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Step Back
Step Back to See Things Clearly
Do you step back from your drawings regularly? As artists there are countless times when our drawings are just a little off. Many times, it’s something subtle and we might not be able to pinpoint the problem right away. Here are several tips that might help, and they all require that you step back.
It’s part of the routine of drawing. We are naturally up close and personal with our artwork, sometimes hovering just inches above the surface of our paper. We do this for hours on end. Optometrists have long suggested that we give our eyes a break every 20 minutes. Sure, this is usually intended for folks who work on a computer most of the day but drawing or reading forces the muscles in our eyes to contract and execute rapid movements.
The longer we work, the more fatigued those muscles become. As the fatigue sets in, we might start experiencing a type of tunnel vision. This means we really only clearly see a very small portion of our drawing, namely just what’s directly front and center. This being the case, we lose sight of the rest of the drawing. So, is it any wonder that things might end up looking a bit wonky?
Optometrists suggest the 20–20–20 rule. Work for 20 minutes, stop and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Looking at something that far away allows the muscles in your eyes to relax.
