(1–2 minutes)
Stare at the object and identify the shadows and darkest parts. Draw ONLY the darkest parts. Don’t draw outlines or lines unless they are the darkest parts.
Sketch Things Better with the 7 Ways of Seeing
6 min read
Nov 17, 2016
We’ve all been there. You’re in a meeting, a boardroom or a classroom, trying to explain an important idea and words just aren’t cutting it. Or you’ve got a brilliant inspiration of how a process could work, but the flowchart you sketched out looks dead and mundane. Or you want to remember that smart thing a conference speaker said, but you can’t find it anywhere in your 17 pages of notes. So…how do you bring ideas and words to life?
Short answer: Make pictures. Using visuals to illustrate, inn0vate and inspire is a key communication technique. The great news is that you don’t need a lot of skill to draw pictures. You simply need to develop a solid visual vocabulary.
The 7 Ways of Seeing is a collection of quick techniques I use to help me understand any object so that I can sketch it with accuracy and confidence. All these techniques are drawn from classical drawing methods; I’ve just simplified them, organized them into a sequence, and given them a handy moniker. Turns out this approach is helpful for anyone who wants to learn to make pictures.
Use these 7 techniques to…
- Sharpen your sketching skills so you can quickly make pictures in meetings, when you’re working out a problem, or when you’re taking notes.
- Gain confidence in making images from observation and building your hand-eye coordination.
- Expand your visual vocabulary with clear and accurate pictures of lots of objects. (You never know when you’ll need to draw a car. Or a cactus.)
Getting started
Grab some paper and a pen. Sharpies are great… they smell like ideas. But they can bleed through your paper. Be advised. 😉
Choose something to sketch. You can pick something small (like a flower or a shoe) or something in the landscape (like a car or a tree.) You should be able to see it clearly, and have it not move for about 10 minutes.
Each of the 7 techniques has a suggested time limit, but if you need more (or less) time, that’s a-okay.
When starting out, it’s a good idea to pick something simple. As you get more practice, it’s a lot of fun to sketch something complicated, or something that moves.
Try starting with something simple and everyday…like this example of a running shoe.
You can make sketches in a sketchbook, on a piece of paper, on index cards or even on sticky notes.
The 7 Ways of Seeing
Symbolic, Gesture, Blind Contour, Simple Shapes, Contrast, Negative Space, and Guided Contour.
Why are there 8 pictures in the examples. Because sometimes I do a bonus 8th: New Symbol.
In about 10 minutes, you can complete them all. Doing them in sequence builds your sketching abilities and reinforces your observation skills.
Table of Contents
- 121 Fun and Easy Objects to Draw
- Natural Objects to Draw
When it comes to sketching and drawing, the more objects you can practice on, the better. Here is a list of 121 fun and easy objects to draw, from common household objects to animals and plants. Get your pencils and paper ready, and let’s get started!
Natural Objects to Draw
- Stones
- Puddle
- Spiderweb [Check out my tutorial on how to do an easy Spider web Drawing]
- Tree Stump
- Hay
- Sticks
- Petals
- Birds nest
- Bone
- Tooth
- Birds egg
- Flower bulbs
- Seashells
- Coral
- Washed up pieces of glass
Food
- Lollipop
- Waffles
- Pineapple
- Cheese
- Carrots
- Olives
- Grapes
- Lettuce
- Shrimp
- Fish
- An Apple
- Banana
- Strawberry Cupcake
- Dragon Fruit
- Sushi
- Donuts
- Pizza
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Lemons
- Cereal
- Ice-cream
- Burgers
- Cake
- Roast turkey
- Tacos
Household Objects to Draw
- Chair
- Bedside table
- Bookshelf
- Fireplace
- Coffee mug
- Teapot
- Salt and pepper shaker
- Pot plant
- Sofa
- Toaster
- Pots and pans
- Windows
- Lampshade
- Patterns in carpet
- Umbrella
- Bicycle
- Hat
- Glasses
- Coat
- Ornaments
- Cutlery
- A watch
- Spectacles
- Bottle of wine
- Necklace
