Jump-start your creativity: exploring Leonardo daVinci's notebooksLearn to use Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks to unleash your creativity! The exercises in this class willsharpen your observation skills, curiosity and ability to think outside the box. You'll emulate Leonardoda Vinci in the art of observing people, nature and the universe. Using Leonardo da Vinci's sketches,drawings and pictures as inspiration, you'll find out how to document your own thoughts and ideas.

LessonsThe wisdom of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks1.Prepare to have your mind opened wide! This lesson introduces you to thenotebooks of one of the greatest minds of all time. You'll find out how to accessLeonardo da Vinci's manuscripts online, explore some of his odd journalingpractices and get his advice for living life.Discover and develop: da Vinci's drawings as inspiration2.Learn how Leonardo da Vinci came to pursue art, how he kept his notebooksand what he believed were the most important tools for his trade. Use thisinformation to develop and document your own creative path and determinewhere you are on your journey.Use da Vinci's sketches as your creative guide3.Leonardo da Vinci is not only famous for his paintings like the Mona Lisa, butalso for the many sketches in his notebooks. Learn the importance of images,look at Leonardo's sketches, choose tools to capture your images and try someidea mapping techniques.Da Vinci's notebooks: combining thoughts and ideas in new ways4.Take the fun and important step of combining art and science, ideas withexperience, clarity with contradiction and the present with the future. As yourideas expand exponentially, record them in your own Leonardo-style codex.

The wisdom of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooksPrepare to have your mind opened wide! This lesson introduces you to the notebooks of one of the greatestminds of all time. You'll find out how to access Leonardo da Vinci's manuscripts online, explore some of his oddjournaling practices and get his advice for living life.

 

An introduction to Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks

Leonardo da Vinci painted the world-famous masterpiece, the Mona Lisa , often thought of asone of the greatest paintings ever. He is also frequently noted as one of the most creativegeniuses of all time. Although he lived over 500 years ago, many of his painting techniques andwritings concerning art and science were so advanced that artists and scientists today still callupon his work for inspiration and information.

Leonardo created a substantial volume of handwritten documents during his adult life; in thiscourse, you'll get a whirlwind tour through those documents. When Leonardo diligently createdhis handwritten notebooks in the 15th century, it's almost as if he knew that future artists andcreators would fall into creative ruts and need a model to follow! To say his notebooks are full ofideas and inspiration is an understatement.

 

Figure 1-1: A Leonardo sketch often thought to be a self-portrait of the artist in his 60s.

In this course, you'll peek into the notebooks and then:

Try observing, writing, and sketching like LeonardoReceive advice on art and life in Leonardo's own wordsLearn how to make ideas into imagesEvaluate old and new methods of capturing ideasBegin combining thoughts and concepts in new ways

Creative genius and da Vinci's notebooks

In each of four lessons, we'll draw creative inspiration directly from Leonardo's notebooksketches and writings. Here's what each lesson will cover:

Lesson 1 introduces you to Leonardo's 500-year-old notebooks. You'll find out where theoriginals and translated versions can be viewed and get an overview of what the documentscontain. Learn about Leonardo's odd writing style and try reading and writing in mirror-image.Lesson 2 follows Leonardo's sketches along the winding path from nature appreciation topainting to matters of science. Inspired by Leonardo's intertwined interests and studies, you'llbe encouraged to determine where you are on your creative journey and where you plan togo. You'll try sketching and read Leonardo's advice for art and life.Lesson 3 focuses on images. Leonardo emphasized communication through images in hisnotebooks. You, too can learn to translate your thoughts and intangible ideas into images.Today even non-artists can create realistic sketches with the advent of modern tools forcapturing and editing images.Lesson 4 encourages comparing similar and dissimilar objects and concepts as Leonardodid, provides exercises for stimulating both sides of your brain, and helps you plan andpublish your own Leonardo-style codex.

Next up

Let's get this creative journey through Leonardo's notebooks underway!

 

Accessing and exploring Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks

Although generally called "notebooks" in this course, Leonardo's papers are sometimesreferred to as manuscripts, codices (plural of codex), journals, sketches, or notes. Leonardo'snotebooks are actually a combination of loose pages of various sizes and bound items.

According to some estimates, Leonardo wrote and meant to leave behind over 20,000notebook pages. When he died in 1519, he left his stack of papers to a student, who then leftthem to his (student's) son, who sold and dispersed the papers.

Leonardo was born in 1452. Christopher Columbus was one of his contemporaries.

Over the years, some papers were scissor-cut and pasted into scrapbook-type documents,some papers maintained their original form, and some were shuffled, organized, and boundwith other papers. And some were, unfortunately, lost.

Where in the world are the notebooks?

Today, the surviving Leonardo notebooks reside piecemeal around the globe, mostly inEurope.

You may have heard of some of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks by names like Codex Leicesteror Codex Atlanticus. These are sets of papers (in most cases, bound) kept in private or publiccollections. For example, Leonardo da Vinci's small (fewer than 100 pages) Codex Leicester isowned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and occasionally makes museum appearances aroundthe world. Codex Leicester is thought to have been bound by its creator.

By comparison, Codex Atlanticus is a 12-volume, 1200-page set that resides in a library inMilan, Italy. A 17th-century owner of the notes moved pages and pieces of pages around,gluing items from separate pages onto single pages in some cases, and added the binding.

For a more complete list of locations of original codices and collections, read this PDF: LocationList: Original Leonardo da Vinci Documents. Please note: The location list is not necessarilypermanent or definitive. Before you plan your world tour to view the documents, be sure to getup-to-the minute location information, starting with an Internet search for terms such as"Leonardo da Vinci," "codex," "notebook," "sketches," and "manuscripts."

Where to find copies and translations

Thanks to technology and some dedicated scholars, English translations of many of Leonardo'swords and rough copies of the sketches are pretty easy to find. In 1883, Jean Paul Richterdecoded the text, copied the sketches from the original manuscripts from various Europeancollections, and put all of his work into a two-volume set. His English-translated volumes areavailable in print and online. You can buy The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci in hardcover orpaperback at most book stores and at online booksellers, or borrow one or both volumes from alibrary that has copies.

An Internet search can direct you to free online Richter translations and associateddownloadable, printable e-books. Here are two good sources:

Project Gutenberg is a vast electronic repository of key books and texts. The site offers atext-only version of the notebooks available for free download. This version is good for timeswhen you want to focus on what Leonardo wrote.The Internet Sacred Text Archive is a free archive of online books about religion, mythology,folklore, and more. To find full-scan version that includes both the text and the graphics fromRichter's two-volume book, click Age of Reason in the column at the left and scroll down tothe Leonardo da Vinci link.

In this course, when you see a Leonardo quote with a number in parentheses after it, the

Read someof da Vinci'snotebooks

Thanks toonline e-books andtranslations,you're nowable to readsome of daVinci'snotebooksfrom thecomfort ofyour home oroffice. HPdesktop PCsare theaffordableand reliabledesktopsolution foryourbusiness.

 

number refers to the notebook passage in the Richter volumes.

Many, though not all, of the museums that house Leonardo manuscripts maintain Web siteswhere you can view original pages of text and sketches or English translations with or withoutsketches included. So another way to view some of Leonardo's notebooks online is to searchfor a specific codex on the Internet or to visit the Web site of the museum or library that housesthe originals.

Finally, you can find information about Leonardo and his works in any number of publications.There is no shortage of Leonardo da Vinci books on the store shelves. Look for the mostcurrent publications and for those that contain high-quality reproductions of the sketches.

Next up

Get a quick overview of what's inside the notebooks.

 

What's inside Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks?

