Introduction to Drawing

Course Type	Course Code	No. Of Credits
Foundation Core	SUSIFC040	4

Semester and Year Offered: Winter

Course Coordinator and Team: Suchitra Balsubrahmanian, Shefalee Jain

Email of course coordinator: suchitra[at]aud[dot]ac[dot]in

Pre-requisites: None

Aim: This course introduces students to freehand drawing and, through the act of drawing invites students to observe, record and reflect on the world through the visual. It does not focus on the acquisition of conventional representation abilities (being ‘good’ at drawing) but focuses instead on the process of drawing and the cognitive, perceptual and generative abilities it kindles and strengthens.

Course Outcomes:

Enhanced observation of the visual world
Drawing with fluency and confidence
Develop a critical appreciation of one’s own work
Ease in using drawing materials and knowledge of their characteristic mark

Brief description of modules/ Main modules:

Module 1 Drawing is largely a right-hemisphere. This has now been empirically tested and documented. After an introduction, the week would focus on experiencing the shift from one mode to the other – the shift from the verbal, analytical state to the spatial, non-verbal state – a state in which the ability to draw is initiated. Most often we tend to see what we believe, not believing what we see. The sessions during the next two weeks will attempt to explore through drawing, breaking away from set notions that we may have about ourselves and our environment, thus making more precise judgments about the accuracy of our perceptions.

Module 2 The ability to draw depends on the ability to see and this kind of seeing can greatly enrich our lives. The sessions in these weeks will bring/introduce a particular way of seeing, opening access to the right side of the brain in order to experience a slightly altered mode of awareness.

Module 3 Perceiving relationships – the relationship of one part to another and the relationship of parts to the whole Perception of proportional relationships, particularly spatial relationships, is a special function of the right hemisphere of the human brain. Realistic drawing in particular depends heavily on proportional correctness; therefore realistic drawing is especially effective in training the eye to see things-as-they-are in their relational proportions.

Module 4 Seeing structures; drawing as mirror Abstraction (from the Latin abs, meaning ‘away from’ and ‘trahere’ meaning ‘to draw’) is the process of taking away or removing characteristics from something in order to reduce it to a set of essential characteristics. Abstract thinking can thus not only reduce complexity and increase efficiency but also helps the process of generalizing concepts and finding patterns beyond the obvious and be able to use the patterns to solve larger problems.

This module would focus on the ability to abstract through drawing that does not imitate a recognizable subject but reshapes the natural world for expressive, comprehension or communication purposes.

Like a signature, drawing is an expression of one’s individuality and one’s creativity. The object of drawing is not only to show what one is trying to portray but also show oneself. Thus as drawing becomes a metaphor for the artist, it also becomes a means to know oneself.

Assessment Details with weights: