
I can answer for myself - it helps me see more thoroughly and at a different level. By drawing, I am forced to study, not merely observe, the relationships between objects in space. The thought process required to draw is very different from what is required to take a snapshot. Drawing is an active way of thinking - and I now find it difficult sometimes to communicate an idea to someone without a pencil in my hand. I often take notes on my drawings as well. Things that I notice about other senses such as sound, smell, the feel of the wind, the warmth of the sun, etc. I once participated in a sketching exercise in which I made marks on my sketchbook page about anything except what I experienced with my eyes - a shorthand for sounds as I walked through nature. It was "eye-opening." There were so many sounds that otherwise would have escaped my attention.