawing. The artist has learned by observation to include different levels of brightness. With a bit of practice, you can too.
If you shift your perception, as an artist does, the world becomes a more intriguing place. Slowly, you will become aware of the fascinating surroundings around you, formed from highlights and shadows. Have you ever noticed how an artist can spend hours looking intensely at a subject? This is why. The next time you see a piece of cloth, a blanket or a curtain take a moment to study the amazing, almost fluid-like forms as a result of the lights and darks. Start to look at how these contrasting areas of different brightness form the world around us. Your eyes will be opened and the world will be much more delightful. Train your brain to perceive a more complete picture of what your eyes see.
