--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can often tell when drawings are done…" description: "\"I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs, because you can tell what they miss out, what the camera misses out: usually weight and volum..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/david-hockney-1395_camera_i-can-often-tell-when-drawings-are-done_1681686.png" --- # I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs… ![“I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs, because you can tell what they miss out, what the camera misses out: usually weight and volume - there's a flatness to them.” quote by David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/david-hockney-1395_camera_i-can-often-tell-when-drawings-are-done_1681686.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/david-hockney-1395_camera_i-can-often-tell-when-drawings-are-done_1681686.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ba/david-hockney-1395_camera_i-can-often-tell-when-drawings-are-done_1681686.png) > “I can often tell when drawings are done from photographs, because you can tell what they miss out, what the camera misses out: usually weight and volume - there's a flatness to them.” [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Drawings from photos lack depth, missing weight and volume, appearing flat. **In simple terms:** Photos produce flat drawings missing depth. Key Takeaway Seek depth beyond visual reference. Themes art perception technique Mood analytical reflective Type artistic educational When to use this quote - portrait drawing - architectural sketch - educational illustration Key Concepts visual literacy dimensionality Questions to Reflect On - How can artists convey volume without photography? - What techniques add depth to flat images? A Different Perspective Flatness can be mitigated by studying light and form. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Camera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Flatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flatness/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [“Photographs tell a story," Alison mutters. "But people forget to read between the lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-g-howard/photographs-tell-a-story-alison-mutters-but-people-forget-to-read/) [A.G. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-howard/) > [During the winter when the weather is too poor to work outside, I do use drawings and photographs, but I change my work so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer/during-the-winter-when-the-weather-is-too-poor-to-work-outside-i-do/) [John Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer/) > [Whenever I am tired of making photographs of drawings, I make drawings of photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vik-muniz/whenever-i-am-tired-of-making-photographs-of-drawings-i-make-drawings/) [Vik Muniz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vik-muniz/) > [“Whenever possible, Salgado lives for a while with the people he photographs. “I tell a little bit of my life to them, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastiao-salgado/whenever-possible-salgado-lives-for-a-while-with-the-people-he/) [Sebastião Salgado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastiao-salgado/) > [I wanted to avoid what some modern tellers have done, quite legitimately, to make fairy tales more like novels and short stories, to characterize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-wanted-to-avoid-what-some-modern-tellers-have-done-quite/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“When you are unemployed, weekends are seven days long.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/when-you-are-unemployed-weekends-are-seven-days-long/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [...being written by someone who might not quite understand the subconscious nuance of the character leaves us in varying degrees of flatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/being-written-by-someone-who-might-not-quite-understand-the/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [ Anaximenes and Anaxagoras and Democritus say that its \[the earth's\] flatness is responsible for it staying still: for it does not cut the air… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/anaximenes-and-anaxagoras-and-democritus-say-that-its-the-earth-s/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“The present is like the flatness of Earth: an illusion. 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You can't really believe. If you see me shaking hands with Mr. \[Barack\] Obama, it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-can-t-believe-any-picture-nowadays-if-it-s-digital-you-can-t/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I had always planned to make a large painting of the early spring, when the first leaves are at the bottom of the trees,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-had-always-planned-to-make-a-large-painting-of-the-early-spring/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I've always said that the only thing a photograph is good at capturing faithfully is another flat surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/i-ve-always-said-that-the-only-thing-a-photograph-is-good-at/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [I'm rather shocked by what I thought was simple mindedness actually. 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A good writer on art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/no-theoretician-no-writer-on-art-however-interesting-he-or-she-might/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [How difficult it is to learn not to see like cameras, which has had such an effect on us. The camera sees everything at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/how-difficult-it-is-to-learn-not-to-see-like-cameras-which-has-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [With chemical film, it was possible to alter photographs, but you had to be an expert. That's not true any more. The LA Times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/with-chemical-film-it-was-possible-to-alter-photographs-but-you-had/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) [Explore all 247 David Hockney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## More Camera quotes > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I have a way to photograph. 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