CONTOUR DRAWING

What is a contour?

A contour is the line which defines a form or edge - an outline. Contour drawing is the place where most beginners start, following the visible edges of a shape. The contour describes the outermost edges of a form, as well as dramatic changes of plane within the form.  Put simply, a contour line drawing is an "outline drawing," that uses no shading.  

A contour drawing is done when the artist looks intently at the EDGES of an object, but rarely looks at the paper while the pencil moves.  The goal of contour drawing is to make a line that is authentic and true to what you are actually seeing, and to train your hand to copy your eye's movement.

BLIND CONTOUR DRAWING

Blind contour drawing is a technique used by artist to train your eye to see the shape and detail of the object/subject you are drawing.  It is done by looking ONLY at the object you are drawing, not at the paper you are drawing on!  Blind contour drawings are done using a continuous line, which means your pencil never leaves the paper.  It is an uninterupted continuous line.

SEMI-​BLIND CONTOUR DRAWING

A semi-blind contour drawing (sometimes called a modified contour) is where you do allow yourself to look at your paper while drawing, but very minimally. So a quick glance to place your pencil back in the drawing (or replace your pencil if you have moved off the paper!) The goal is to again, focus your attention on the object itself and not the paper, but allow yourself a few furtive peeks.

CONTOUR DRAWING

Contour drawing is an artistic technique used in the field of art in which the artist sketches the style of a subject by drawing lines that result in a drawing that is essentially an outline (the French word  contour  meaning "outline").
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