--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far as he could see, the drawings were…" description: "\"“As far as he could see, the drawings were simply alive. They might be colored earth on rock, but they were as alive as the kangaroo that'd just hopped..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/terry-pratchett-19_art_as-far-as-he-could-see-the-drawings-were_2476649.jpg" --- # As far as he could see, the drawings were simply alive… ![“As far as he could see, the drawings were simply alive. They might be colored earth on rock, but they were as alive as the kangaroo that'd just hopped away.” quote by Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/terry-pratchett-19_art_as-far-as-he-could-see-the-drawings-were_2476649.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/terry-pratchett-19_art_as-far-as-he-could-see-the-drawings-were_2476649.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/terry-pratchett-19_art_as-far-as-he-could-see-the-drawings-were_2476649.jpg) > ““As far as he could see, the drawings were simply alive. They might be colored earth on rock, but they were as alive as the kangaroo that'd just hopped away.”” [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator perceives drawings as alive, blurring art and reality, highlighting imagination’s power. **In simple terms:** Art can feel alive. Key Takeaway Value creative perception. Themes fiction imagination art Mood whimsical thoughtful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - museum tours - art classes - creative writing workshops - children’s storytelling Key Concepts visual perception creativity anthropomorphism Questions to Reflect On - What makes a drawing feel alive? - How does imagination change perception? A Different Perspective Not everyone sees art as living. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) ## Related quotes > [Any sort of working drawings are simply diagrams. Architecture encourages your imagination to work that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/any-sort-of-working-drawings-are-simply-diagrams-architecture/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [My drawings at first were made altogether in watercolors, but they wanted softness and a great deal of finish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/my-drawings-at-first-were-made-altogether-in-watercolors-but-they/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [I've always been a 'write first' artist: the drawings are always in service of the writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-brown/i-ve-always-been-a-write-first-artist-the-drawings-are-always-in/) [Jeffrey Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-brown/) > [Drawings help people to work out intricate relationships between parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/drawings-help-people-to-work-out-intricate-relationships-between-parts/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [Something happened when I was in elementary school. A Disney artist named Bruce McIntyre retired, and he had done drawings for 'Pinocchio' and 'Snow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stromberg/something-happened-when-i-was-in-elementary-school-a-disney-artist/) [Robert Stromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stromberg/) > [What do drawings mean to me? I really don't know. The activity absorbs me. I forget everything else in a way that I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/what-do-drawings-mean-to-me-i-really-don-t-know-the-activity-absorbs/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [My drawings inspire, and are not to be defined. They place us, as does music, in the ambiguous realm of the undetermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/odilon-redon/my-drawings-inspire-and-are-not-to-be-defined-they-place-us-as-does/) [Odilon Redon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/odilon-redon/) > [If you don't use an image now you might have a place to put it in further down the line - and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-pettibon/if-you-don-t-use-an-image-now-you-might-have-a-place-to-put-it-in/) [Raymond Pettibon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-pettibon/) > [The drawings don't start with 'a beautiful mark'. It has to be a mark of something out there in the world. It doesn't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kentridge/the-drawings-don-t-start-with-a-beautiful-mark-it-has-to-be-a-mark-of/) [William Kentridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kentridge/) > [I suppose we carry photographs now, but I think it's rather wonderful that people used to carry drawings and watercolours. I wish people did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-jackson/i-suppose-we-carry-photographs-now-but-i-think-it-s-rather-wonderful/) [Alison Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-jackson/) > [Eye: Lift to see me looking at you all the time. Mouth: Lift to hear my feelings towards you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-hope-guardian/eye-lift-to-see-me-looking-at-you-all-the-time-mouth-lift-to-hear-my/) [Amber Hope(Guardian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-hope-guardian/) > [In middle school, I started to draw, and my pencil sketches were huge. They were these 4ft by 3ft drawings, and I got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/in-middle-school-i-started-to-draw-and-my-pencil-sketches-were-huge/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [“The stranger drew the curtains round the bed, took up the light, and inspected the apartment. The walls of both rooms were hung with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton/the-stranger-drew-the-curtains-round-the-bed-took-up-the-light-and/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton/) > [I have designed my style pantomimes as white ink drawings on black backgrounds, so that man's destiny appears as a thread lost in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-marceau/i-have-designed-my-style-pantomimes-as-white-ink-drawings-on-black/) [Marcel Marceau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-marceau/) > [“His drawings were not originals then, only copies. He must have been doing them as a sort of retirement hobby, he was an incurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/his-drawings-were-not-originals-then-only-copies-he-must-have-been/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More by Terry Pratchett > [“This one’s mental.’ ‘Eccentric.’ ‘What’s the difference?’ ‘A bag of cash.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/this-one-s-mental-eccentric-what-s-the-difference-a-bag-of-cash/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“But I did not return until half past four this morning and I distinctly remember stubbing my toe on the stairs. I am as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-i-did-not-return-until-half-past-four-this-morning-and-i/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Someone broke from the scrum and, punching and kicking, staggered towards the Klatchian goal. "Isn't that man your butler?" said Ahmed. "Yes." "One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/someone-broke-from-the-scrum-and-punching-and-kicking-staggered/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It's an interesting fact that fewer than 17 % of Real cats end their lives with the same name they started with. Much family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/it-s-an-interesting-fact-that-fewer-than-17-of-real-cats-end-their/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [You can't trust folk songs. They always sneak up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-can-t-trust-folk-songs-they-always-sneak-up-on-you/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Either dragons should exist completely or fail to exist at all, he felt. A dragon only half-existing was worse than the extremes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/either-dragons-should-exist-completely-or-fail-to-exist-at-all-he/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Magrat wondered what it was like, spending your whole life doing something you didn’t want to do. Like being dead, she considered, only worse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/magrat-wondered-what-it-was-like-spending-your-whole-life-doing/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There were more old people. The world was full of them,' said the wizard. 'Yes, I know. And now it's full of young people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-were-more-old-people-the-world-was-full-of-them-said-the-wizard/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Hobson was big and heavyset, but not exactly fat; he was probably what you’d get if you shaved a bear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/hobson-was-big-and-heavyset-but-not-exactly-fat-he-was-probably-what/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“There is a night that never comes to an end… The clock of the world turns under its own shadow. Midnight is a moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/there-is-a-night-that-never-comes-to-an-end-the-clock-of-the-world/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You'd like Freedom, Truth, and Justice, wouldn't you, Comrade Sergeant?' said Reg encouragingly. 'I'd like a hard-boiled egg,' said Vimes, shaking the match out.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-d-like-freedom-truth-and-justice-wouldn-t-you-comrade-sergeant/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You are not apprehensive, are you? I can't detect no trace of fear none whatsoever Roomy cranium all possible videos of all possible outcomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/you-are-not-apprehensive-are-you-i-can-t-detect-no-trace-of-fear-none/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Imagination, not intelligence, made us human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/imagination-not-intelligence-made-us-human/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) [Explore all 3,328 Terry Pratchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As far as he could see, the drawings were simply alive. 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