How Artists See

In as Small a Nutshell as Possible

As I indicated at the end of my previous post, Not Good Enough Mentality, artists see differently than most. When I bring up how artists see, I’m not referring to them seeing something completely different from what other people see. What I’m referring to is more of an analysis of what they see, or a structural breakdown. In other words, the tree they see is the tree you see, but with a few extras in between. Let me explain…

Any object can be broken down into simpler shapes.

How artists see comes about either naturally or by training. Some of us are born with a natural inclination to see things in a way that makes it easier for us to draw or paint the object in front of us. Others can be taught this skill. So what is this magical and mystical way of seeing? It’s actually neither magical or mystical. It’s simply seeing the basic shapes in things. The tree on the left for example, can be broken down into a circle and a rectangle. The tree on the right, a triangle and rectangle. Easy, right? I know, I know… It’s still a far cry from drawing full landscapes, animals, cityscapes, vehicles, or people. But we really do break things down into simple shapes first.

Animals can also be broken down into simpler shapes once you know how to look for them.

This tiger and giraffe, for example. Most people look at these animals and immediately get overwhelmed with the stripes and spots. I don’t know of any artist who would start drawing with the surface details before finding the structure of the animal first. That would be like drawing the dress before drawing the woman that’s wearing it. So let’s break these animals down a bit, shall we?

As you can see, both animals can be broken down into the very basic of shapes. A series of rectangles for the leaping tiger and for the giraffe, a couple of triangles, an ellipse, and rectangles. This step helps us to get not only the basic shape, but also proportion (how one thing relates to another in regards to space and size).

Once the basic shapes are identified, it’s just a matter of adding or subtracting from that.

From there, we add or subtract as needed. What do I mean by that? Well, take a look at the vase. It’s basic shapes are a circle and an upside down triangle. If we’ve got those basic shapes down, then it’s a much easier task to add in the curves of the neck (as seen by the red dashed lines), a narrow ellipse at the top for the vase’s opening, and shave off a bit of the bottom to give it a slightly flatter edge (as seen by the blue dashed line).

This simple method can even be applied to something as complex as this palace.

You can see how it becomes possible for even the most complex of subjects. This palace, for example. The image on the left looks like an impossible series of archways and domes, windows and spires. Where does one begin? Just as we did with the animals and the vase, break it down. By simplifying it to a series of rectangles, circles, and triangles, it already looks like a much easier task to handle. It’s only after all of that is done that an artist worries about stuff like animal spots or stripes. I’d be willing to bet that for many, that part would be very near the end of the drawing.

And that, in a very basic nutshell is how artists see. Do we always do that? Well, no. Just when we get ready to draw something. Unless maybe I’m really bored. But, no. Generally, when not creating art, artists see just like everyone else. As you can see though, how artists see when in artist mode, is a bit different. It’s fundamental. The basic building blocks, if you will. Get this one down and things become much easier. Like everything else, practice makes perfect.

To check out the whole lesson that this came from, check out my FREE class on Skillshare: How to Draw: The Very Basics. It’s FREE! And if you take the FREE class and sign up for Premium membership through the class link, you get 3 months of Premium membership for only .99! You can’t beat that. And did I mention my class is FREE??