Contour line drawing drills are essential to learning how to draw. It is through this exercise that students learn to tap into the right side of their brains and focus on hand-eye coordination. It is essential to learn how to trust your eyes to "draw what you see and not what you know." It is an exercise that forces students to focus on the process and not the product, and continues to be one of the most effective teaching tools I have found to date. Students often start with one level of ability at the beginning of the year, and by the end of a few months, students can physically see marked growth. These line drawings are continuous line drawings that are done without picking up the pencil, while looking intensely at the object and slowly drawing the contours of what they see. They are also encouraged to draw the inside details as well. These drawings were originally supposed to be practice for the oil pastel project, however they turned out to be a successful project on their own that we later outlined with micron or sharpie in class.