Does it matter which hand I use when I am drawing? Will I be better if use my left hand? Or my left eye?

Question

Question Details: I am a beginner at drawing. I am naturally right handed Here are my questions, all somewhat related:
1)Will it make a difference if I use my left hand or right hand?
2)Will it make a difference if I use my left or right eye (to the exclusion of the other)?
3)Which is more important: which eye I use, or which hand I use? Or does neither matter?
4)Does handedness (or eye that I choose) affect imaginative drawing more than observational drawing?
5)Will using my left hand in general cause my right brain to be stimulated and therefore more developed and better overall at its functions?

I observed that I can sometimes draw more detail from an observational drawing when I use my LEFT hand, but I think this may be because I have more control over my RIGHT hand and using the LEFT hand causes me to slow down and be slightly more observant. I don't know though.

6)Should I just forget about all of this and just draw?

Answer 1

You ask some very interesting questions. The short answer is just draw, and do what feels right.

The long answer is: There have been some questions asked about left/right brain correlation and art. Your theory regarding slowing down and focusing is probably accurate, and because you are drawing in a way that isn't natural to you, that is allowing you to perceive the experience in a new way. If this appeals to you, I would also recommend trying to draw the space around an object, instead of the object itself (called "negative space") and also taking an image, placing it in front of you upside down, and drawing it that way.

These are all techniques as unique and experimental as the ones you've mentioned. You are thinking outside the box, and that is the mark of an artist. :)

Answer 2

Number six is the quick and easy answer. Just draw.

But, I will offer this. I am right handed but find that, for many things, I am ambidextrous, such as in eating, sculpting and, drawing. I primarily draw with my right hand, but can do some decent sketching with my left. The style of drawing of each hand is distinct enough that most would think they were done by a different artist.

I thought, at first, that it was because my left hand didn't get the same amount of practice and was, therefore, much cruder in skills. But I explored the technique a bit further. Like many quick sketch artists will tell you, you should aproach a subject by blocking out the main, larger elements of the sketch, to set up proportions and angles, and then come back to fill in details. By consciously doing this, whatever hand I was using, I made an interesting observation.

I was practicing, one day, by sketching a large, potted indoor plant with large, broad leaves. I started with my right hand and I saw the plant with three main groups of leaves; a group of three and two sets of two leaves. I, quickly, laid out the groups and sketched the connecting stems and trunk. I, then, flipped the page of the sketch book and took the pencil in my left hand. I looked up at the plant and did a double take. The pattern I saw was THREE sets of two leaves and a single leaf, offset from the others. I put the pencil back in my right hand and when I did, I, clearly, noted the two pairs and the set of three!

Whichever hand held the pencil made me see a different, distinct layout. I could repeat this "change" at will. It was as if, not only a different artist's hand was doing the drawing, it was as if a different "artist" was doing the observation!

Based on my experience, It DOES make a difference which hand is used. But, since I work more confidently and more quickly with my right, I will still do my "real," paid, work with that one and use my left, only to practice observational skills.

Answer 3

The first answerer recommended a great book, Drawing on the Right side of the Brain. I'm left-handed but occasionally use my right hand for "loose" work, especially painting. It's perhaps a matter of how much structure you wish to exhibit in your work as to which hand will do the better job. Good luck. Just draw!

Answer 4

It doesnt matter what hand you use, because both your eyes are open when drawing, meaning that both right and left brain are stimulated anyway. the key is how you draw the images in your mind. how you perceive your subject is how you will draw them, no matter what hand you use. What you need to train is your mind's eye. the only advantage the preferred hand has over the other hand is dexterity gained through experience.

Answer 5

#6! Just draw!! You may be ambi-dexterous--a more balanced Left and Right Brained person! Very interesting! I was force-switched from Left to Right Handed in 1st Grade. This really screwed up my laterality; I stuttered; couldn't read for the stuttering/stammering and was a MESS! DO WHAT WORKS BEST!!!!! EACH PERSON IS WIRED UNIQUELY!!!

Answer 6

You must lose alot of sleep over this.