The number of subjects that Leonardo studied and became knowledgeable in is mind-boggling.Although Leonardo da Vinci was first a master painter, he became a recognized expert in otherfields as well. His notebooks contain a wide spectrum of advice, theories, and drawings relatedto the following subjects:

AnatomyArchitectureAstronomyBotanyColorDecoration/compositionFlightGeographyHumorLandscapesLightNatural disastersNatural formationsPaintingPerspectivePhilosophyPhysiologyProportionSculptureWarfare technologyWellnessZoology

The notebook pages on all subjects contain both text and images. In general, Leonardo'swritten text discusses things like instructions for drawing and painting, labels for technicaldiagrams, imaginative stories, and advice for future generations. In general, the sketches anddrawings depict ideas for inventions, painted compositions, and commissioned works of art, aswell as in-depth studies on matters of science. Figure 1-2 is an example of Leonardo's simplersketches.

Figure 1-2: Leonardo's observations on objects' shadows.

Enlarge image

 

Here's the accompanying translated text for the diagrams in Figure 1-2:

The cast shadow will be longest when the light is lowest. The cast shadow will beshortest when the light is highest. (167)

Figure 1-3 shows Leonardo's thoughts on the relationship between the dimensions of humanheads and feet.

Figure 1-3: Leonardo's observations on the relative lengths of human heads and feet.

Enlarge image

This text accompanies the diagram in Figure 1-3:

The foot, from where it is attached to the leg, to the tip of the great toe is as longas the space between the upper part of the chin and the roots of the hair a b; andequal to five sixths of the face. (325)

Notable notebook facts

Leonardo's notebooks have three distinguishing characteristics.

The notebooks are not orderly. Apparently, Leonardo did not wish to take the time during1.his life to organize his manuscripts himself. Grocery lists and sketches of faces areintermingled with things like studies of babies in the womb, how raging water flows, anddesigns for a helicopter. Some pages contain multiple quick sketches with text between,while some pages contain nothing more than a single, detailed sketch.The notebooks contain little or no ramblings about Leonardo's personal life or personal2.feelings. There are only two short factual sentences concerning the death of his father:

On the 9th of July 1504, Wednesday, at seven o'clock, died Ser Piero da Vinci,notary at the Palazzo del Podestá, my father -- at seven o'clock, being 80 yearsold, leaving behind 10 sons and two daughters. On Wednesday at seven o'clockdied Ser Piero da Vinci on the 9th of July 1504. -- Richter, Sections 1372 and1373, p. 416

However, occasionally, an everyday to-do list presents itself (Richter, Sections 1382, 1397,1405, and 1411):

Ask maestro Lodovico for "the conduits of water."

Have some ears of corn of large size sent from Florence.

24 tavole make 1 perch.4 trabochi make 1 tavola.4 braccia and a half make a trabocco.A perch contains 1936 square braccia, or 1944.

Pulleys -- nails -- rope -- mercury -- cloth, Monday.

Almost every text entry is written with backwards letters that go from right to left -- what1.some people simply call "mirror-writing." You'll get a chance to try it for yourself in thenext section.

Leonardo's journaling habit

Simple math tells us that Leonardo was a religious journal keeper.

The bulk of Leonardo's known notebook pages were created in the 41-year period between1478 and 1519. There are around 7,000 pages around today (more or less), and it is believedthat only one third to one fourth of the original manuscripts survive. So originally there couldhave been four times that amount, or 28,000 pages.

Leonardo made most of his journal entries between age 26 and 67.

If there were originally about 28,000 pages, that means that over the course of 41 yearsLeonardo must have created his notebooks at an average rate of nearly two pages per day:approximately 13 pages per week, or about 683 pages per year.

So if you want to match Leonardo's journaling rate, you'd have to create about 13 pages perweek.

Here's how that math works out:

13 pages/week x 52 weeks/year x 41 years = 27,716 pages

At a minimum, to keep up with Leonardo, you'd need to generate between 150 and 200 pagesa year. That's at least one or two decent-sized spiral notebooks, annually.

If you've resisted the journaling trend, perhaps this knowledge may inspire you to explorejournaling further. At any rate, during this class, keep Leonardo's huge stack of handwrittenpapers in mind as we go through these lessons and ask you to make one or two sketches orjournal entries!

Next up

Now that you've had quick introduction to the breadth and depth of Leonardo's writings, let'slook at the actual writing.

 

Mirror writing: try writing like Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed. His handwriting is unusual, even for a southpaw, becausehis paragraphs and sentences originate from the right and move toward the left with the lettersreversed. Most of his text can be read with a mirror or by holding a printed page face down overa light source. An example of Leonardo's handwriting is shown in Figure 1-4.

Printsamples ofhis writing

To do themirror test onda Vinci'swriting, printsamples withHPLaserJets,whichprovide high-quality

Figure 1-4: Sample of Leonardo-penned text.

Enlarge image

There have been numerous theories proposed about why Leonardo wrote mirror-style,including that he wanted his notebooks to be encoded and secret from prying eyes. Otherssuggest that he chose to write from right to left so that his left hand would not smudge the wetink as he went along. Scholars who have tried to mimic his writing and reading style generallyreport that this type of text is, with a bit of practice, easy to create and to read.

Some contemporary lefties include ex-presidents Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, and Ford; talkshow hosts Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey; athletes Ty Cobb and Martina Navratilova; andmusician Kurt Cobain of Nirvana.

As far as the left-handedness is concerned, some have thought that an injury may haveprevented Leonardo from writing and drawing with his right hand. Others maintain he wassimply born left-handed.

So in order to "decode" Leonardo's original writings, you need to be able to decipher hispenmanship in general (there were not typewriters or word processors back in those days), toread it backwards, and to understand Italian. Figure 1-5 is a modern example of simple mirror-image text that can give you at least some idea of what it feels like to try to read the originaldocuments. The passage is a Leonardo quote translated into English and reproduced in acommon computer font.

printing that'sboth fast andreliable.

 

Figure 1-5: Mirror image of an English translation of a Leonardo quote.

Enlarge image

Can you read and understand the passage in Figure 1-5?

As an exercise, use your mouse to select and print the image in Figure 1-5 onto ordinary printerpaper. See how easy the passage is to read if you hold the printed page flipped over in front ofa light source or in a mirror.

Want to try to emulate Leonardo's writing? Try creating a sentence in mirror image. Using penor pencil, write a line or two from this quote starting from the right and with reverse letters. Hereare two tips to help you with this:

The exercise may be easier if you use your left hand.Check your work by trying to read your effort in a mirror.

The quiz associated with this lesson will contain a question about the passage quoted inFigure 1-5, so be sure to print and read the passage.

Here are a few more interesting facts about Leonardo's notebooks.

Leonardo wrote and drew as inspiration and observations happened upon him -- this may beone of the reasons why his notebooks were almost devoid of order and organization.However, he generally did keep one thought per page or else noted when a thought wouldcontinue on the next page.He wrote on both sides of the paper.He used pen mostly, but not always.Some of his sketches are hurried and simple; others are elaborate and contain revisions oradditions that were made years later.He wrote from right to left with reverse letters, mostly.He utilized shorthand symbols occasionally and rarely used proper punctuation.Many of his sketches are coupled with design measurements, mathematical concepts, ortheories about physical science.He bound some pages together; other pages were left loose. Papers varied in size.It wouldn't be unusual to find his grocery list on the same page with an idea for theconstruction of a cathedral.

Despite the fact that Leonardo did not personally organize his manuscripts, he definitely did usa huge favor by documenting his work, his thinking, and his advice in explicit detail.

Moving on

In this lesson you learned why Leonardo's notebooks are such an amazing creative resource.Collectively, they contain thousands of pages of Leonardo's amazing insights, inventions, andprogressive ideas. Five hundred years later, people can still turn to the manuscripts inmuseums and libraries, on the Internet, or in books for information and inspiration. Clearly,capturing and documenting creative insights and ideas was important to Leonardo.

