Avoiding the Coloring Book Method

When learning to draw, many artists begin with outlines and fill these in with shading. This method is something we all learned from doing coloring books as children. While there can be some merit to this approach (we all need to start somewhere), there is another method that may help you to obtain a likeness more quickly and accurately, and give your work a less academic look. This is drawing without boundaries. As discussed in the previous post Empty Headed Drawing: The Optical Approach, the human eye doesn’t see outlines, rather it sees shapes and edges; the outlines merely represent the edges of shapes. And when you indicate light and shadow early on in your drawing, you can more critically assess the accuracy of the drawing, and distance yourself from the coloring book method.

Drawing Without Boundaries-Beyond the Coloring Book

To demonstrate, I did a small 4x4 inch drawing (see below) based on an old photograph (above) by the early 20^th century photographer Edward Curtis. Edward was a master at setting up beautiful lighting for portraits and using variety of values and edges to their fullest extent; his photos are well worth studying. This drawing was done with charcoal on a Strathmore Toned Tan 4x4 Artist Tile. The great thing about this paper is it’s very forgiving, especially with charcoal, and the tan color goes well with nostalgic subject matter.

This stage of the drawing shows only about 10-15 minutes of work. While it’s still very rough, the indication of the shadows early on show that I’m already achieving a very close likeness to the subject. This is because the value shapes are what make up the image, not outlines. The loose, light, sketchy approach keeps me feeling free and relaxed and allows for easy correction. Most of all it breaks my mind free from the boundaries of the coloring book method.

At this early stage of the drawing, you should be critically assessing the large shapes and proportions. Ask questions like, “How large is the length of the nose compared with the length of the forehead? Are the eye sockets placed too high or too low? Is the forehead too slanted or not slanted enough?” These are the types of questions you must be asking yourself and answering before you proceed any further. Looking at your drawing with a mirror can also help. This is the essence of drawing without boundaries.

Finishing Up

Once you are certain that the large shapes and proportions are correct, you can start to define these shapes with more precision. The shadows can be applied with more pressure and darkness since the need to erase and make corrections has diminished. The next step is to apply half tones, subtle value shifts and smaller value shapes.  This process will lead to drawing details in a more natural manner since details are really just smaller shapes of value. As stated in a previous post, The Most Important Elements of Drawing, detail doesn’t mean anything if it’s in the wrong place.

So next time you are drawing something, check and see if there are strong shapes of value (light and dark) that you can grab on to.  Lightly sketch in those shapes, and draw without boundaries!

Tell Me Your Struggles

Let me know what you are struggling with in your drawing by commenting below.

Jason Tako is a nationally known fine artist who specializes in western, wildlife, plein air, and Historical Native American subject matter. He spent his learning years sketching the wetlands and wooded areas of rural Minnesota. He has been featured in Plein Air Magazine and Western Art Collector Magazine and he was the Featured Artist for the 2020 Southeastern Wildlife Expo. See his work at www.JasonTako.com and his demonstrations on his YouTube Channel.

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