Learn to Draw by Drawing Upside Down

Upside down?! Worried that you can't draw a stick figure right side up?  So was I.  I actually learned this technique in my high school art class, but had forgotten about it until a few months ago.  I went out and bought the book my teacher had taught us from, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. 

The trick is to turn your drawing subject upside down and draw what you see.  This tricks your eye into drawing lines and shapes and not recognizable objects.  For example, here is my latest upside down drawing.  I turned it right side up in the photo so it would be recognizable to you.



 

Pretty fancy, huh?  I added the shading after the line drawing was finished.  The left side of your brain tries to dominate everything you do.  It deals in memorized facts and known values, while your right brain deals in perspective and shapes.  Your left brain would never let you foreshorten the knight's hands or the horse's body.  However, your right brain knows that this is necessary in order to properly convey perspective. 

Drawing skills enhance all of our arts and crafts.  It improves our compositions, allows us to create different moods in our work, and enhances our creative experiences.  So, take the time to engage your right brain by looking at things differently.  Turn things upside down!