In Lesson 2 you'll extract information about Leonardo's personal discovery and development

process from the notebooks. You'll learn how Leonardo came to pursue art, how he branchedout from there into matters of science, and what tools and habits he thought were important.You'll also re-think your own creative path in terms of how it compares to Leonardo's.

We hope you enjoyed today's lesson. Be sure to take the following steps to complete Lesson1:

Complete the Lesson 1 assignment.1.Take the Lesson 1 quiz.2.Visit the class message board to see what your instructor has to say or to chime in on3.student discussions.

See you on the Message Board and then back in class for Lesson 2!

Assignment #1

Go to sacred-texts.com and read some of Leonardo's translated text from work done by JeanPaul Richter in the 1800s. (To locate the files, click Age of Reason in the column at the left andscroll down to the Leonardo da Vinci link.)

What are some things Leonardo observed or theorized in his writings?

Report your findings to the Message Board, if you like. Also, please share any other Webresources you may have discovered that contain more information about Leonardo'snotebooks.

 

Quiz #1Question 1:True or False: Leonardo's notebooks are between 50 and 100 years old.

A) TrueB) False Question 2:Choose the answer below that fills in the blank correctly. In the mirror-image example in Lesson 1, Leonardosays of nature: "in her inventions nothing is wanting; nothing is ____..."

A) wrongB) hopingC) worriedD) superfluous Question 3:True or False: Leonardo was left-handed.

A) TrueB) False Question 4:Leonardo studied which of the following subjects? (Check all that apply.)

A) AstronomyB) BotanyC) SculptureD) LightE) Painting 

Discover and develop: da Vinci's drawings as inspiration

Learn how Leonardo da Vinci came to pursue art, how he kept his notebooks and what he believed were themost important tools for his trade. Use this information to develop and document your own creative path anddetermine where you are on your journey.

 

Cross creative paths with Leonardo

In Lesson 1 you learned about the wonderful world of Leonardo's handwritten and hand-sketchednotebooks. You found out how to access English translations of the text and got an overview ofthe topics he studied. You learned about some of his journaling oddities and about his distinctiveand unusual writing style. Then you tried to read and create your own mirror-image text.

Leonardo definitely had a lot to say and he expressed himself very well, backwards writing or not.But when we read his notebooks, it's his images that shine the brightest. He was, after all, amaster painter. His Mona Lisa is one of the most revered art pieces in the world today. Theimages in his manuscripts are also artistic wonders; they show us what he studied, what heloved, and how he prepared for his painted masterpieces. Today's lesson journeys through theimages in Leonardo's notebooks and explores details and clues about the man and his creativeprocess along the way. We hope the images and interpretations will inspire you to evaluate yourown creative journey and perhaps even change course.

Leonardo's early drawings

Leonardo loved to draw from a young age. According to one of the early biographies ofLeonardo, one of his first commissioned drawings, requested by a family friend, was a shield. Itturned out the finished drawing was too unusual for the requestor, though, so Leonardo's fathersold the drawing at a nearby market. In the years that followed, Leonardo was sent by his fatherto apprentice with a master artist. After a six-year apprenticeship, the 20-year-old Leonardo daVinci was deemed a master painter.

The earliest surviving sketch by Leonardo da Vinci is dated August 4, 1473, when Leonardo was21 years old. The subject matter of the sketch? A natural landscape.

The fact that a landscape is the focus isn't terribly surprising, since Leonardo was fascinated bynature and he lived in the beautiful hills of Italy. What is noteworthy, though, is that Leonardo didliterally sit down and observe nature closely. And that is something we can all do!

Watch grass grow

So here's a tip from Leonardo on how to get your creative juices flowing. Go sit and watch nature.Watch grass grow, as they say.

After you spend a few minutes or the better part of a day observing nature from an open buswindow, your back porch, or a park, document your observations. Record your observationsabout nature any way you choose. Grab your digital camera, pick up a soft lead drawing penciland sketch pad, sit down at your piano, or start with a blob of sculpting clay. You get the idea.Create something in response to your observation. Draw a pile of leaves. Write a melody orpoem about the interesting cloud formations or lack of color in the sky.

If you don't have an artistic implement in mind or handy, then simply sketch what you see usingpen and paper. Don't worry about the quality of your sketch. This class is not about perfection --it's about noticing details and unleashing your creativity.

Figure 2-1 shows another landscape sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.

 

Figure 2-1: Landscape sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.

Nature is a marvel! Wherever you are, enjoy the outdoors and be inspired by it.

What keeps your interest year after year?

Leonardo believed deeply in the beauty of nature. As he grew as an artist and a scientist, hedidn't lose his interest in landscapes. His studies of plant and animal life, water flow, naturaldisasters, and astronomy all started from simple observations of the outdoor world around him.The brilliant and famous Mona Lisa was painted 30 years after the 1473 landscape sketch. Still, ifyou look closely at the Mona Lisa , you will see that behind the mythical smile, Leonardo paidattention to every detail of the natural environment in the background.

The young Leonardo also had a penchant and talent for drawing horses and portraits. Drawingsof both horses and people also appear in notebooks he kept through his later years. This leadsus to another question for creative thought: Did you have any childhood or youthful interests thatyou are still interested in today? If so, what are those things? If you'd like to share your thoughts,post your answers to the class discussion board.

Next up

See where nature took Leonardo after his first landscape sketch.

 

Beyond the landscape

As Leonardo grew older, he always seemed to find new things to learn, study, and transform intoart. Leonardo was not one to stop when he mastered something. He kept studying, exploring,questioning, and digging deeper. In fact, he chose to continue to work under his teacher evenafter he became a master painter. Leonardo was a constant student! We also know this becauseof his notebook entries. Let's look at a few more of them.

Figure 2-2 is an example of how Leonardo microfocused on aspects of the landscape to observeand learn the finer details.

 

Figure 2-2: Tree studies from Leonardo's notebooks.

Leonardo spent so much time studying trees that he could look at a tree and accuratelydetermine its age. This was quite a talent, since back then counting trunk rings had not yetbecome a practice.

Figure 2-3 shows how Leonardo observed landscapes from different angles. Remember that,although he had access to hills, there were no blimps or airplanes to assist an artist with getting acomplete bird's-eye view of the area. Regardless of the difficulty, Leonardo created high-qualityaerial landscape sketches -- in other words, relief maps.

Figure 2-3: A map sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.

Enlarge image

Figure 2-4 shows another of Leonardo's studies of nature from nature: the flow of water andcurrent.

Figure 2-4: A water flow study from Leonardo's notebooks.

Eventually, Leonardo prepared a whole set of documents on water studies.

In his younger days, Leonardo wanted to make his paintings the very best they could be; in somecases, he studied certain things as part of his apprenticeship as a painter. But mostly, he dove inand studied various subjects in depth simply because he was interested and fascinated, andeventually wanted to share his observations. He branched out from landscapes to the minisculedetails of plants, animals, and people. His studies encompassed natural phenomena, physics,internal workings of living things (i.e. anatomy), and more.

Figure 2-5 from his notebooks is another example of how from observing nature, he once againbegan going in a new, simple, yet scientific direction. In this case, he was studying how the sunappeared large when viewed as a reflection in wavy water.

Figure 2-5: A sun reflection study from Leonardo's notebooks.

Enlarge image

Here's the accompanying text for the diagram in Figure 2-5:

The sun will appear larger in moving water or on waves than in still water; anexample is the light reflected on the strings of a monochord. (878)

The more notebook entries and sketches you explore, the more you realize that to Leonardo, artand science were one and the same.

