GET INTO THE BEST ARTS COLLEGE
THE DRAWN TO SUCCESS STUDY GUIDE
The Fastest Way to Drawing Well:
PortPrep's Companion to
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
Table of Contents
Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2
Exercise 1 – Face/Vase Drawing Exercise with Dominant Hand .................................... 4
Exercise 2 – Face/Vase Drawing Exercise with Non-Dominant Hand ............................. 6
Exercise 3 – Detailed Drawing Exercise with Dominant and Non-Dominant Hands........ 8
Exercise 4 – Bypassing Your Left Brain Knowledge by Drawing Upside Down ............ 10
Exercise 5 – Drawing Upside Down Part 2.................................................................... 12
Using a Frame and Centre Lines ............................................................................... 12
Part 1: Drawing Using Negative Space...................................................................... 12
Part 2: Drawing Negative Space as Block of Colour .................................................. 14
Part 3: Drawing Positive Form as Blocks of Colour ................................................... 15
Examples: Drawing Upside Down Using Negative Space and Positive Form ........... 17
Exercise 6 – Leaf Drawing Exercise .............................................................................. 19
Part 1: Memory, Symbol, and Pattern Recognition .................................................... 19
Part 2: Drawing a Leaf Accurately ............................................................................. 19
Warm Up: Continuous Blind Contour Drawing. .......................................................... 20
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Introduction
The exercises in this Study Guide are based on exercises that have been used at
Sheridan College to quickly teach hundreds of beginner drawing students to learn how
to draw proficiently. This guide highlights the most important exercises found in Drawing
on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. This guide expands upon these
exercises by adding important details that will help you learn more efficiently, and give
you faster results.
You can purchase Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain through PortPrep's Amazon
Store under the drawing category. Go to http://portprep.com/wp/amazon-store/
Learning to draw, as with any new skill, is dependent upon the development of new
neural pathways in your brain. As with any skill, practicing often will reinforce these
pathways. It is therefore recommended that you do these exercises more than once.
For best results, practice twice a day for 30 days.
There are several exercises in this document. It is important that you do them in order.
Exercise 1 – Face/Vase Exercise with Dominant Hand will teach you how to
recognize the difference between what it feels like to draw using the left-brain versus
using the right-brain. Even if you have done it, do it again but with careful attention to
how your thinking, senses, and feelings change when you set to the task of copying the
first profile.
Your goal is to get to know what it feels like to use the right-brain mode so that you can
start to control it at will. If you feel frustrated, rush it, get a headache, get bored, say “oh
that's good enough”, or “oh this is terrible”, feel confused, and/or can't get a good replica
then you are stuck in left brain thinking.
All the exercises following this one are designed to help you engage the right
hemisphere.
Exercise 2 – Face/Vase Exercise with Non-Dominant Hand has you repeat the
face/vase exercise with your non-dominant hand to help you figure out if your left or
right hand is more directly connected to your right brain.
Pay more attention to your mental state and your accuracy of the proportions than how
shaky the line is, and avoid fixating on the lack of dexterity. We can generally see
proportions when drawing with our left hand more accurately than with our right hand
because of the direct connection to the right side of the brain. Use drawing with the left
hand as a warm up exercise to drawing daily.
Exercise 3 – Detailed Drawing Exercise with Dominant and Non-Dominant Hands
makes you draw something so detailed that the left brain bows out of the way and lets
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the right side take over. Practice with both hands and self observe which is more
accurate in proportion and detail as opposed to stability of line.
Exercise 4 – Bypassing Your Left Brain Knowledge by Drawing Upside Down will
give you an upside down image to draw so that you do not focus on what you know
about the image and just look at the size, angle, and shape relationship of the lines
Exercise 5 – Drawing Upside Down Part 2 expands on what you learn in Exercise 4
by adding the analysis of negative space to your methodology. You will focus on the
shapes surrounding the object you are drawing, and not on the object itself.
Finally, Exercise 6 – Leaf Drawing Exercise will show you how to by-pass the memory
and symbol system and then use the methodology you have learned thus far to create
an accurate and detailed drawing of a leaf from life. In this exercise you will learn steps
and procedures for judging relationships and conveying them accurately from form to
detail. You will also learned another valuable warm up exercise: continuous blind
contour drawing.
Each of the exercises you learn in this study guide is a great way to engage your rightbrain mode for drawing, but you may find that some exercises work better for you than
others. For example, if you are left-handed, drawing with your non-dominant hand may
not work as well for you as it would for a right-handed person, but perhaps drawing
something extremely detailed will. If you ever start to feel frustrated as you are drawing,
take a break and do one of these exercises to warm up.
Learning to draw well is inevitable! Trust me I have taught hundreds and probably
thousands of people how to draw really well in a short time span. This is the place to
start.
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Exercise 1 – Face/Vase Drawing Exercise with Dominant Hand
The purpose of this exercise is to allow you to become familiar with the difference
between left-brain and right-brain thinking, and how it feels to engage one mode of
thinking vs. the other.
Read “Chapter 4: Experiencing the Shift from Left to Right” in Drawing on the Right
Side of the Brain for more information.
1. Follow the drawing exercise as described in Drawing on the Right Side of the
Brain.
2. Pay close attention to the instructions given for right-handed people and lefthanded people. Follow the instructions for your dominant hand.
3. It is important to follow the directions exactly. Repeat the names of the sections
of face as you draw to understand how it feels to become engrained in left-brain
thinking.
4. While doing this exercise, it is important to observe and record your thoughts and
feelings and how they change as you work through it. Consider the various
questions posed by the author.
5. Use the chart below to record your personal observations.
How did the following
change?
First half of face
Copied second half of
face
Physical sensations
Mental state
Emotions
Sense of Time
Thoughts – what was the
nature of your thoughts?
Comment on accuracy
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If you are right-handed, draw the left half of the face/vase first:
If you are left-handed, draw the right half of the face/vase first:
Tips:

