Chapter 4-6 summary

The way the right and left sides of the brain work make it more difficult to draw
The left side is dominant and is logical and uses symbols to communicate. The right side
is submissive and is nonverbal and spatial and relative. As such, the left brain tries to
draw using symbols, but it doesnt look right. but the right side looks at things how they
are and copies it down that way, not symbolically, and it looks right
Dont think verbally (Im drawing a nose)
If you do think with words, ask questions that are spatial relational, and comparative. Do
not make statements or name pieces
Draw what you see and how you see it, not what symbols your left brain has made for
things
Learning to shift from l mode to r mode can cause a mental conflict
Shifting to r mode creates an alert and focused consciousness
The left brain does not work well with images that are upside down
People start drawing by scribbling as a child
After scribbling for a while young children start making symbols to represent things and
they start making drawings using those and sometimes making small variations
At around three and a half, drawings become more complex and recognizable, showing
increased worldly awareness
Children find their favorite things to draw and repeat those things over and over. The
symbols for these subjects stabilize and stick in the childs memory for a very long time,
basically forever, even when not used much later in life
Around four or five, children use drawings to tell stories and solve problems, one
common way being a family portrait
The way children draw things at this stage is very expressive and shows how the child in
question views the world
At age five and six, children start drawing and making symbols for landscapes, repeating
them over and over
As they get older, childrens drawings become more complex
Also around this age, subjects of drawings begin to differ depending on gender. Boys
tend to draw vehicles and tough guys like pirates, Vikings, and superheroes. Girls lean
more towards things in nature, like flowers and landscapes, and fashion models with
elaborate clothes and hair and arms behind them to avoid drawing hands
Around ten and eleven years old, children become passionate about realism. It is at this
point that people get frustrated because their drawing does not look real and they do not
know how to fix it. When they ask teachers for help, they say to look closer, but that does
not help because they dont know what to look for
Many people think they cant draw because, the way the brain develops, all through
childhood they use symbols to draw. They want to draw realistically around age 10, but
they get frustrated and give up when using the left side of the brain doesnt work with
realism

Many people also gave up on drawing because of rude remarks from adults when they
were younger and self-criticism
Often people dont really learn to draw in elementary and middle school
The solution to the problem of how to shift to r mode is to present the brain with
something the left brain cannot or will not do
The perceptual skills of drawing are perception of edges, spaces, relationships, lights and
shadows, and the whole
Edges are not lines; they are the place where two objects come together
Shared edges are called contour lines
Realistic drawing is just copying reality
Realistic drawing is no longer intended to record information, its to show the artists
unique perception and personality and style, as well as for enjoyment