How to Draw a Blind Contour Drawing

It might surprise you, but one of the best ways to improve your drawing skills is actually to try drawing without ever looking down at your hand. While it may be hard at first, this will enable you to achieve greater focus on your object of attention and to utilize different parts of your brain that you might not already be employing. It will dramatically enhance the accuracy and character of your representations.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• 1 Single Object of Study (your other hand is often a good start)
• 1 Pencil with Soft Lead or 1 Stick of Charcoal
• 1 Large Drawing Pad with Multiple Sheets

1. Situate your paper in front of you so that you can begin drawing without having to focus on where the surface is located. This is why a larger drawing pad is helpful, although a smaller area can also help hone your skills.
2. Position your object in front of you so it is easy to see but far enough away that it doesn’t include your drawing hand in your peripheral vision.
3. To start drawing, focus exclusively on a single contour of the thing you are drawing. Forget about really “getting the object right” or representing the thing in its entirely.
4. Place your pencil on the paper and begin tracing this contour without ever looking down at your hand or picking up your hand from the paper.
5. Continue following the various contours and shapes in your hand without regard for whether or not you are drawing an actual hand. Again, the important part is that you are following the contours you see and not the ones you think you should see on the paper below you, without lifting your pencil from the page.
6. When you feel as though you have captured all the contours included in the object, look down at your paper. Hopefully, you will find a mass of unhinged and scattered lines.
7. Keep practicing and resisting the urge to look down. Time yourself. Create 10 second, 30 second, 1 minute, and 3 minute drawings. Remember that you should be focused on the contours themselves and not the “mental idea” of the thing you are drawing.

Tips & Warnings

• When you get a hang of the blind contour drawing method, try just moving on to basic contour drawings that incorporate multiple objects.
• Also, consider moving on to negative space drawings.