Solving the problem of how to draw the second half of the face is done by
shifting into right-brain mode and seeing what it really there instead of
trying to draw symbols for “forehead”, “nose”, etc. Reflect on how you
accomplished this.

Do this exercise several times. If you find it frustrating, do it once a day
until it becomes easier to shift into right-brain mode.
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Exercise 2 – Face/Vase Drawing Exercise with Non-Dominant Hand
The majority of people experience a cross-over in brain function to hand dominance,
such that the right hand is typically controlled by the left hemisphere of the brain, and
the left hand is typically controlled by the right hemisphere. However, this is not
always the case. In about 60% of left-handed people, the opposite is true so that the
left hand is controlled by the left hemisphere.
This exercise will help you determine if drawing with your non-dominant hand
connects more directly to your right-brain mode.
Don’t worry about how shaky the line is, just try your best to draw what you see.
1. Repeat the face/vase exercise but this time use your non-dominant hand. Follow
the chapter’s directions for that hand.
2. Observe and record your thoughts and feelings while doing it, and how they
change as you work through the exercise.
3. After the drawing is complete, compare it to the previous drawing. Which is more
accurate? Was there any difference from the thoughts and feelings you felt
during the first drawing activity? Use the chart below to record your observations.
How did the following
change?
Left hand
Right hand
Physical sensations
Mental state
Emotions
Sense of Time
Proportion accuracy
Thoughts
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Tips:

If you saw the proportions more accurately, felt more relaxed, or lost track of
time while drawing with your non-dominant than, then it’s a good indication
that your non-dominant hand connects more directly to your right hemisphere
than your dominant hand does.

