Seeing vs. Looking

As a child, I loved to draw. My best friend and I spent hours copying our favorite cartoon characters and illustrations from magazines and books. Fascinated by celebrity caricatures and portraits, I strove to capture likenesses. I practiced drawing details and mastering pencil and ink. Teachers and classmates praised my artistic talent and I dreamt of going to art school.

So I felt quite confident in my first college life drawing class — after all, I was good at drawing. As the instructor walked through the class, she stopped to give us individual feedback. When she got to me, she gave me a magic key that influences more than just my drawings, to this day.

She told me to stop thinking about what I was looking at and really see it. She pointed out my drawing of the model’s mouth. Something was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was like a light came on when I realized I had drawn 10 teeth when all I could really see was 6. My mind had been driving me instead of my eyes. When I got back to my dorm room, I looked at some old drawings and was mortified to see I had a habit of drawing not only too many teeth, but fully outlined ones. How could I have missed that?! And why did other people praise my work?!

It’s easy to look at things, yet not truly see them. A scanning mind may recognize the overall visual effect but not necessarily the details. It’s easy to make assumptions based on past impressions.

Now I focus on and study things I need to draw. Even if the end goal is a stylized illustration or logo element, I like to have a solid understanding of the details that make something uniquely what it is.

I try to do the same thing with people — aiming to really see them and hear what they’re saying, not just listen to them talk. I think that’s where authentic connection starts.