Observational Drawing

Observational drawing is drawing what you see. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. It can be a flower, a person, a still life, a landscape, or anything, really. But it’s drawing what you see in front of you as realistically and as true to life as possible.

These pictures were taken during the observational drawing sessions. The motto behind these practices is to observe closely the detail orientation of the object and replicate it by using different mediums like Pencil rendering and opaque colors. We guide the students for their observation skills and how they can select the medium for particular texture. These are the foundation students who are into in-depth practice of the realism and principles of art and design which will progress them towards the specialization. We monitor them according to the specialization field like Interior design, Graphic design and Animation. There are more practices happening during the course of the foundation training period at  LISAA School of design. 

Here are some tips for observational drawing:

• Use light pencil strokes and build up the shading gradually
• Focus on light and shadows
• Pay attention to just what you are working on and not the entire work
• As observational drawing is the process of capturing a likeness, your first attempts will probably be very poor so don’t stress
• The best way to start observational drawing is by working from a still life set up of objects that are appealing to you. Even if you’re only intending on working with pencils, do invest in some graphite paper so you don’t have to worry about smudging

When you undertake observational drawing, you are forced to slow down and take in all the details of your subject. This helps you develop an understanding of how light and shadow affect objects and how perspective affects their appearance.

If you care to learn further about how workshops are structured at LISAA School of Design, please click below to get in touch with our team.