Before you start drawing, warm up by drawing with your non-dominant
hand to help you shift to right-brain mode.
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Exercise 3 – Detailed Drawing Exercise with Dominant and Non-Dominant Hands
This exercise will allow you to use the cross-over of your nervous system to help you
draw more accurately, and put your findings from the previous exercise to the test.
By choosing to draw something that is extremely detailed, the left brain realizes that it
is ill-equipped for the job and quickly bows out to let the right side of the brain
dominate, just as it does when we drive a car or play a sport.
1. Choose one (or try both) of the detailed designs below, and copy it with both the
dominant and non-dominant hand (approximately 15 min each. Notice which
ones takes the longest).
2. Compare the two drawings. Ignoring the shakiness of the line, overall, which is
more accurate in proportion and detail?
3. Using the chart below, make notes on the differences in accuracy, thoughts, and
feelings.
LEFT HAND
RIGHT HAND
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LEFT HAND
How did the following
change?
RIGHT HAND
Left hand
Right hand
Physical sensations
Mental state
Emotions
Sense of Time
Proportion accuracy
Thoughts
Tip:

Before you start drawing, warm up by drawing something extremely
detailed, either with your dominant- or non-dominant hand to help you shift
to right-brain mode.
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Exercise 4 – Bypassing Your Left Brain Knowledge by Drawing Upside Down
This exercise is designed to bypass the left-brain knowledge and frees up the drawer
to see the objects as lines of varying degrees, curves, and lengths. In this way, you
are not thinking about what the object is, or what it is called, which are left-brain
functions. Because it is harder to recognize an object upside down, you can focus on
the purely visual component of what you see, and therefore can draw more
accurately.
Read “Chapter 4: Experiencing the Shift from Left to Right” in Drawing on the Right
Side of the Brain for more information.
1. Examine the drawing on the following page. Whenever using this technique,
draw a rectangle around the image that touches its outermost edges, and a cross
through the centre to help you find the location and proportions of the lines.
2. Draw a second rectangle of the exact same proportions, including the centre
cross. Copy the drawing in this rectangle.
3. When complete, turn the drawings right side up and compare then. Take a few
moments to reflect on the drawing and what you felt and the kinds of thoughts
you had.
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Tips:

Use this technique to help you see proportions more accurately. Adding
the box and cross-hairs allows you to locate where the object touches the
borders or crosses the centre lines.

Notice what lines up horizontally and vertically.
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Exercise 5 – Drawing Upside Down Part 2
Here are some more topics to study drawing upside down with. Refer to “Chapter 4:
Experiencing the Shift from Left to Right” in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
for more information on why drawing upside down works.
The exercises and information in this section will expand upon the upside down
drawing exercise you did in the last section, and help you draw more accurately by
looking at negative space as well as positive form.
For more information about negative space, read “Chapter 7: Perceiving the Shape
of A Space: The Positive Aspects of Negative Space” in Drawing on the Right Side
of the Brain.
Using a Frame and Centre Lines
On the pages following these instructions are three photographs of animals: a mule, a
toucan, and a penguin. As in the previous exercise, each of these images have a
rectangle drawn around the object the so that it touches the object’s outer most
elements. This is done because:
1. It helps you locate where the object touches the outside edge and helps you to
see the proportions and layout more accurately than if it were just a free floating
object
2. It helps you to notice and judge the shape around the object and the rectangular
