After a while, your eyes get used to your drawing and stop seeing its mistakes. Artists use a few tricks to see it fresh.
- Step back. Put the drawing up and look from across the room. Proportions and big shapes show at a distance.
- Squint. Half-close your eyes. Details blur away and only the big light and dark shapes remain, so you can check your values against the object.
- Flip it. Look at the drawing in a mirror, or hold the paper up to a light and look from the back. Crooked and lopsided shapes jump out when the image is reversed.
- Turn it upside down. The subject stops looking familiar, so you see shapes and angles instead.
- Measure. Use sighting and plumb lines to test one part against another.
- Take a break. Come back after a few minutes with fresh eyes.
Key idea
Step back, squint for the big values, and flip the drawing in a mirror to catch crooked or lopsided shapes.
Why it works
Your brain quickly learns a picture and starts filling in what it expects to see. Changing the view, by distance, blur, a mirror or turning, takes away that expectation, so the drawing looks new and its errors show.
Worked example: A lopsided vase
Sam's vase looks fine to him, but his friend says it leans. Which check will show it best?
- A lean is a lopsided shape.
- Flipping the image in a mirror shows lopsided shapes clearly.
- A plumb line through the vase's center also tests whether it is upright.
Answer: Look at it in a mirror (or test it with a plumb line).
Common mistake
People keep their nose close to the paper. Many errors only show from a distance or flipped. Build the habit: every ten minutes or so, stand up, step back and look.