Next up

Nature studies took Leonardo from landscapes to leaves and to light and reflection. Where elsedid Leonardo venture in his studies?

 

Even further beyond the landscape

In the years between 1472 and 1482, after his apprenticeship was over, Leonardo worked as aprofessional artist and among other things, painted the well-known Adoration of the Magi. In1482, when war was raging all around him, the 30-year-old loyal patriot Leonardo decided topursue designing military weapons. He continued working on the engineering aspects of many ofhis artistic designs for most of the rest of his life. By the early 1500s he was designing elaboratewartime machines and defense maps. For a few years, he worked on a commissioned horsesculpture that didn't actually get built during his lifetime. All the while, he continued to paint, learnpainting techniques, and develop improved techniques in his field. He also continued to studyvarious subjects that either related to his paid work or fueled his imagination and curiosity.Leonardo died in 1519 at age 67 after spending his final few years philosophizing, decorating,studying pure science, and designing buildings.

Combining art and science

As we've seen, Leonardo's childhood drive to draw landscapes, portraits, and horses led to alifetime as a professional artist. The more knowledge he attained, the more he sought.Eventually, he became a recognized expert in numerous fields relating to both art and science.

Leonardo studied math and geometry in order to incorporate the principles into realistic drawingsand paintings. He studied under respected teachers and collaborated with other skilled artists tohone paint formulas and practices. He developed modern recipes and techniques while devotinghimself to the pursuit of truth and beauty, to helping his country, and to technological progress.

He trained his eyes to be his most valuable tool in life and art. According to eyewitness accounts,he could accurately draw and study birds in flight because his eyes were so keen that he couldcapture detail as birds flew quickly by. And he wished to share all of his knowledge!

Figure 2-6 shows a sketch by Leonardo, building designer and architect. A bridge design fromone of Leonardo's notebooks was constructed in Sweden almost 500 years later.

Figure 2-6: Mausoleum design from Leonardo's notebooks.

Figure 2-7 shows several specific studies in surface anatomy and muscles. Some of Leonardo'sdetailed sketches of the inner and outer parts of the human body still appear in anatomy bookstoday.

UniversalLeonardo

UniversalLeonardo isanexcellentsite thatgives anoverview ofthe manyfacets ofLeonardoda Vinci.

Figure 2-7: Studies of surface anatomy from Leonardo's notebooks.

Sometimes Leonardo's notebook pages combine art and science in an obvious manner. Figure2-8 shows his careful studies of human head proportions; he measured them so he couldreproduce them accurately in his artistic works.

Figure 2-8: Human head proportion study from Leonardo's notebooks.

Other times Leonardo focused solely on art or science, as shown in this page devoted tomathematical studies. The applications could have been specific or general -- for an artcommission or for his next creative engineering invention.

Where do your interests take you?

Leonardo's interests took him inside tree trunks, into space, and into fields of science andengineering. Now would be a good time to ponder the question: Where could your creativeinterests take you?

Try this exercise. Think back to your childhood. What childhood interest have you maintained tothis day? If you can't think of one, then choose any current interest or passion you have. Boildown a description of this passion or interest in one sentence. Write the sentence. Then beginthinking of the interest as a field of study. What parts of this field would you be interested inspending more time studying? For example, if your creative interest is ballet, would you beinterested in studying how a pointed toe can support a person's body weight? If your creativeinterest is writing fiction, would you be willing to study a time period or a geographic location indetail in order to be more precise about the setting of the story? Jot down any ideas you haveabout in-depth subjects of study to move you along in your creative pursuit.

Next, think larger. What related matters that are outside the box a bit could you study? For ballet,would you be willing to study abdominal muscles, costume-making, or composers of balletmusic? If you make pottery, could you experiment to see if you could develop a scientific formulafor unbreakable ceramic? Jot down ideas that come to you about going above and beyond in thiscreative endeavor.

After looking both inward and outward from your area of creative interest, where do you think youare on your creative journey? Are you just now drawing your first landscapes? Have you studiedyour field from multiple angles in order to develop progressive techniques and to become arecognized expert? Do you have enough information about your field to create a Leonardo-stylecodex? Are you somewhere between your first landscape and your notebooks full of expertise?Where would you like to go from here?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. Report your progress or status in yourcreative field to the class Message Board if you wish.

Next up

Every artist needs the right tools. Find out what Leonardo used, and choose modernequivalents.

 

Living like Leonardo

Leonardo's most important tools were his eyes. If he were here today, he'd probably tell us to relymore on what we see for ourselves than on any other handed-down wisdom we may receive.

He chose a variety of tangible tools for his creative studies. For most of the studies in hisnotebooks, he used paper. He used a variety of treated papers in colors like blue, red, andbrown, and two ink colors: brown and black. Earlier notebooks entries are often done with black,red, and white chalk or charcoal. He did some of his studies, like drapery studies, on canvas orusing a drawing technique called silverpoint. Other tools he used as a professional artist includedpaint mixing tools, recipes, and ingredients; studio space; books written by experts in his field;and person-to-person instruction and collaboration.

Leonardo probably carried something with him at all times to make quick sketches with. Click thelinks below to see some online studies that illustrate the variety of media Leonardo used for hisstudies.

 

A drapery study done in silverpoint and white highlights on red mediaA portrait study done with a combination of black and red chalk and pen and brown ink

Today's pen and paper

Leonardo used tinted papers so he could add white highlights and therefore make drawings lookmore realistic. He may have chosen whatever was handy to make his quick sketches, and insome cases went back to chalk sketches to add fine details in pen. Naturally, in any creativeendeavor, some tools are better than others; sometimes a modern tool is best, and sometimes itisn't. Leonardo used paper. You can draw and write on paper too if you wish. But you have theadditional option of using paper that is preprinted with lines. Imagine! Or you can type or drawwith an electronic device like a computer, PDA, or digital drawing tablet. You can write on whiteboards or sticky notes, make a sketch on the back of a cocktail napkin, or take photos and havethem printed at the drugstore. Leonardo used writing implements common or easy to acquire inhis day. You have almost unlimited access to writing tools from crayons and colored pencils tolaptop keyboards and styluses.

Not only do you have ready access to myriad writing and drawing media, you also have accessto photographs. For example, you can reproduce a photo using a scanner or copier or tear pagesfrom your own magazines for further study. You can find information and document your thoughtsand pictures on the Internet or on your own electronic storage media for later viewing.Technology is getting more affordable and available to today's artists. Plus, the Internet connectspeople from around the globe, making online inspiration and collaboration possible in waysunimaginable in Leonardo's day.

Next up

Now that you've thought about your initial creative interests, where you can go from there, andlearned about old and new Leonardo-esque tools, get Leonardo's advice for art and life.

 

Leonardo's advice for art and life

Leonardo's notebooks are ripe not only with information and scientific theories, but also withadvice from his life experiences.

Leonardo had this to say about perspective in creating realistic two-dimensional works of art:

Perspective is nothing else than seeing place [or objects] behind a plane of glass,quite transparent, on the surface of which the objects behind that glass are to bedrawn. These can be traced in pyramids to the point in the eye, and these pyramidsare intersected on the glass plane. (83)

You can study perspective by sketching a scene as you see it through a window. Draw withan erasable ink or grease pen directly on the glass.