frame it is in: negative space.
3. Drawing centre lines on the rectangle framing the image helps you judge the
location of the lines and keeps the proportions more exact in relation to each
other much better than with only the outside frame
Part 1: Drawing Using Negative Space
Negative space is the empty space surrounding the object you are drawing. People
are naturally good at judging small empty spaces. There are no preconceived ideas
about empty space that will prevent us from seeing what's there. We are accustomed
to judging if we can fit through small spaces, and we are good at judging angles.
Including a frame around the object you are drawing will allow you to more easily see
the empty space as discreet shapes. First, you will do a drawing by just outlining the
negative space.
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1. Examine the photo of the mule, and draw an empty rectangle that has the
same dimensions as the rectangle around the original image. You can draw a
smaller rectangle within the first one to frame more of the mule and less of the
environment.
2. Make sure you do the math correctly for the size and proportion of the box.
Always do this before you start drawing and not after or during as it is a left brain
function and not a right one.
3. Add cross-hairs or centre lines to the empty rectangle.
4. Examine the image. Look only at the empty space. What is the shape of the
empty space as defined by the outside frame? What proportion of each quadrant
is empty space?
5. What shape is the space between the mule’s legs? What shape is the space
between the fence posts?
6. Outline these shapes with your pencil, and not the animal or fence itself.
7. How accurate is your drawing?
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Part 2: Drawing Negative Space as Block of Colour
1. Choosing the toucan below, draw an empty rectangle that has the same
dimensions as the rectangle around the original image. Again, you can draw
extra lines or boxes that touch more of the toucan.
2. Make sure you do the math correctly for the size and proportion of the box.
Always do this before you start drawing and not after or during as it is a left brain
function and not a right one.
3. Add cross-hairs or centre lines to the rectangle.
4. Examine the image. Where does the object touch the outside frame? Locate this
by looking for fraction proportions and relationships: it touches the corner, it
touches the edge 1/4 of the way across the upper quadrant, etc. Mark on your
page where the object touches.
5. Where does the object cross the centre lines and at what proportion or fraction?
Mark it on your page.
6. Focus on the outside negative space for this drawing, as you did in the previous
exercise.
7. Colour the shapes around the toucan in solid with the side of a small pastel stick,
a broad tip marker, or even a flat paint brush. Avoid outlining first. Just colour in
the solid shape.
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Part 3: Drawing Positive Form as Blocks of Colour
1. In this last drawing, you will be using the image of the penguin below, and you
will be drawing both the negative space and the positive form.
2. Draw an empty rectangle with the same proportions as the rectangle around the
penguin. Add centre lines.
3. Image the penguin as a paper cut out silhouette. Look at the negative space
surrounding the penguins, and draw it in as you did in the previous exercise.
Avoid outlining.
4. Now examine the penguin itself. Imagine the blocks of colour that make up the
penguins as separate shapes.
5. Look at the size and shape of the each colour block on the penguin without
thinking of them as parts of the bird, but rather just shapes of colour. Compare
the width and height of each colour block to the colour beside it.
6. Notice the proportions of each colour block and how they line up with each other
vertically and horizontally.
7. Try doing a drawing not by using outlines but by colouring in these solid shapes
of colour or tone for either/or/both the positive form and the negative space.
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Tips:

