Drawing is not copying, it’s reconstruction

Poppetotte
Aug 28, 2017 · 2 min read

It’s easy when drawing from photo references to try to copy what you see. But usually the end result is just a bad copy of the real thing that lacks cohesiveness, structure and solidity. As a beginner this has usually been my approach but now it has changed. My approach now is to analyze, deconstruct and then reconstruct. Let me give you an example with this eye cast reference:

Earlier when trying to draw from a reference like this I would have blocked things in and start to mark the shadow patterns. Then I would have filled those in with tonal values and at the end it could have ended up as a decent or less decent copy of what I was seeing depending on my proportions, accuracy and edge and value control. But it would be a very uninteresting and impersonal drawing, lacking in life, style, interpretation and structure!

Instead now I try to draw by closely observing what I see and trying to analyze and truly understand what it is I see and, maybe more importantly, what the underlying forms are. Forms are described by shadows and variations in value. By not copying the shadows but instead trying to analyze the forms represented by the shadow patterns and then abstract those forms into planes, spheres, cylinders or egg shapes I can then recreate those forms and decide how to best represent them either through lines, values, shadows and edges in whatever kind of style or manner I like. The final drawing shown below is not a copy of the reference, it’s an abstraction and representation of the original. Although it’s far from a professional drawing it still has a very personal and clear expression.

For me, this is how to develop what will be your true personal voice, how to render the world as YOU see it.

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