blind contour drawings

• Students will be using markers on paper to create their drawings.

• The contour drawing should be done very slowly, take the time to really scrutinize and see the line of the object.

• Do not look at your paper and do not take your pencil off the paper, continue to really look at the object you are drawing and follow every line and detail.

• Concentrate on what the contour does, every single little curve or meander.

• Don't worry at this time about getting an exact likeness or correct proportions.

• If your edge goes into the form, follow it until it ends, and then pick up the contour where you left off.

• Try to feel the line, its jaggedness or smoothness, its curve, its delicacy, or sharpness. If you feel the form going away from you, press down on your pencil.

• Your progress should be so slow as to be painstaking - don't draw the line until you feel sure of what it does next.

• It is like climbing the mountain, as opposed to flying over it.

• And don't think about what the form is, like elbow or leaf - just draw the line/contour and what it does.

• When you finish the outer contours, you can draw the inside contours, for example, the features on the face, or lines on a leaf.

• Don't erase for this exercise!

• You are not making a drawing - you are involved in a process of learning!