When drawing lines, where should my eyes be LOOKING?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/5ht6mj/when_drawing_lines_where_should_my_eyes_be_looking/
2016-12-11 23:30
[deleted]
I noticed that if I directly and smoothly follow the pen with my eyes, the line is more wobbly, since it's a sort of tunnel vision effect.... You literally lose sight of where you're going.
But if I look at the final point where the line will ultimately finish, that doesn't seem to help either.
I also tried looking just a bit AHEAD of where the line is being drawn... Moving my eyes as they do when reading a book. (not a smooth motion, but a series of stop-and-go saccades) and this is a bit better.
Finally, I went back to the way that I had already subconsciously been doing it... Allowing my eyes to FOLLOW the drawing of the line, rather than leading it... But while still moving in saccades (again, like reading a book.) and this seems to work best for me.
I searched, and I saw no discussion of the effect of eye placement while drawing.
I'm reminded of the way farmers will plow their fields in straight lines.... Look at a point in front of you, and drive straight towards it.
Are there any eye placement techniques for drawing that we should know about?
[deleted]
2016-12-12 00:03
Doing some more experimentation, I definitely believe that proper eye placement is a factor for drawing your lines exactly as you want to.
I would not at all be surprised if some of the struggles from new artists are because they are not moving their eyes "correctly." And I don't think I've EVER seen this issue addressed. I think we need to investigate this far more deeply, and figure out some "best practices."
What I have figured out so far is this:
When reading a book, the trick is NOT to rest your eyes on each individual word. Perhaps children do this while learning, but it is not the best way. The trick is to rest your eyes on GROUPS of two or three words... Maybe four... And read all those words before your eyes saccade over to the next "group" of words.
Similarly, I've found that my lines are less accurate, and more wobbly, if I move my eyes too often while following the pen. (Fun fact, a saccade messes with your perception of time... the time where your eyes were actually moving is essentially ignored by your brain.)
I've also found that moving my eyes too infrequently is also bad... The pen makes it too deep into my peripheral vision... again, affecting accuracy.
So the trick is to follow the pen "just right," from what I can tell so far...
Side note... I wonder if advanced artists have greater visual acuity, and a wider central vision?
perlatus
2016-12-12 07:10
I am by no means an expert, but I try to focus only on the destination when it comes to the actual stroke. When ghosting, anything goes.
spiraling_out
2016-12-12 17:30
I'd like to hear thoughts about drawing curves or circles, where you have multiple targets to meet. I've had better success when constantly shifting your vision ahead of the curve.
perlatus
2016-12-13 04:56
For circles and ellipses, I tend to get better results when I focus on the centers.
bootyhole_jackson
2023-01-29 18:49
Im starting the ellipses and am super interested in hearing from /u/uncomfortable on this. Have you encountered a best practice for where/how to move your eyes when drawing an ellipse?
Uncomfortable
2023-01-29 20:24
If you've got questions, you can post them as a new text post, and if I think I have anything specific to offer, I will weigh in myself, otherwise I'll leave it to others to respond to. Tagging me directly is not something you should be doing in this community.
For this, I don't really have an answer, because it's more that you shouldn't be focusing overmuch on what you're drawing during the execution phase of a mark. Your eyes play a role throughout the planning and preparation for a stroke (per the ghosting method), but once you execute the mark, you don't really want to be focusing on anything in particular, as that is only going to encourage your eyes to try and take control, which results in wobbling and hesitation.