Basis for a new theory of drawing framework from traditional handmade to modern virtual simulation

Abstract

This article builds on previous work (2019 EPDE) that proposed the need for a new theory for drawing. Now, there are new platforms for delivery and technology that test the traditional notion of good drawing. Also, there are drawings that do not adhere to traditional Western Renaissance or Victorian aesthetics. Yet, they are good drawings because their rich communication. The methods of this article work at three levels. First, a selection of key typologies on good drawing for cognition, communication and design in the last thirty years. Second, a historical review. Third, a user experience and participatory action research model that trials the gaps and differences between traditional and new forms of drawing skills. This paper outcomes offer a new set of parameters for good drawing and a standpoint to frame findings from the congruence between critical pedagogy, cognitive sciences and semiotics. Particularly, the perspective coming from a new wave of constructionism, critical making, enactivism, and social, interpretative and visual semiotics. This is the base for a work-in-progress framework draft for discussion that balances diverse typologies cited here. Ultimately, the paper proposes that modern manifestations of good drawing works best as a collection of open works, based on a shared meta-structure, that connect creators and their audiences through contextualised and clear codes that assist their reading.