Here's what Leonardo had to say about the application of science to art:

Those who fall in love with practice without science are like a sailor who enters aship without a helm or a compass, and who never can be certain whither he isgoing. (1161)

As anyone can see after even a quick study of the man and his notebooks, Leonardo was a fanof direct experience and not a fan of critics:

And those men who are inventors and interpreters between Nature and Man, ascompared with boasters and declaimers of the works of others, must be regarded

 

and not otherwise esteemed than as the object in front of a mirror, when comparedwith its image seen in the mirror. For the first is something in itself, and the othernothingness. (11)

The notebooks offer lots of other tips and advice, too. Browsing through several thousand originalnotebook pages reveals a wide range of methods that Leonardo used to study what he sawaround him. Take a look at this list, and be prepared to use it for the Lesson 2 assignment. (Youcan also download and print this PDF file containing the list.)

Study1.Emulate masters, practice2.Question3.Observe4.Experience5.Measure6.Branch out in new directions7.Sketch8.Paint9.Apply math and geometry10.Visualize in three dimensions11.Pursue good12.Focus on details13.Document14.Get necessary solitude15.

Moving on

In this lesson you got an overview of Leonardo's creative journey, his explorations from art intoscience, his tools, and his advice. You learned how he started pursuing art, the various directionshe took from there, and what tools and life habits he thought were important. You found out howyou might apply aspects of today's lesson to your own creative journey and get inspired byLeonardo's path and methods.

Lesson 3 focuses on visual representations of ideas and shows you some ways you can makeyour thoughts visible and memorable. You'll look at some more Leonardo da Vinci sketches,choose convenient tools to capture your images, and try some sketching exercises.

We hope you enjoyed today's lesson. Be sure to complete the assignment and quiz for thislesson, then visit the class Message Board to share insights, see what your instructor has to say,or to chime in on discussions.

See you on the Message Board and then back in class for Lesson 3!

Assignment #2

Fill in the blanks.

Print and handwrite the answers to this assignment.

As a child, I was fascinated by __________________________________________.

I was also fascinated by _______________________________________________.

Today I am fascinated by ______________________________________________.

A childhood interest that I still have today is ______________________________________________.

Three things I could study or have studied related to my creative interest are:

____________________________________1.____________________________________2.____________________________________3.

Three fascinating things I've learned while pursuing my creative interest are:

____________________________________1.____________________________________2.____________________________________3.

On my journey, my first landscape (whatever your equivalent of Leonardo's first landscape drawing is)will be/is/was _______________________________________.

On my journey, my Mona Lisa will be/is/was _______________________________________.

If Leonardo were coaching me personally on my creative journey, he would probably tell me to______________________________________________________.

I'll know I'm ready to prepare a Leonardo-style codex when______________________________________________________.

The next step I plan to take on my creative journey is_______________________________________________________.

There are no right or wrong answers. Feel free to skip questions, to repeat answers, or to includemultiple items on a single blank. This exercise is designed to get you thinking about the way youare pursuing one or more of your creative interests.

If you'd like to share any insights you gleaned from this assignment, feel free to do so on the MessageBoard.

 

Quiz #2Question 1:What is the subject matter in the earliest-known surviving Leonardo sketch?

A) A self-portraitB) A landscapeC) A cannonD) A human heart Question 2:Which of the following sketch subjects appear in Leonardo's notebooks? (Check all that apply.)

A) MapsB) Water flowC) Reflection of sunlightD) TreesE) Building designsF) DraperyG) Engineering concepts and machinesH) Horses 

Question 3:True or False: It is likely that the adult Leonardo carried something to sketch with at all times.

A) TrueB) False Question 4:True or False: Leonardo sketched with chalk and also with ink.

A) TrueB) False 

Use da Vinci's sketches as your creative guideLeonardo da Vinci is not only famous for his paintings like the Mona Lisa, but also for the many sketches in hisnotebooks. Learn the importance of images, look at Leonardo's sketches, choose tools to capture your imagesand try some idea mapping techniques.

 

Sketching 101

In Lesson 1 you cracked into Leonardo's notebooks and tried mirror-writing. In Lesson 2 you followedLeonardo's creative path through art and science, learning about tools he used and methods headvocated. You were encouraged to make comparisons between your creative journey and his.

Today's lesson talks about images and sketches and incorporating them into your creative work. You'll getan overview of modern alternatives to drawing, learn some ways to sketch ideas, and pick up some goodold-fashioned drawing advice from Leonardo.

The sketch as Leonardo's creative workhorse

Leonardo was a sketching fiend. Both the quantity and quality of sketches in his notebooks attest to thatfact. Although he was a master painter, when he died, he left us hundreds more sketches than paintedmasterpieces. He sketched for various reasons: to prepare for paintings, to develop engineering andtechnology, to design architecture, to plan sculpture, and to document his observations on flight.

The images you saw in Lesson 2 illustrated how Leonardo drew to study objects and natural wonders thatfascinated him, and how he often incorporated those studies into his paintings. Figure 3-1 shows anotherexample of a preparation sketch that was probably created for his well-known Last Supper .

Figure 3-1: Compositional sketch, possibly of the Last Supper, from Leonardo's notebooks.

Enlarge image

In addition to sketching the results of his observations and studies of horses, plants, events, motion,proportions, human anatomy and facial features, landscape, color, drapery and lighting, Leonardo alsosketched to try new drawing techniques and viewpoints. Figure 3-2 shows horses drawn in various posesand from various angles.

 

Figure 3-2: Horse study sketches from Leonardo's notebooks.

The sketches in Figure 3-2 were likely done in preparation for a commissioned horse sculpture. After allthe planning, the horse did not get constructed in Leonardo's lifetime because the sculpture's rawmaterials were needed in the war effort. A version was erected in the twentieth century, though. Thestatue was unveiled in Milan, Italy, in 1999, exactly 500 years after the original clay model was destroyed.

Sketches are for everyone

Leonardo didn't invent the sketch or communication by images. Other geniuses who made use ofsketches and visual representations in their letters, personal notebooks, or published works includeGalileo, Sir Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, and Thomas Jefferson. Today, images are quite commonlyused by graphic artists, by athletes studying strategic team maneuvers, by school teachers drawing onchalkboards, and more. Many people find that sketching helps bring clarity and insight to problems or hazyideas. Working with images can sometimes solve the problem of trying to find the right words. Sketching isa valuable skill, and the resulting images can be useful in almost any creative endeavor.

Merriam Webster defines a sketch as "a rough drawing representing the chief features of an object orscene and often made as a preliminary study."

Even if you do know the right words to use, you can use sketches as communication shortcuts. It hasbeen said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Ponder this: Which would be easier to document inone minute -- a sketch or two pages of (about a thousand) words?

Sketches convey certain types of information quickly and spatially. Which of Figures 3-3 and 3-4 do youthink would speak more immediately to a reader?

Figure 3-3 is a page from Leonardo's notebooks that contains mostly text.

Figure 3-3: A text page from Leonardo's notebooks.

Enlarge image

Figure 3-4 is a sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.

Figure 3-4: A portrait sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.To

maintain a high level of creative energy, try to find ways to incorporate sketches and images into yourwork. Your creative pursuits will benefit. You can probably also think of ways you use images in your dayjob, whether you're designing a better workspace or conveying ideas on a whiteboard in a meeting. Helpyour creativity soar by using images and sketches in every aspect of your life.

Next up

Next up, let's look at some tools to help sketchers who aren't drawing artists.

 

Sketching in the new millennium

If you're artistically inclined to sketch with pencil and paper, and you do it regularly, then you are alreadyemulating Leonardo. For those not so inclined, there are other ways to capture your ideas visually.Whether or not you draw by hand, it's important to capture and save observations and thoughts. Today,technology provides for quick capturing of observations.

Capture images

Lesson 2 touched on this a little. Image capturing tools range from electronic digital devices to lessadvanced, yet still modern, mechanisms. It's safe to say that it's easier to capture a moment on cameratoday than ever before. You can use a digital camera, a camera cell phone, a camcorder, or a digitalrecorder. You can capture existing items by making copies by copier, scanner or fax, or by literally tearingpages from magazines and putting them into your own personal image stash. Once an image has beendigitally captured, it can be edited using today's computers and readily available software, like Photoshopand many programs. The PC you're reading this on probably has some sort of drawing program loadedonto it (on Windows machines, look in your Accesories folder).

