Bird’s-Eye View

I’ve been scanning in some sketchbooks and found this page. I was in a queue by an upstairs window, so I passed the time drawing people passing along the street outside, below, in the morning sun.

I often need to remind myself not to draw (or write) the obvious, eye-level view of things. When I actually do this, new details (the location of parts in hair or the structural role of boat-neck tops) abruptly become important. Sometimes the part of the sketch doing the heavy lifting (explaining where things are in space, hinting at movement, orienting the viewer) shifts from the figure to the shadow.

Some previous thoughts on viewpoints (and points of view):

• Viewpoints — Tirra-Lirra, Cinderella, camera levels, descriptions and drawings
• By Whom and To Whom — possible narrators, possible audiences (with long lists)
• Thinking About Points of View — two drawings
• And also: sketchbook posts generally