Blind contour drawing

Blind contour drawing is a drawing exercise where the artist draws the outline of a subject without looking at the paper and without lifting the pen or pencil. The goal is not to create a perfect image, but to train the artist to see while training the artist’s eye and hand to work together more closely.

Blind contour drawing of my Art teacher Arie Galles

Key Features:

1. You focus entirely on the subject, not the drawing.

2. The line is continuous following the contours (edges and forms) of what you see.

3. Mistakes are expected and embraced—accuracy is less important than observation.

Why it’s useful:

• It improves hand-eye coordination.

• It sharpens your observational skills

• It helps break the habit of drawing what you think you see, encouraging you to draw what’s actually there NOT the iconic shapes we’ve been taught to associate with certain subjects.

Blind contour drawing is often used as a warm-up in art classes and is especially helpful for beginners learning to slow down and truly observe their subject.

It is also a worthwhile warmup for experienced artists who wish to prepare for a more complex and/or high stakes project.

Cheers!