So who says you need to know how to draw?

Having said that, there are reasons to draw, and one of those is to get your right and left brainhemispheres working together; we'll talk a little more about that in the next lesson. For now, just captureimages any way you like.

Speaking of modern capturing tools, you can also use today's technology to quickly capture audioclips. It's a great way to record great conversations, ideas, and melodies before they're gone forever.

Generate images using computer tools

In addition to using photography and digital image capturing tools, it's possible to use graphic tools tocreate new visual representations. Today's software helps you create charts and graphs. Programs areavailable to help you make digital scrapbooks and slide shows, and you can add graphical elements tothem by using software shortcuts (such as making a perfect rectangle using a rectangle drawing tool).There's also the option of drawing images with your computer mouse.

You can also make your own unique visual representations by using your computer to combine imagesinto collages or stream photos and graphics into slide shows. You can blend moving and still pictures, andyou can even add music.

If you're sitting at a computer right now, then you already know that you can learn new skills and get freshideas by web-surfing or taking an online class. Do an Internet search to find lengthy lists of drawing andsketching resources. Today's computer-savvy children know that they can color and paint on the computer.

With all the tools available today for modern sketchers, the hardest part is not learning to draw likeLeonardo, but rather choosing which tools to use to translate your thoughts into physical images.

Next up

Learn how you can sketch processes, lineage, game plans, concepts, and questions.

 

 

Making the invisible visible 

While there are an infinite number of ways you can put pictures to your instructions, goals, questions, andthoughts, today we'll show you a couple ways to sketch intangibles -- those ideas that can't be perfectlyconveyed by photographic snapshots or written word.

Flow charts

A simple way to convey if/then information or various options is with a flow chart. Flow charts and relateddiagrams are not new. In fact, they've been in use so long that standard flow chart symbols have beendeveloped over the years. You simply write an observation, a question, or an instruction on a piece ofpaper. Draw a box around it. Then draw an arrow coming out of the box, and write a few words to describewhat happens next. Then put a box around that. Draw an arrow coming out of the second box, and write afew words to describe what happens next. And so on.

Flow charts by other names

Flow charts can have multiple lines coming from a single box. One type of flow chart that you mayrecognize is a family tree. Another derivation of a flow chart is one that depicts an elimination tournamentfor a sporting tournament, like the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (i.e. March Madness).

Remember when Lesson 2 talked about studying subtopics within your creative field in order to becomemore expert? A top-down idea map template might be helpful for brainstorming subtopics of study.

Radial clusters

On the other hand, there may be times when you need to list even more thoughts originating from theoriginal one. In that case, a radial idea map might work. As a matter of fact, writing or quick-sketching anidea in the middle of a page and drawing and listing thoughts radially from the center can have itsadvantages.

Leonardo worked with images in radial fashion as you can see in one of his map sketches in Figure 3-5.

Figure 3-5: A radial map sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.

Compared to flow charts, radial clusters are messier. Therefore, radial clustering can be used as a way tothink through a problem in its initial stages. Consider clustering as thinking out loud without actuallymaking any noise.

Start by writing (or drawing) a concept in the middle of a sheet of paper. Circle the central concept. Thisanchors it and also adds visual shape if it's just plain text. Next, jot down the first thing that comes to mindabout the central concept and circle it. Draw a line connecting the middle item to the secondary item. Jotdown the next thing that comes to mind, circle it, and draw a line to connect it to the original concept or theconcept that came just before it. Write, circle, and draw lines quickly without too much deliberation untilthe page is about full or until you feel done. Take a deep breath, look at your cluster, and decide what itmeans to you.

Figure 3-6 illustrates a cluster done during a TV show commercial break. The author clustered her initialthoughts on characteristics of her dream home.

Figure 3-6: A quickly sketched radial cluster.

Enlarge image

Can you think of some concepts you could cluster? Do you need new thinking, clarification of your goals,or quick ideas to resolve a problem? Give clustering a try. All you have to lose is a few minutes of yourtime.

The results of one cluster may inspire you to do another cluster on a related topic. From the clusteringexercise in Figure 3-6, the author decided to do a second cluster on her dream kitchen. The more youpractice writing your ideas spatially via clustering or similar idea-mapping method, the more you will getout of it.

Do an Internet search on "clustering," "idea map," "mind map," or "concept map" to see related examplesdone by others. Then give clustering a try. It's a quick sketch, no-rules, idea-generating tool that drawersand non-drawers alike can use! If you need an additional nudge, be sure to do the assignment (aclustering exercise) at the end of today's lesson.

Next up

Although you don't need any particular drawing skills in order to sketch, drawing still has its place -- andLeonardo included drawing advice in his notebooks.

 

Unleash your inner artist: Leonardo's drawing advice

You don't have to be a trained or talented artist in order to capture visual ideas or create sketches.However, drawing still holds high esteem as a creativity booster. Many believe that drawing utilizes theright side of your brain, and that drawing breaks you out of the box of everyday, ordinary processing ofconcepts and words in logical order, which by the way, utilizes the left side of your brain.

 

Leonardo was whole-brained. He grasped and conveyed logical left-brain concepts, and he also had akeen sense of space, proportion, and other right-brain artistic principles. He wrote and he drew. You mightalso wish to try doing both so that you don't limit yourself.

Among other tips, Leonardo advises sketching and doing studies before making the final project. Andmore than anything, he urges you to capture your observations before they get away.

If you have a serious interest in realistic drawing or painting, Leonardo's notebooks deserve further study.He devoted many pages to proper proportions. For example:

On a human face, the distance between the pupils of the eyes is one-third the width of theface. (142)

Here are some direct quotes about drawing, translated to English, from Leonardo's notebooks:

"Those who are in love with practice without knowledge are like the sailor who gets into a ship withoutrudder or compass and who never can be certain whether he is going. Practice must always befounded on sound theory, and to this Perspective is the guide and the gateway; and without this nothingcan be done well in the matter of drawing." (19)"The painter who draws merely by practice and by eye, without any reason, is like a mirror which copiesevery thing placed in front of it without being conscious of their existence." (20)"If the eye is required to look at an object placed too near to it, it cannot judge of it well--as happens to aman who tries to see the tip of his nose. Hence, as a general rule, Nature teaches us that an object cannever be seen perfectly unless the space between it and the eye is equal, at least, to the length of theface." (25)"Wherefore O painter! Do not surround your bodies with lines, and above all when representing objectssmaller than nature; for not only will their external outlines become indistinct, but their parts will beinvisible from distance." (49)

Leonardo also suggested in his notebooks that drawers use hatching to indicate motion, shading toindicate lighting differences, pleasing composition, measured angles, and proper perspective andproportion.

Moving on

In Lessons 1 and 2 you explored Leonardo's notebooks, his writing, his images, and his and your creativejourney. Today's Lesson 3 focused on sketching. You learned some modern uses, tools, and tips forsketching. Then you got some pencil-to-paper sketching advice from Leonardo.

Lesson 4 discusses blending ideas and items to create new things, and then provides ideas for creatingand publishing your creative journals.

We hope you enjoyed today's lesson. Be sure to complete the assignment and quiz for this lesson, thenstop by the Message Board to see what your instructor and fellow students are talking about.

Assignment #3

This exercise is designed to help you find some new ways in which you could use sketches or imagesmore in your creative work.

