Drawing in the Digital Age: An Observational Method for Artists and Animators

Chapter 2

Extracting Graphical Structures—A Scientific Point of View

Learning to draw is learning to see.

—Anonymous

In Chapter 1, “Understanding the Relationship between Math and Art,” you were told that the drawing process comprises two major components: extracting shapes from a scene and managing those shapes on paper. It is now time to address the first part. Clearly, this task does not have a unique approach, because different artists may obtain different information from the same scene, especially if emotion is involved. However, this chapter presents a standard method for processing graphic information—much like anatomy theory does for figure drawing. By observing objects scientifically, drawing becomes much easier and more efficient. ...