My drawings were barely  recognizable. The seemed to want to be something squashed more than to be a newt, flower, and a sunbird. 

Yes it helped.

The plants were definitely more difficult for me than the animals. It did help me stay focused though and not get lost in focusing on a specific detail too soon.

This was scary, and I admit I cheated by looking up now and then...I really could not just let my pencil roam over the page. But I'm going to keep practicing blind contour dwg, because I think it'll help allay my fear of not being able to draw well. It really did help me focus on the subject though. And I had fun going back in to correct some of the shapes afterwards, and note what the colors were. Great challenge. If anybody reads this, can you tell me how to post my drawings/sketches. Do I take a photo with my Iphone camera? And then do what to "insert image"? Sorry to be such a luddite. Sylvia (sylsbach@yahoo.com)

It was hard! I made several attempts, it was hard to keep the proportions right.

Too bad to share. This so hard for me. Horrible spatial perception at the best of times. But jolly good fun.

An amusing exercise :-) My squiggles look more like road kill. I certainly need to sharpen these skills: a sense of time - how long it takes to cover distance with the pencil - and spatial perception - where is the start of this thing again?!

Contour Drawing by itself is not my favorite, however after I completed the exercise, I used the contour to complete the subjects and I was surprised at how well I was recording the blank space.  This helps a lot with getting the prospective as it really looks and capturing some very good detail.  I hope the focus on my subject will result with being able to capture the bird's movement faster.  If I can get the outline I should be able to fill in the detail.

Not sure that I get the point of this. My drawings were not uninteresting, but were rather odd. Yes, they forced me to be focused on the subject. But again, why do this? If there were positives in what I drew, they escaped me. Weird.

I have done this before, and I enjoy the meditative aspect of focusing on the subject, and the life in the drawing. Scale, beginning and ending, making parallel lines parallel, etc. all difficulties of the process were mine as well. This exercise does make my regular drawings more real, and gives a way to draw moving animals and be relaxed about it.  I have been drawing from phone pics, so this helps with relaxation, and establishing the intent as something other than a photo perfect picture.  My more "perfect" drawings are great, but take a lot of time, and have put me behind in my hopes for daily journaling.   This helps me get back on track. I have loved following the fabulous gifts of spring through all the flowers and birds in my journal.  It is a perfect antidote to Covid, sheltering at a distance or at home blues. On to moving creatures!!

It was an interesting exercise. I was surprised that even if  they are awkward, the drawings seem more alive and the movement is expressed. 

Found it an interesting exercise. With too images I missed to connect the shapes; Bird of Paradise Flower and the Green-tailed Sunbird. While with the Newt I had a mind gap -I just wasn't sure where was I- and the sketch ended up with a bubble booming out of it! I was shocked because I completely missed with the Springbok (check #1) I thought it was easy and I doodled it with one line but it turned out to be a complete failure - couldn't accept that and so I re-sketched it with the blind contour technique and I think I did well :) I didn't know how this would help me - However, it affected my mind while working on the next exercise. Also, this morning, I noticed my sight memorising and looking at the shape of the birds instead of the details. (usually I look at the details before the overall bird. So, I guess this will help and develop my sketching skills. )

Contour drawing helped me focus, but made it harder for me to draw

Blind contour miles ...... someone said you have to put in brush miles, or pencil miles ..... do it and keep doing it .... we will all get better.

Contour drawing requires absolute concentration. I try to go a specific distance to match a spot on what I am copying ..... doesn't always work, because I lose focus on how far I move my pencil. Becoming more proficient would allow me to get a more accurate sketch of creatures that are only still for moments.  Definitely helps me to stay focused  

I first tried my hand at blind contour drawing in a painting class I took a few years ago. It was fun to try again. Here are my samples, which hopefully are recognizable. :) As others have done, I found it interesting to mark the start and end points after the fact, and to call out spots that looked reasonably close (though those notes aren't all visible in the photos).

Contour drawing has always been this meditative process for me but it still looks the same as when I was doing it in junior high!  I finally went for the pot of geraniums in the middle sketch,but who can tell. It does teach one to slow down,observe and draw what you see not what you think you see.

fun!  I've been away since February 19, and it feels good to be back!

Yes it really helped me to stay focus.  I did the exercise a couple of times and found that as I focused more and slowed down I got better.  My own subject turned out the best, but I did it last.  I was impressed that my huge gaffes were with lines that were supposed to be more or less parallel. Without the visual feedback getting those right was difficult and threw off the rest of the drawing.  I really appreciated doing this as it showed how focus can help direct my hand without the visual.  Thank you.

Contour drawings make me laugh when I look at them! I do think they will help my observation skills especially if I did more of them or did them before every drawing just for fun.