On a blank sheet of paper, write a creative activity you enjoy doing in the middle of the page, and1.draw a circle around it. Feel free to use the same creative area of interest you focused on inLesson 2.Set a timer for five minutes.2.In all directions from the center, jot down ideas for using images to enhance that activity. If3.something doesn't immediately come to mind, you can write the word "image" or "sketch" and gofrom there. Circle each idea after you write it, and draw a line connecting your thoughts to thecenter or to each other as you go along, freestyle. Figure 3-7 shows an example based oncreating computer games.

Figure 3-7: A rough brainstorming cluster.

Enlarge image

After five minutes, take a quick look at the unorganized brainstorming cluster you have created.1.Write a paragraph that describes the best idea or ideas you came up with.

Were you able to generate new thinking from this clustering and writing exercise? Report your findings tothe Message Board!

 

Quiz #3Question 1:True or False: Leonardo sketched to prepare for paintings.

A) TrueB) False Question 2:True or False: According to the lesson, computers can be used in the sketching process.

A) TrueB) False Question 3:True or False: A simple way to convey if/then information or various options is with a flow chart.

A) TrueB) False Question 4:With regard to drawing, Leonardo advised the following: (Check all that apply.)

A) Don't draw merely by practice and by eye.B) Do not surround your bodies with lines.C) Always do your first sketch with Crayola™ brand crayons. 

Da Vinci's notebooks: combining thoughts and ideas in newwaysTake the fun and important step of combining art and science, ideas with experience, clarity with contradictionand the present with the future. As your ideas expand exponentially, record them in your own Leonardo-stylecodex.

 

Connect the dots

Lessons 1 and 2 discussed observing, thinking, writing, drawing, and living a creative life.Lesson 3 focused on sketching, specifically sketching ideas. Lesson 4 pushes your creativityone step further. Today you'll be encouraged to compare and contrast items, to blend itemsinto unique creations, to work both sides of your brain, and to think about publishing a codex ofyour own.

In Leonardo's journal entries, it's easy to spot shapes, lines, and mathematical formulasincluded with portrait sketches and other drawings. Leonardo's famous Vitruvian Man sketchis a good example of how Leonardo related geometrical shapes to the human body, or in moregeneral terms, science to art. When you look at Vitruvian Man it's clear that Leonardocompared human motion to basic shapes, and compared a circle to a square as well.

Leonardo often constructed connections between seemingly different items. He ponderedsimilarities between water flow in the earth and blood flow in the human body. He comparedbranches of a river to branches of a tree, and so on.

The Vitruvian Man has appeared in many books, movies, and TV shows. To learn moreabout the history and science behind the image and see a partial list of all the places it'sappeared, read this Wikipedia entry.

Perhaps it was on one of the days Leonardo spent sitting on a hillside observing nature that hediscovered a resemblance between tree trunks and rivers with branches. His notebook readsas follows:

All the branches of a tree at every stage of its height when put together are equalin thickness to the trunk below them. All the branches of a water course at everystage of its course, if they are of equal rapidity, are equal to the body of the mainstream. (394)

And one can't help but wonder: Was Leonardo thinking about wavy hair or wavy water when hesketched the flowing streams in the upper half of the page in Figure 4-1?

Figure 4-1: Does the object at the top of the page represent water or hair?

Enlarge image

There is no limit to commonalities between people and things. To get a quick jump-start onthinking comparatively, you could try another type of idea sketch: a comparison chart. Chooseany two items, and on either side of a piece of paper, list things that make each different fromthe other. Or choose any two items and in the middle of a piece of paper, list things that thetwo items have in common. This PDF file shows simple examples of either method.

You can compare and contrast any two (or more!) objects, animals, plants, people, concepts orthings of any kind. If you need something to start comparing, try apples and oranges, long hairand water, or twins that you know. What do a butterfly and a hybrid car have in common? What

 

do snow and electricity have in common?

By the way, in case you were wondering, Leonardo's sketch in Figure 4-1 was a study oflong, flowing hair.

Next up

You've gotten inspiration and how-to for making comparisons and connections. Next, combinethings outright.

 

Blend the dots

Leonardo didn't just compare wholly separate entities like river courses and tree trunks;according to his notebook sketches, he also mixed and matched items to create new uniquethings.

Leo's combos

Take a look at the result of Leonardo's imaginary man-woman combo, in Figure 4-2.

Figure 4-2: Combined man-woman sketch from Leonardo's notebooks.

What did Leonardo get when he blended canvas, wood, a study of birds in flight, and someserious imagination? He got a design for a helicopter.

When you visit the link above, select Helicopter from the left menu pane. There you can viewLeonardo's helicopter sketch and a recent model that was created from the sketch.

How did Leonardo make dragons, you might ask? Well, naturally, by combining parts from realanimals! Leonardo even left this advice in his notebooks for future dragon-drawers:

 

If you wish to make an animal, imagined by you, appear natural -- let us say adragon, take for its head that of a mastiff or hound, with the eyes of a cat, theears of a porcupine, the nose of a greyhound, the brow of a lion, the temples ofan old cock, the neck of a water tortoise." (585)

Make your own combos

Follow Leonardo's lead by mixing and matching in your creative life. Bring two objects togetherto make one result. Create a collage of drawings or photographs, put an album of variousimages together, or make a slide show. Combine knowledge or experience from your past to acurrent issue. Apply expertise in one field to another.

Perhaps you could use your knowledge of gardening to weed out unwanted items from somearea of your life, career, or social network. Maybe you could think of some novel ways tocombine your skills with the skills of others in a new business or missionary venture. If you likepainting and you like animals, learn to paint animals. After you get the hang of realisticallycapturing the animals you know and love, why not depict them in your favorite colors, or eveninvent a combo animal of your own? You may see incredible results!

Next up

Are you stuck in left brain mode or right brain mode? Cross over to the other side.

 

Left brain, right brain

Leonardo didn't dive single-mindedly into painting. He studied plants, animals, humananatomy, landscapes, shading, lighting, perspective, paint mixing, color, angles, and more. Hestudied birds, and the next thing you know he's designing a helicopter. He drew, he wrote. Hepainted faces, he drew logical scientific conclusions. He understood linear concepts, and heunderstood spatial ones. He was what some would call a whole-brain thinker.

Many people today believe they are either more right-brained or left-brained. Left-brainedpeople may work as accountants, engineers, administrative assistants, and math teachers.Right-brained people may work as fiction writers or pastry chefs. However, your career pathdoesn't determine the inherent inner workings of your brain. In most cases, you can cross overto the other side and find balance. Maximum creativity is likely to occur when both sides ofyour brain are working together.

To tap into your right brain more, do any of the following:

Make a cluster map of how today might turn out.Make a quick sketch of the room you're in right now from the top down (like a layout or amap).Look at cloud formations, and imagine what figures and forms they could be.Write with your left hand.Turn on some music, and use either hand to draw smooth and curvy scribbles on a page.Visit a botanical garden or candle shop, and inhale many different fragrances in no particularorder.Order or prepare a beautiful salad incorporating as many colors as possible, and as you eatit, think of how much you love each item.Meditate.Think about something that makes you feel sad, and just feel sad (or choose anotheremotion to deliberately feel).Take a drive or a walk.

To tap into your left brain more, do any of the following:

Make a list of 10 things you need to do today.Read a book.Work on a crossword puzzle.Create a schedule for accomplishing a goal.

Go outside

With the ultra-mobile HPnotebook PC,there is noreason foryou to bestuck inside.Find a localcafe with wi-fiaccess andoutdoorseating andallow natureto inspire youthe way that itdid da Vinci.

 

Create step-by-step instructions for something you do regularly (for example: how to wateryour yard, how to make coffee the way you like it)Stack the papers on your desk in chronological order.Memorize the names of the 50 states and capitals.

