{"id":12099,"date":"2023-11-01T14:09:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T18:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/?p=12099"},"modified":"2026-03-25T14:04:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T18:04:33","slug":"1-secret-to-drawing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/1-secret-to-drawing","title":{"rendered":"#1 Secret to Drawing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"insertbackground\">\n<div class=\"removep\">\n<div class=\"videoflexwrapper\">\n<div class=\"videotop\">\n <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7Qy_13MInxI?si=N2rOvNWXrokKCzvS\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wrapperpage\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/newsletter-signup\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"buttonundervideo\">FREE COURSE VIDEOS<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"buttonundervideoorangetabletcontainer\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"buttonundervideoorangetablet\">BECOME A MEMBER<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"orangecontainermobile\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"buttonundervideoorange\">BECOME A MEMBER<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebartop\">\n<div class=\"vertalign\">\n<div class=\"logoimage\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/logosmall75.png\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebarcarddescriptiondark\"><span>JOIN THE VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR<\/span><br \/>\n    Get ALL of our courses, ebooks, live lessons, critiques, lesson plans and more today.<\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebarbuttonholder\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebuttonsmem\">START FREE TRIAL<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<hr style=\"background-color:#ffffff;margin-top:1.5em;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/newsletter-signup\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"sidebuttons\">FREE COURSE VIDEOS<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"contentfix\">\n<h2>The Most Important Secret to Drawing<\/h2>\n<p>Who doesn&#8217;t want to be able to draw and do it well? The problem is that most people believe they can&#8217;t draw even though they&#8217;d love to be able to do it. Well, the good news is that drawing is a skill that anyone can learn and develop. And just like any other skill, drawing requires a bit of knowledge and practice. Now, the practice is up to you, but in this lesson, I&#8217;m going to give you one major piece of knowledge that may dramatically affect your drawing ability.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See also:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/why-you-believe-you-cant-draw-and-what-to-do-about-it\">Why You Believe You Can&#8217;t Draw and What to do About It<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Many people believe that drawing is about making marks, and yes, this is true. You must make marks to make a drawing, but there&#8217;s a lot more to it than just making marks. Our drawings are the results of making marks on a surface, but the true essence to drawing is about what happens between your ears.<\/p>\n<p>Michelangelo is quoted as saying, &#8220;A man or woman paints with his brains, not with his hands.&#8221; But what does this mean?<\/p>\n<p>It means that our brains are actually more involved in the drawing process than our hands.<\/p>\n<h3>Drawing From Imagination<\/h3>\n<p>Now, let&#8217;s see if we can go deeper to understand the quote above. We&#8217;ll do a few drawing exercises. For all of our exercises, you&#8217;ll need a piece of paper and a pencil. <\/p>\n<p>For our first drawing exercise, simply draw a hammer &#8211; just a plain old hammer from your imagination. Don&#8217;t look at anything to create this first drawing.<\/p>\n<p>Your hammer might end up looking like this&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-from-imagination.jpg\" alt=\"Drawing from imagination - hammer\" width=\"800\" height=\"468\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-from-imagination.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-from-imagination-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-from-imagination-768x449.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, this drawing does look like a hammer &#8211; right? But, it could be better &#8211; much better. So drawing purely from our imagination is not enough.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See also:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/improve-your-drawing-skills-in-6-days\">Improve Your Drawing Skills in 6 Days<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Drawing with 100% Observation<\/h2>\n<p>Now we&#8217;re going to create another drawing, but this time we&#8217;re going to have a few restrictions. This time we&#8217;ll actually look at a hammer. I&#8217;ll use a photo reference and we&#8217;ll look at it, <strong>but<\/strong> you can not look at your drawing paper.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you read that right. You can not look at your drawing paper. We&#8217;ll only be looking at the reference photo and not the drawing.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a look at the photo reference&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Hammer-ref.jpg\" alt=\"Hammer reference photo\" width=\"800\" height=\"561\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Hammer-ref.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Hammer-ref-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Hammer-ref-768x539.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll create this <a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/continuous-line-drawing.html\">drawing using just one line<\/a>. This means that once we place the pencil to the drawing surface, we can&#8217;t pick it up again. The goal here is to pick a place to start observing on the hammer and try to move your hand with your pencil at the same speed and angle in which your eyes move over the reference. This is called a <a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blind-contour-line-drawing.html\">blind contour line drawing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t worry about what your drawing will look like. Just concentrate on observing and moving your hand with the pencil.<\/p>\n<p>This is what my drawing looks like (along with the first to compare)&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-100-percent-observation.jpg\" alt=\"Blind contour line drawing\" width=\"800\" height=\"485\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-100-percent-observation.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-100-percent-observation-300x182.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-100-percent-observation-768x466.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We now have two drawings, one from our imagination without any observation, and one that was created purely with 100% observation. Drawing accurately is somewhere in between these two drawings. <\/p>\n<p>Now here&#8217;s the big secret&#8230; <strong>Drawing is at least 50% observation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Drawing is about seeing and recording what we see in the form of marks. <\/p>\n<div class=\"promoinsert\">\n<div class=\"promoimage\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"promotext\"><span>25 Days to Better Drawings<\/span><br \/>\n    Learn a new drawing concept and skill every day for 25 days. Each drawing concept taught includes a short drawing exercise (less than one hour) that reinforces the concept taught.