Contour means “outline”, and presents exterior edges of objects. A plain contour has a clean, connected line, no shading and emphasizes an open “shell” of the subject. More complex contours can imply shading values through interior outlines (top right), may have line textures or be contrasted with mixed media. Pencil drawing, ball point pen and black markers are good practice tools. Contour is slow and more deliberate with no erasing. Begin with a focal point on the object and continue concentration as if the eyes were drawing the image. The pencil/pen, once placed on the paper stays there moving in a slow line development until the entire contour is completed. Eyes focus from object to paper without head movement.

BLIND CONTOUR: without looking at your paper!