Tips on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Problem with Seeing

For untrained artists the problem with seeing lies in the conflict that exists between the actual visual reality of an item
and the way the brain attempts to represent our perception of this reality on the sketching paper. This trial invariably involves the propensity to draw our iconic preconception instead of the actual reality.

Iconic preconceptions are part of a subconscious visual language that uses icons to represent known entities. This language of icons evolved as a mechanism to help us endure as a species. These icons help us, for instance, to instantly recognize food sources or dangerous predators.

When we observe an unknown item our subconscious mind immediately tries to form a new icon to represent and store the item in memory. Often starting artists will more correctly sketch unknown entities than familiar ones because they are not yet wedded to the new icons.

However, when they try to sketch the same item a second time, it is likely that a more iconic image will emerge because ready to use icons have already been stored in the brain.

Consider, for instance, the word "head". Straight away an picture comes to mind which is iconic for the head. Unfortunately, this symbol is only a symbolic picture of a head and is invariably a gross simplification of a real head. Nevertheless, there is a strong subconscious pull to draw the symbol instead of what we actually see.

It is this conflict that artists must learn to overcome. This is particularly a difficulty for pencil portrait artists. When sketching a portrait the artist must resolve numerous layers of icons to realize a realistic effect.

We now will describe a very good exercise to learn to overcome the problem of symbol sketching.

We will be sketching from an upside-down photograph. This way our symbolic preconception of the head is interrupted. We will be forced to draw without our schematics. The result will be a purer sketching experience free from a tainted observation.

As you sketch the lines and hatch-in the values you will feel quite awkward in your sketching. This is a good thing. Do not be concerned with the quality of your sketch. This is an exercise in seeing.

When practicing line and value this way, starting artists often get better results than from the right-side up way. Trust yourself and throughout the exercise only look at your photo in the upside-down position even though it may feel quite uncomfortable.

You will learn to see and sketch value as shapes and will be able to break down hard edges into short, straight lines instead of the general schematics your brain will assign to the nose, the ears, etc.

Thinking of and naming perceived entities will lead you down the garden path of oval shaped eyes, two circles for nostrils, a bunch of lines for hair, cauliflower ears and something that looks like the letter M sitting on a bowl for a mouth instead of what is actually there.

Artists will never be free of symbolic preconceptions. The schematics actually adapt and become more sophisticated. It is only by constantly analyzing and abstracting form that we are able to sketch realistically.

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Download my brand new Complementary Pencil Portrait Sketching Course here: www.remipencilportraits.com/PPDT/pencil-portrait-tutorial.html target="_blank">Pencil Portrait Sketching Course. Remi Engels is a practicing pencil portrait draftsman and oil painter and expert drawing teacher. See his work at Pencil Portraits by Remi: www.remipencilportraits.com Visit Tips on Pencil Portrait Sketching - The Trouble with Seeing.

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