The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › Nature Journaling and Field Sketching › Drawing What You See – Upside Down Drawing
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I like this exercise. Did this when I was in art school - years ago. This course is wonderful, making all these gests come back.
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This was a wonderful exercise. As a self described person with drawing-deficit disorder, I was surprised that a technique like this could produce a pretty decent image! It took quite a while to complete but I was happy with the results. It required a bit of mental yoga to keep redirecting my brain to think of shapes rather than feet or feathers. It was fun and I’ll use this technique in the field.
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This was easier than I thought. It actually turned out well.
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Such a great exercise! it helps to look more at the details
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I found that I was checking the negative space more often. All the lines in the breast were difficult. You are correct my brain just wanted to squiggle.
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I enjoyed this more than I had anticipated. I had to keep forcing myself to only look at what was there and not go freelancing. I'm happy with the result.
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I didn’t even realize that one of the he claws was behind a plant thing!
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This was difficult AND fun. I tried to draw the subject as a collection of shapes, and it worked out pretty well! I don't know how I judged the tail to be too short. I really tried to work with negative space and proportions. I'm pretty pleased with the results, as I am a beginning sketcher.
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This was a great exercise for me. It really forced me to forget about what I was trying to draw and focus instead on the process of drawing. It worked!
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My right-side-up (drawn up-side-down) song sparrow. No doubt about it--this exercise forces us to really look at what's right in front of us, not necessarily what we think we're meant to draw. Very helpful.
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Fascinating exercise. It was fun; I did notice my attention flagging over time and the drawing shows that. From the example, I enjoyed using the shapes and one-to-another approach. This was the only way to make progress, even though my brain kept (unhelpfully) trying to process the whole. I then tried again using a photo. On all sketches, I start with pencil but I am terrible about eventually rubbing the lines. Because of that, I eventually go over the sketch with a pen, trying to make small adjustments as I go. For now, the repetition feels like a good way to try to gain reps.
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The opposite of gesture drawing! This took me three sittings, a bit at a time, and really broke in my eraser. Eventually I was able to surrender to the process, and I’m happy with how it came out. I remember the upside-down drawing exercise from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain—that’s what took me from stick figures to thinking, Oh, that’s how you draw! This was a lot more exacting, much more of an exercise in patience. Worth it, too.
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I really liked this exercise. As I often do I start the video and then stop right away and try to draw what Liz is drawing before watching the video. then after watching the video I apply her suggestions and techniques, and then compare the two drawings. I was liberal with my eraser because I wanted to get the shapes that she used to render the coloration in the body. When I did my first drawing I had no idea how to suggest that colorization on the bird. My post drawing analysis is that I am much happier with the proportions and especially the tail and beak. I hope to have the confidence or fearlessness to render colors on a bird as shapes as I really like the results.
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This was a good exercise. I found that I was looking more at the shapes than the subject.
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This was fun to do although challenging when it involves patience and self control. I found it difficult to adjust proportions. Everyone has such beautiful post.
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- Not sure how to get vertical, but a really useful exercise and one I will repeat
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This was very difficult. I tried to use proportion tricks from the last lesson but really struggled. The chest markings werevery complicated to include
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This was fun to do, but I did find it to be a little difficult. I ended up not getting the wings so well, but I think I started to hurry as it was taking a good deal of time. The part I didn't rush I was quite impressed with. This is such a great technique to learn to look beyond what the mind sees! Love this course!
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This was fun, but difficult. The feet were really hard. I was able to view the subject as a collection of shapes and lines. I have never drawn anything but stick figures - I hope I can get better with practice. I love this course.
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