The Drawing Exercise that Changed My Life



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This drawing exercise changed my life. It was the exercise that made me realize that drawing is a skill that can be learned – and anyone can do it. This exercise originates from the book, “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”, by Betty Edwards. This is a must read for anyone wanting to learn how to draw. The premise is based on our right brain and that our left brain needs to be subdued in order for our right brains to take over. To force this to happen, we simply flip our reference upside down and draw it this way.
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38 thoughts on “The Drawing Exercise that Changed My Life”

  1. Probably worth it to mention that there is no such thing as "left" and "right" brain in real life. It's a metaphorical shorthand for two different types of thinking. Moreover, these types of thinking are not single skills but blend many different types of brain activity. No one is entirely "left" or "right" brained.

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  2. back then i draw like this where i copy each part based on what i see. but i was limited to only draw what i see.

    and then after studying gesture drawings and structure/ geometrical drawing/perspective, i can't help but look at the overall picture and use patterns, angles to use a s a guide for the proportion. allows me to draw almost anything except i can't copy properly now

    and now i'm back to this. if this works that means i drowned in drawing so methodically i forgot where it began lol

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  3. Im really lucky that my left brain hemisphere doesnt get in the way but instead helps me draw proportionally (especially people) since i know and study anatomy on a daily basis (im a med student) so usually i can reference the things i know from that and it helped out A LOT with my art

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  4. Finally I found out why I can't draw portrait I was struggling for long time but now that i know the actual reason I can work on it better than you for sharing this I'm so grateful for this ❤🔥

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  5. Best description of how to master this skill! I’ve had several people say, how do you do that? But, I couldn’t really explain it well. I just say it’s a God-given talent. I am an artist, crafter and diy’er. Lucky for me, I’ve been able to draw or, should I say, copy what I look at from the tender age of 5…mostly cartoons. At age 5, I drew a cartoon of Yogi bear and it was exactly like the picture! Mom & Dad were astonished! I still have that drawing today. I knew then that I had an artistic talent and couldn’t stop drawing. I’ve gotten away from it now that I’m older but I pick it back up every now and then. I often wonder, after a long dry spell, do I still have “it”? Yes, I do! It never really goes away once you understand how to really see lines, space, angles, the distance between point a to b, etc. Thank you for this great explanation! Maybe now I can better explain it to others. Happy drawing! ❤🥰🖍️🖊️📋

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  6. In college I took a drawing class and my professor gave us these exercises to do. One was a line drawing, and another was a BW close up of of JFK's face and although the idea was the same it focused more on shapes and shadowing. Just like the title of this video these exercises changed everything for me!! I'll never forget that class or the lessons, and this video just brought me back!!

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  7. This video make me wonder about my tutoring business teaching kids with reading problems. I have found that having them reading upside-down is a great aid in improving their speed and accuracy when later reading right-side-up. As for myself, I teach accross a narrow table facing my students, reading and writing (manuscript and cursive) upside down. They watch me form the letters upside-down, but right side up from their perspective. I have them write in perfect synchronization with me. It is almost as if our brains and hands were connected by some mysterious force, and improvement is immediate.

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  8. this is very interesting.. my father in law is a retired art professor and he still paints nearly every day and i often catch him painting upside down..makes a lot of sense!!

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  9. I've done this before, but only with lines. I'm trying to pay more attention to values these days, and appreciate your suggestion to try it with values. I'm going to try it and see what happens.

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