A drawing state of mind

[mtw]

Late August of this year when I got back into drawing again after at least several years, I went into a state of mind where I would think about how to draw things. Whatever I looked at, my mind would think about how I would draw it, and I was also noticing details that I hadn't paid attention to before. My mind was in constant activity all day long, the way my mind sometimes does when I'm about to get burnt out with what I'm thinking about. I don't remember how long this lasted for.

I have a couple thoughts on why this happened. At the time I was seriously thinking about changing majors in college from Computer Science to Painting, so I was thinking about if that really was the right choice and whether I would get accepted into the art school. Now those worries are over. Another reason is that maybe my mind was trying to get into a different state of mind, from science to art.

Has this happened to anyone else?

[cotron]

I know exactly what you mean...when I started skateboarding, I started seeing so many "new" things about places I saw before. I used to be riding in the car and I'd make mental notes of how many stairs a building had out front, if the ledge was nice, imagining skating it. Then I started to dabble in graffiti...noticing nice spots to hit...big blank areas of walls and such. Now, I've really gotten into portraiture/anatomy/figures in general...and I see so many things I never noticed before. I notice the structure of people's faces/the cheekbone placement, etc. I've started seeing new combinations of colors I haven't noticed before too...lights and shadows, compliments, etc. It's definitely an awesome thing when you can reinterpret your surroundings. makes me feel really alive, and so much more aware of the world i've been dropped into.

[ZippZopp]

hey, i know exactly what you're talking about mtw. i switched majors from computer science to studio arts. i've now been drawing for maybe 2 years. everywhere i go, everything i look at, i tihnk about perspective, color and how it would be drawn. its actually quite interesting, i've taken notice to just about everything around me. much like you, my mind is constantly going all day long, everything i look at i analyze for proportions and perspective! i think its all due to getting into a different state of mind.

[jester]

I experience this, too. Best of it: It helps improving and it's fun at the same time!

:D

Jester

[amphex]

Damn..i dont do that lol..=\

[SamusNeo]

This happens to me also, sometimes to the point of being annoying. I have become so visually sensitive that occasionally if I am looking at something that has really strong, thin diagonals or an especially strange visual balance I feel as if something has "sliced" through my vision. After two semesters of anatomy getting intimate was starnge to me for a while because I always saw the underlying structure whenever I saw someone naked, which disturbed me a little (thank goodness this doesn't happen anymore). People on the Bart and Muni think I am crazy because I stare at people and study them when they have really unique facial structures (I feel bad for making them self concious, but I can't help myself). I am actually working on a comic based around certain aspects of all this called "The Hidden Order". Too bad my teacher totally slammed my first page today. When I pitched the idea to him originally, he said "There is no hidden order". God, am I glad my semester is almost over...

[ZippZopp]

samusneo....gotta love professors like that, i had one of those, and boy it was a pain!!! good luck with it, sounds like an interesting idea