Drawing Helps You Think
Drawing is something most people will claim not to be able to do. “I can’t draw”, “I am no good at drawing” or “I wish I could draw”. The ability to visualize is a foundational piece of our intellect. Drawing is just a physical manifestation of an image in the mind. Just as music encourages us to use different parts of our brains, there is much to be gained by the practice of drawing, even if you’re “no good at drawing”.
In the book “What Do You Care What People Think?” Richard Feynman tells of a conversation with his friend Bennie when they were 12.
“Thinking is nothing but talking to yourself,” said Feynman. “Oh yeah?” said Bennie. “Do you know the crazy shape of a crankshaft in a car? How did you describe it when you were talking to yourself?”.
Feynman realized that most thinking isn’t verbal at all.
Give yourself a chance and try drawing. The Project Gutenburg website has a few excellent books on the topic.
THE PRACTICE & SCIENCE OF DRAWING BY HAROLD SPEED
or
PEN DRAWING BY CHARLES MAGINNIS
And when you’ve mastered both, checkout “Bernie Wrightson’s Frankenstein” for inspiration. Wrightson’s book has been one of my lifelong fascinations since seeing some panels as a kid in a book my brother bought. I acquired a copy some years ago from eBay and it is stunning.
Totally agree with you. One of my favorite is Betty Edwards “Drawing on the Right side of the brain”. There are couple of more which I will share.
Also those who are creative and would like to express their thoughts through cartoon and didn’t had a formal training here’s an opportunity..
http://www.animationarchive.org/2006/05/meta-100000-animation-drawing-course.html
This is one of the most famous online course in cartooning.
While I agree with most of the contents of the post, I think even to come up with some sort of innovative and elaborate mental model for the drawing, your mind has to be first freed from any constraint and be able to think out of the box..