And then their eyes were open

Teaching composition to beginning young artist can be a challenge at first attempt. But, when they learn what makes a good composition and their eyes are opened. It is a joy to see what they create and the quality is seen in their work.

Here they are learning sight size technique but with a little twist. Here I want to begin training their eyes to see proportion, form, distance and such like. I do this by having them try and draw what they see. Then to compare it to the image and tell me how does it compare?

Often they will say it looks pretty good. So, I have them take a proportional divider ( a tool for measurement ) and see how it compares now. Immediately they see where their eyes deceived them. So, one more try lets see how you improve! They repeat this exercise several times and as they do their ability to see greatly improves. As they move from project to project they what they have learned can be clearly seen in their work.

I Love It :)