How to Practice in Learning to see?

[davidefabrizzi]

Hi everyone,I hope that's the right forum to post this thread...
I'm trying to practice hard every day with life drawings and copies from photo ref, 'cause I'm still not able to see the right proportions of the shapes when I'm drawing from life.
Is there any method that could be helpfull?
Or is " just keep drawing and you'll find it easier and easier" the right answer to my question?
I know that I will need days and days of practice to get this ability, but if there's a technique that makes this easier ( and less stressfull) in the beginning I'd like to know it...

Thank you guys!

ps: I'm sorry for my english...I'm doing my best! If I did any mistake feel free to correct me!

[tensai]

two good books that you could read that contain excercises to teach you to see.

Bert Dodson - Keys to drawing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0891341137/qid=1146359322/sr=1-43/ref=sr_1_0_43/203-0151733-7247173

Betty Edwards - Drawing on the right side of the brain
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007116454/ref=pd_sim_b_dp_1/203-0151733-7247173

have fun.

[Pixeldragoon]

Search for "Bargue Drawing" on these forums. It is a method of recreating a drawing EXACTLY- Every line, every error, all the value. It's about patience, persistence, and using the sight-size technique to get it right. Talk to the member "MindCandyMan", he should be able to help you.

[the_allejo05]

dont use photos!! :)..look for master drawings to help you..in the different approaches to the language of drawing.. copy them..and you will be able to translate what you see more effectively..if figure drawing is your goal..well study anatomy and definitely perspective..there are many books...practice from life everynow and then..but you have to master the essentials..www.fineart.sk here the loomis books tell you all about the sciende of drawing.. the louvre site and art renewal center are good ones for master drawings..The Hale collection is a must have..check your local library too..the bargue drawing method is good for your eye..is one of the best..but is not true drawing..

[nafa]

Have you tried blind contour drawing? It is a must to improve your eye-hand coordination so you can draw accurately.

In order to train up you eye to see accurately, nothing beats drawing from photo. Try to sketch from a photo at 1:1 scale. Try to get it as accurate as possible using your eyes only. Then apply a grid to both images to identify mistakes. Remove the grid to make the corrections, again trying to be as accurate as possible. Repeat this process until you have an accurate copy. It shoud be obvious to you that a drawing program will make this process much easier.

As a third exercise, look for others' works that are accompanied by reference images (common for portraits looking for critique) and tried to spot errors in them. First with you bare eyes, then apply a grid to verify your observations.

If you undertake these diligently for a matter of weeks, you should notice marked improvement in your drawing accuracy.

[davidefabrizzi]

Thank you guys! I've found lot of info in your replies...
I'll try to work every day with following your instructions, maybe you'll want to take a look at my sketchbook in a couple of weeks and see how my training's going!
Thank you again, you've really been friendly ( is this the right word? anyway you should understand what I mean...)

See you!
Davide