This exercise is also good to try using paper cut outs with. Thinking of each
colour as a solid shape.

Using the frame technique to draw two-dimensional images is a good way
to prepare to draw three-dimensional objects from life. In “Chapter 6:
Getting Around Your Symbol System: Meeting Edges and Contours” in
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, read the section about Picture
Planes for more information.
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Examples: Drawing Upside Down Using Negative Space and Positive Form
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Exercise 6 – Leaf Drawing Exercise
Part 1: Memory, Symbol, and Pattern Recognition – How our brains work and how
we learned as children about language, symbols, patterns and drawing.
1. Using one large sheet (18" x 24") of cartridge or newsprint, fill the page with the
drawings listed below. Another alternative is to use a small sketchpad or drawing
paper (9" x 12")
2. Draw several leaves the way you remember drawing them as a child or have
seen your children and grandkids drawing them if you can't remember. You might
draw a few flowers and trees too.
3. Next draw a leaf from memory as an adult. What do you think a leaf looks like?
(Again flowers could be used in place of leaves.)
Part 2: Drawing a Leaf Accurately
This exercise combines many of the techniques you have learned so far (using boxes
and cross-hairs, analyzing negative space, etc.). While you are doing this exercise,
remember to do all your measurements and calculations before you begin drawing. If
you are having difficulty engaging the right side of your brain, do one of the previous
exercises to warm up.
1. Pick a leaf that has lobes and detail to its shape but not too many serrations. Stiff
waxy leaves work better than soft ones.
2. Tape it down to a piece of paper to one side so that you can draw beside it.
a. Tack it down so it is flat enough to draw but will still leave a fine cast shadow
on the paper – don't cover it with tape.
b. Tip: use tape loops or double sided tape on the back, or use matte not shiny
tape on top so you can draw on it.
c. If you are right handed tape it on the left side of the paper, and vice versa if
you are left-handed. Put in on the page on angle not vertical.
3. Draw a box around it that touches its outermost edges and has 90 degree corners.
4. Draw a centre line half way across the box over the leaf using a soft pencil or
marker.
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5. Draw a box beside the first one that is the exact same size, leaving space in
between the two boxes. If you are right-handed, draw the empty box to the right of
the leaf. If you are left-handed, draw the empty box to the left of the leaf. Draw the
centres on it too. Make sure the sizes are exact.
Right-handed:
Left-handed:
6. Start the drawing with light pencil
guidelines:
a. Find where the leaf touches the
edges of the frame and make small
marks there.
b. Make judgments based on
proportions: does it touch half way,
a third or a quarter of the way
across the edge of the box? Does it
touch at the centre line? etc.
c. Find where the leaf crosses the
centre line inside the box and make
small marks to map that out.
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7. Join up the tick marks you made, drawing the
edges of the leaf as a series of straight lines,
simplifying the form. Look for the angle of
each edge.
8. Study the negative space around the leaf
between the leaf and the edge of the box; the
human eye is good at replicating triangles
accurately.
9. Go around the whole leaf this way. Then stop
and look at it and check for accuracy. Adjust
whatever requires it.
10. Lighten up the drawing by dabbing it with a
kneaded eraser.
11. Look for the next level of detail: break up the
major shapes of the leaf into smaller parts,
e.g. how many serrations on each major
lobe?
a. Taking one lobe or quadrant at a time,
break the details of the leaf into
increasingly smaller proportions.
b. Mark where on the leaf where serrations
are located (halfway, one third, one
quarter, etc).
c. To keep your place and avoid
confusion, hold a finger of your nondominant hand on the part of the actual
leaf that you are drawing so that you
know which serration you are drawing.
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12. Go through a similar process with the leaf
veins. Start with major veins and then move
onto minor ones.
13. Lighten up the drawing again with the kneaded
eraser.
14. You are now going to get ready draw a nice contour
line drawing of the final leaf drawing.
a. Sharpen a pencil with a utility knife so that it
has a chiseled edge that will yield a varied
and interesting line when it is turned and
twisted. This will give the drawing a lively and
organic look.
b. Use a 3B or 4B, and a B for the details like
fine veins.
c. Changing the pressure of the pencil as you
draw will make some lines dark and thick, and
some that are thin, light, and fine.
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Warm Up: Continuous Blind Contour Drawing.
This exercise will help you see the unique details of the leaf, not just the
pattern. It will help you bypass the symbol system and pattern recognition of
the brain.
1. Using a regular pencil and not the knife sharpened one, get to know the
leaf's contour really well.
2. Take the leaf you are drawing, and hold it close to your eyes so that it
fills your field of vision.
3. Turn your face 180 degrees away from your drawing surface so that you
cannot see your paper.
4. Place your pencil on the paper and allow it to record (rather like a
seismograph) the movement of your eyes as you very slowly follow the
contours and veins of the leaf.
5. You pencil never leaves the page and draws a continuous line. Your
focus is on seeing every minute detail of the leaf's veins and serrations.
lt does not matter what the image on the page looks like. The objective
of this exercise is to look carefully at the detail and shift into the right
hemisphere of the brain.
GO SLOWLY and include a lot of detail!
Move your eyes and pencil one
millimeter at a time. Spend between 1
and 5 minutes on this contour drawing.
This is a good warm up to do any time
you are going to draw.
lf you notice yourself moving quickly and
simplifying the leaf's details or feeling
bored and wanting the exercise to be
over with, then you are still in left brain
functioning. Try slowing down or using
your other hand. The right side of the
brain loves detail! You will not feel bored
or restless while in the right side of your
brain; instead you will feel relaxed and
intently focused. It becomes like a
meditative state.
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15. After doing the warm-up exercise, start drawing the leaf's contour with finesse. Do
not talk or listen to anything; concentrate visually without any distractions.
16. To add a shadow, shine a desk light on the leaf and draw the cast shadow of the
leaf around it on the paper.
17. You can leave it as a contour line
drawing or add some shading to it.
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