If you feel new cylinders firing and it feels good, then keep doing those left-brain and right-brainexercises. Day by day and bit by bit, you will be able to develop new ideas and seamlessly driftbetween left- and right-brain thinking.

We'll close this brief whole-brain discussion by showing another of Leonardo's sketches.Notice in Figure 4-3 how words and images sit together on the page. He left no margins, andhe included a hodgepodge of subject matter including realistic drawings, geometry studies anda poem all on the same page. Is it genius, chaos, or whole-brain journaling? You decide.

Figure 4-3: Multi-topic page from Leonardo's notebooks.

Enlarge image

Next up

Now that you have a few tools to push your brain from one side to the other and back again,make friends with contradictions and live like a great artist.

 

Contradictions and creativity

Leonardo was a man of many contradictions. Here are just a few:

When he reached middle age, he still had the insatiable curiosity of a young child.Though he sought to work for the common good his whole life, he had few close personalfriends.He was one of the most highly regarded painters ever, yet he chose to spend much of histime pondering matters of math and scientific discovery.Though he was a professional painter, he created less than 20 masterpieces.He could have excelled in any field he chose, yetdabbled in over a dozen different career

 

fields.He pursued beauty, but drew frightening dragons and was fascinated by ugly faces.He loved peace, but designed war machines.He wrote advice to guide others, but almost every word he wrote was backwards.He wanted his notebooks published, but made no attempt to bring order to his documents.

What are some contradictions in your life? What makes you different, contradictory, orenigmatic? Are you small but loud? Are you trained in one field but passionate aboutsomething completely different? Do you love something you're allergic to?

Accepting contradiction is part of a creative life. Beware that contradictions can cause youpain. Critics may not understand you. Your loved ones may not understand you. You maystruggle to avoid harsh criticism, to get the solitude you need as an artist, to stay healthy andtrue to yourself, and to be careful with whom you share your preliminary sketches. Butremember that Leonardo, a walking contradiction, is considered a great creative genius. Sowhat if all your socks don't match up? It's quite possible that contradiction breeds creativity, sowalk on!

Art and life

Here are some more thoughts directly from Leonardo's notebooks on living creatively:

"It will be well that you should represent every thing from nature, and not despise such studyas those do who work only for money." (402)"The eye will hold and retain in itself the image of a luminous body better than that of ashaded object. The reason is that the eye is in itself perfectly dark and since two things thatare alike cannot be distinguished, therefore the night, and other dark objects cannot be seenor recognized by the eye. Light is totally contrary and gives more distinctness, andcounteracts and differs from the usual darkness of the eye, hence it leaves the impression ofits image."(30)"Where natural vivacity is lacking it must be supplied by art." (1445)

Next up

Find out how to create and publish your own modern-day codex.

 

Create your own Leonardo-style codex

As you get more used to jotting down your thoughts, why not create your own series ofLeonardo-style notebooks to record what fascinates you?

The logic behind Leonardo's codex

Unorganized as they are, Leonardo was deliberate about his codices. He conveyed his wisdomand advice in subject matters in which he considered himself expert. Where necessary, heenclosed proof for his theories and conclusions. He believed that documenting his life's workwas more important than organizing it. He used words, realistic sketches, quick diagrams,design layouts, geometric shapes, and mathematical equations to get his points across. Hewas so serious about documenting his work that he devoted several decades to the task.

Figure 4-4 shows how Leonardo conveyed his discoveries about proportions of the humanhead.

Take yournotes withyou

Now thatyou're in thehabit of jottingdown yourthoughts,recognize thevalue of anHP handheldPC, whichwould allowyou totransfer yournotes to yourwork or homecomputer, inaddition toproviding theconnectivityfeatureswhich willmaximize

Figure 4-4: Human head proportions from Leonardo's notebooks.

Leonardo was equally deliberate about exclusions from his codices. He did not includestruggles in his personal life or the depths of his emotional attachments to other people (asmentioned in Lesson 1, he inserted only an occasional personal fact, to-do list, or similar item).He didn't include lessons in basic math or very basic drawing, leading us to believe that hiscodices were not meant for children or entry-level beginners.

According to his biographers, Leonardo da Vinci never married or had children.

A codex of your own

As you create a codex or codices of your own, think about what personal wisdom you mightwant to share with future generations. Try any of the tools or exercises discussed in Lesson 3or 4 to help you decide!

Here are a few questions to ponder as you initiate your codex.

Have you learned all you can from the masters your respect in your field?1.What are some fascinating things you've learned along your journey?2.Have you made any noteworthy advances in your field?3.What do you predict for the future of your field?4.Do you have enough enthusiasm to create a codex?5.Who is the audience for your codex?6.

Publish

Today, you can tap into computer technology to help you put your codex together. Drafts canbe made and edited in haste. Computers can help quickly organize or re-organize your ideas,images, words, and pages until your final document is in perfect order! Then you can massprint your pages at a copy shop or online book producer. Even quicker than printing, you canpublish electronically! Distribute your codex via a blog, an e-book, or a Web page.

your personalproductivity.

 

If you have something interesting or good to say, then make a codex and publish it! Leonardothought that good work was meant to be shared. He said so in his notebooks: "Such as harm iswhen it hurts me not, is good which avails me not." (699) In short, don't hide your light underthe proverbial bushel basket -- find ways to publish and share your best work.

Here are a few final words of wisdom and encouragement from Leonardo:

"Although nature commences with reason and ends in experience it is necessary for us todo the opposite -- that is, to commence with experience and from this to proceed toinvestigate the reason.""Human subtlety will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple, or more directthan does nature because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.""Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sapthe vigor of the mind.""Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your workyour judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appearssmaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion ismore readily seen."

Wrapping it up

We hope you've enjoyed these four lessons on jump-starting your creativity by exploringLeonardo da Vinci's notebooks:

Lesson 1 introduced you to Leonardo's 500-year-old codices (i.e. notebooks). You found outwhere the originals and translated versions could be viewed, got an overview of thecontents, and learned about some of his odd journaling habits.Lesson 2 took you on a sketch-laden tour of Leonardo's career from apprentice to masterpainter to world-renowned creative genius. You were encouraged to draw inspiration fromhis winding path and to determine the next steps in your creative journey.Lesson 3 focused on Leonardo's use of images and sketches as tools for communicationand creativity and showed you some methods for sketching your thoughts.Lesson 4 encouraged comparing and combining objects as Leonardo did, providedexercises for stimulating both sides of your brain, and gave you pointers for publishing yourown creative codex.

We hope you've found this course informative and inspiring. Please complete the final quiz andassignment, then stop by the Message Board to share insights, creative progress, and futurecreative goals.

Assignment #4

From the lists of right-brain and left-brain exercises is Lesson 4, note which list looks easier to you andrepresents things similar to what you already do. The brain exercises that look and feel easiest to youmay indicate your predominant thinking. So, from the other list, do one exercise per day for a week.You can do the same exercise each day or a different one each day or any combination. The point isto develop a habit of thinking on the lesser-used side of your brain for one week.

Report to the Message Board how this assignment went for you!

 

Quiz #4Question 1:Was the sketch shown in Figure 4-1 a hair study or a water flow study?

A) HairB) Water Question 2:True or False: Leonardo mixed and matched items to create new unique things.

A) TrueB) False 

Question 3:Right-brain exercises include which of the following? (Check all that apply.)

A) Take a drive or a walk.B) Visit a botanical garden or candle shop, and inhale many different fragrances in no particular order.C) Look at cloud formations, and imagine what figures and forms they could be. Question 4:True or False: It took Leonardo two years to document the work that we are able to view today in his notebooks.

A) TrueB) False 

© 2003 - 2010 Powered, Inc.