Five Skills Of Drawing

According to Betty Edwards, drawing is a global skill made up of five lesser skills. To learn to draw, you learn to do the lesser skills.

Five Skills of Drawing

1. The Perception of Edges
2. The Perception of Spaces
3. The Perception of Relationships
4. The Perception of Lights and Shadows
5. The Perception of Gestalt

The skills are like an onion, with the first skill being the innermost and most important layer, and each moving outwards building on the one inward. "Gestalt," or the perception of "the whole," comes naturally once you've learned the four other skills.

In addition to these five, there are two more.

6. Drawing from Memory
7. Drawing from Imagination

see also Tutorial.Five Skills of Drawing?