<br \/>\n     <a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/25-days-to-better-drawings\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"contentbutton\">VIEW COURSE<\/div>\n<p>     <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Drawing with 50% Observation and 50% Mark-Making<\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s create one final drawing and we&#8217;ll use the same reference photo, but this time we can look at the reference photo and we can look at our drawing paper. We can also pick up our pencil this time too.<\/p>\n<p>Now we&#8217;re making comparisons between what we see in the reference and the marks that we&#8217;re making on the drawing paper. In fact, it&#8217;s a continuous process of going back and forth with our eyes between the photo reference and the drawing paper. All the answers are sitting there waiting for us in the photo reference. All we have to do is see them and place them in the correct location on the drawing paper. <\/p>\n<div class=\"promoinsert\">\n<div class=\"promoimagedays\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"promotext\"><span>Realistic Pencil Drawing<\/span><br \/>\n    Explore the foundations and techniques for creating wonderful realistic drawings with pencil in this logically-sequenced video course.<br \/>\n     <a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/realistic-pencil-drawing\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"contentbutton\">VIEW COURSE<\/div>\n<p>     <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a look at my drawing of a hammer using 50% observation and 50% mark-making&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-observation-and-mark-making.jpg\" alt=\"Drawing with 50% observation\" width=\"800\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12100\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-observation-and-mark-making.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-observation-and-mark-making-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/drawing-with-observation-and-mark-making-768x450.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is the essence of drawing. It is all about observation &#8211; well, at least 50%.<\/p>\n<h2>#1 Secret to Drawing &#8211; Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The number one secret to drawing is that drawing is at least 50% observation. It&#8217;s about what happens between your ears a bit more than just making marks on the surface. When you&#8217;re practicing your drawing, you should also be practicing your observation skills because ultimately, drawing is about observation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"promoinsert\">\n<div class=\"promoimagenews\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"promotext\"><span>Like This Lesson?<\/span><br \/>If so, join over 36,000 others that receive our newsletter with new drawing and painting lessons. 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I&#8217;M IN!<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"sidebarbottom removep\">\n<div class=\"relatedcoursescontainer\">\n<div class=\"relatedcourse\">Related Courses and Classes<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/drawing-bootcamp-2-0\" class=\"sidebarbottom-curriculum\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftlean\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Drawing Bootcamp 2.0<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightlean\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Drawing-Bootcamp-2-400-1.jpg');\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/realistic-pencil-drawing\" class=\"sidebarbottom-curriculum\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftlean\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Realistic Pencil Drawing<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightlean\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Realistic-Pencil-Drawing-Course.jpg');\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/graphite-elephant-live-lesson-series\" class=\"sidebarbottom-curriculum\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"leftlean\"><i class=\"far fa-play-circle\" style=\"margin-right:5px;\"><\/i>Elephant with Graphite<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightlean\" style=\"background-image: url('https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/members\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/GraphiteElephantSmall.jpg');\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"MoreLessons\">More Lessons You&#8217;ll Love&#8230;<\/div>\n<div class=\"removep\">\n<div class=\"FlexContainer bluelink\">\n<div class=\"FlexOneThird hovereffect\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/3-step-approach-to-drawing-anything\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card--content\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/3-Step-Method-for-Drawing-800.jpg\" alt=\"3 Step Approach to Drawing Anything\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cardtitle\"><strong>3 Step Approach to Drawing Anything<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"FlexOneThird hovereffect\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/best-papers-for-colored-pencils\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card--content\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Best-Papers-Colored-Pencils-800-Splash.jpg\" alt=\"Best Papers for Colored Pencils\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cardtitle\"><strong>Best Papers for Colored Pencils<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"FlexOneThird hovereffect\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/how-to-store-and-protect-your-art\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card--content\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/how-to-store-your-art-800.jpg\" alt=\"How to Store Your Art\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cardtitle\"><strong>How to Store Your Art<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"FlexOneThird hovereffect\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/how-to-draw-fabric-folds\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"card--content\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/how-to-draw-fabric-800.jpg\" alt=\"How to Draw Fabric Folds\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cardtitle\"><strong>How to Draw Fabric Folds<\/strong><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FREE COURSE VIDEOS BECOME A MEMBER BECOME A MEMBER JOIN THE VIRTUAL INSTRUCTOR Get ALL of our courses, ebooks, live lessons, critiques, lesson plans and more today. START FREE TRIAL FREE COURSE VIDEOS The Most Important Secret to Drawing Who doesn&#8217;t want to be able to draw and do it well? The problem is that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drawing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.9 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The #1 secret to drawing is revealed. In this lesson, we create three drawings, each with a different approach to observation and mark-making\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Fussell\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thevirtualinstructor.com\/blog\/1-secret-to-drawing\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.9\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TheVirtualInstructor Blog |\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"#1 Secret to Drawing\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The #1 secret to drawing is revealed. 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