Coconut

This is the coconut that I’ve used for art lessons.  I use it to emphasize the importance of truly seeing the object that you are drawing.  When asked to draw a coconut, a lot of people initially draw a blob.  But once people really take the time to look at the coconut and mentally measure both the angles and lengths of its lines, they are able to draw it realistically.  To get people to truly see the coconut, I recommend that they do the following:  (1) trace its outlines with their eyes before they begin drawing; (2) compare each line that they see against an imaginary horizontal and vertical line and then draw the precise angle that they see; (3) compare the length of each line that they are about to draw against a line that they already have drawn; and (4) verify that different parts of the coconut properly line up with other parts of the coconut, e.g., make sure the left tip of the coconut is a bit higher than the right tip of the coconut.  It’s amazing to see how these simple tips quickly improve a person’s ability to draw.