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The most important art skill: Art of Observation | How to improve it? How to improve observation skills? | Ways to improve your observation skills. | How to improve your art skills? | How to improve your art by improving your observation?
Once Birbal was sent to another kingdom as an ambassador. The King, of that kingdom, had heard a lot of stories about Birbal’s sharp intellect and thought of testing the same. So, the King made all his ministers dress up like him, and thereafter, they all sat in a line to test Birbal’s intelligence. When Birbal entered the courtroom to offer his credentials, he was amazed to see everyone dressed in the same clothes and sitting on a similar kind of throne.
Perplexed, Birbal took a moment to observe everyone very keenly, and then went up to one of them and bowed in front of him. It was the King himself, who was surprised beyond words. He stood up and hugged Birbal and asked him how he could guess so.
Birbal smiled and answered, “My lord, you exuded sparkling confidence which no one else did. And not only that the rest of them even kept looking at you for approval. And that gave me a clue that you indeed are the king”. The King felt amused and praised Birbal for his unmatched intellect and presence of mind.
Just because you see does not mean you observe. The difference between seeing and observing is fundamental to many aspects of life. Observation is more than simply seeing something, but rather a mental process involving both visual and thought.
Often observation involves a conscious or unconscious linking to something that we already know, which brings us to an interesting point on how our experiences impact what we deem significant or not. Our experiences filter what we see.
When we are a beginner at something, all observations are unexpected and worthy of our attention. Still, as we learn more about a field we become more selective about what we consider important and noteworthy. The same holds true in life.
We keep on looking at many things all the time but how and what exactly do we notice with how much awareness is going to convert that "looking" into "observation.”.
When we observe something consciously, it goes deep inside our brains. This stored information can now be used for creativity and different aspects of our lives.
Observations are the key skills towards learning and creating Art. Observations help one to understand the look and feel of the object and its environment. Being better aware of the facts and information about what we want to make or draw, can be helpful when we are practically working on it.
How to Improve Your Observation Skills?
We could improve our observational skills related to art and creativity in a few simple steps.
Start with simple observation, observe the nature and things around us, and see the ratio and colors.
Observe the light and shadow. Learn that color becomes lighter and brighter in sunlight/light and looks dull in shady and dim light areas.
Shadow is always on the backside /opposite side of the object facing the sunlight.
Learn that every complicated object could be simplified into basic 2D and 3D shapes. Start with easy drawings, which can be made by using basic 2D shapes such as circles, lines, rectangles, triangles, etc.
Invoke curiosity and ask questions about things you notice around, such as:
How many colors do you see in a butterfly?
How many legs does a spider have?
How does a daisy flower differ from a rose flower in the colors and shape of its petals?
Here are a few very simple but impressive ideas to get started with the art of observation.
How the sky looks on a sunny day and how it looks on a gloomy day. How it is on a cloudy day!
Observe the color of the water at different places (though it is colorless.) Eg: Ocean, River, Pond, etc.
How different trees have different shapes and shades of colors.
How Nature changes its color in different seasons, such as spring, autumn, summer, monsoon, and winter.
Notice trees and the ratios of their stem and branches.
Ratio and size of objects we use in our daily life.
Take the help of a viewfinder. Make one at home by cutting cardboard in the shape of a rectangular frame. It's helpful when you want to observe/draw a particular area of a scene.
To make these observations effective and long-lasting, associate them with some realistic doable activities such as a collection of colourful leaves, or drawing those autumn season trees/leaves. Make a collage using colorful leaves. Similarly, you can try many more DIY activities to make your observation effective and impressive in many other ways.
I was a curious kid and I used to ask so many questions about random things like why we see clouds in different shapes every day,
What do I desire most in life?
Why do we dream?
Why do we witness colors?
What am I seeing, hearing, sensing, smelling & tasting?
But my bad that there was no Google at that time.
I remember the day in 2004 back from school, and It was our computer class for the very 1st time, I witnessed a computer for 1st time in my life, I just curiously clicked on the circular shape icon and its shape was unique.
There was a search engine, I didn't know it at that time.
and I just thought to type inside that box and the next moment, I typed a name.
GANDHI JI.
I was surprised by what was there right in from of me on the scene.
I was simply amazed. I was not expecting that.
There was complete information about that subject on a long page as I scrolled down.
Next time when I went to computer class and I was sitting on a different computer at that time and I searched for it again on the screen but even Though I didn't know its name I only observed its shape and colour and it was not there, and even if I told about this thing to others this application, nobody would believe me.
But now we can assume its name.
It must be one of the search engines.
I remember this incident clearly because I observed and was amazed by that particular thing at that moment. Still, I didn't remember the name & color of that application because I discontinued thinking and speaking about it.
I have recently created a vlog on my YouTube on the most important art skills.
Feel free to watch my vlog.
I want to give a few tips to improve your observation-
Ask logical questions and clear doubts creatively so that you can remember them even after 10 years.
grow consciously. Be conscious in day-to-day life and with nature.
Explore Art and Creativity and see its magic. It triggers their natural observation power.
Stop assuming results and procrastinating things and start trying and getting your own experience.
Associate the observation with real-life practical activities.
Don't look casually towards life. Feel every aspect of it around the world.
Explore time to visit places such as ART Centers, Science Centers, Museums, Cultural Fairs, and Exhibitions where observation is a must, and you can explore their horizons.
Test your observation: Take a minute to watch something carefully, then ask yourself to recall and note down things or draw that particular thing.
The art of observation is really magical for one who knows its power and utilizes it in their day-to-day life. If it's gifted to you by nature,
This is awesome, but if you feel there is a need to learn or improve, the above key points can help you to obtain better observation skills. So, don't just look, Observe it.
"Study Art to improve your observation skills, and improve your observation skills to become good at Creativity & life."
