Drawing upside down has an up side!

Here is the best book I used to help me think about drawing

and then practice drawing.  It is amazing.  I have used exercises from inside this book with Girl Scouts and other children in after school programs.

The coolest one is seeing how well you can draw if you turn the line drawing upside down that you are being asked to replicate.  There is a shift that happens in one's brain and you no longer think, "I cannot draw _____!"

Here are ones I did from the book. No tracing! You just look at the line and make adjustments as needed.  Tomie dePaola says an artist's best friend is his eraser.

This first one was originally done by Pablo Picasso and it is of Igor Stravinsky. Foreshortening would probably drive you crazy if you were looking at how to do it.  But remember the book on page 58 has this assignment and this line drawing is upside down.  The job of the student is to draw the person upside down and then turn it right side up only when done.  Cool, huh?  The explanation on page 59 (above) tells how to proceed.

 This is mine here on the right.  Right side up now!

Here is a YouTube video of a high school teacher assigning the above lesson to her students:

This next one I am most proud of because it is so detailed.  It took a little longer but so satisfying when done. 

This is not a gimmick but it does have a lot to teach us about how we think while we are drawing. Learn how to quiet down the left side and Draw on the Right Side of the Brain. Thank you, Betty!