Tracing to learn - fast

[Enzie Shahmiri]

Every time I think I have read every post here I keep finding a new one.

Well, I have to say that when I want a dead on likeness I grid. I can't say that it is a time saving method compared to drawing freehand, but I am not faced with nasty surprises half way into the process.

One thing that working with a grid has taught me is to see everything in abstract shapes. As the shapes kept falling into place (sort of like a puzzle), it became necessary to learn the value relationship between each shape. This alone has been a god send, because I have always struggled with value relationships.

I love to draw and my sketchbook is full with images of people with noses too long, chins too full and god knows what other errors. But the purpose of the sketchbook is just for quick observations and to get something down in the shortest amount of time. This allows for a certain freedom of hand eye coordinations, which gets better over time. As a matter of fact I just recently discovered an old sketchbook and had to laugh pretty hard at what I was seeing. Just about everyone in it has some malformation and looked more like creatures out of horror movies. But imagine how satisfied I was to actually be able to see the growth from one book to another. So I agree with Karin, using shortcut tools like tracing can help you grow as an artist, as long as you balance it with free hand drawing as well.

[John Crowther]

I missed this thread first time around, and I answer now with a great deal of trepidation, since the subject seemed to arouse quite a bit of passion. So I quickly add that this is just my opinion. Still, I was surprised that tracing had the approval of so many as a way of learning to draw. It's a way for beginners to get satisfactory results quickly, but getting quick results isn't part of learning anything, building a solid foundation is. And learning to do anything well is a laborious process without shortcuts. We mustn't confuse "quick fixes" with effective pedagogy. Going back to the music analogy, tracing is the equivalent of singing karaoke. The essence of learning to draw is hand-eye coordination, getting the hand to obey the impulses it gets from the brain. The way to do that is constant practice. Copying from the masters, or from photographs, is extremely helpful insofar as it brings the eye and the brain into the process. Tracing doesn't do it, because it bypasses both the eye and the brain. It's a purely mechanical process that doesn't even really develop appreciation for form, since all you do is see lines through an opaque piece of paper. And understanding form is the essence of good drawing.

And by the way, Michelangelo didn't trace on the Sistine ceiling, he transferred to the wet plaster drawings from full-size "cartoons" that were a penultimate step that followed on the heels of many, many drawings made from life models.

Again, just my opinion. I'm not trying to change anyone's way of doing things. Honest.

John C.