Art Vanderlay

All rights reserved.

Copyright Art Vanderlay 2015 ©

No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise
without the prior written consent of the author which he will
never give so don’t even bother.

NOT FOR RESALE.

 A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Drawing duplications have become a staple effect in the mentalists

working set. Almost every performer has their own take and method be it
original or borrowed from another performer.
The effect I am now giving to you is my take on the age old effect. Whilst
the methods involved are not new to me in any shape or form, I have yet
to see someone perform a drawing duplication this way. That is not to say
it is ground breaking or original, I am merely stating that the moves are
ones that are expected of anyone who has an interest in magic. I must
admit however, that the presentation itself is something that I am very
proud of.
This effect shares some similarities with Pete Turners business card peek
from his Freeform Mentalism DVD and a few other of his works, however
it is done in front of the spectator, not behind the back, and no billets are
switched.
This is a 100% impromptu piece that can be done using borrowed business
cards and pen. It requires little sleight of hand that even an amateur can
pull off convincingly. You get a full 100% view of the drawing and the peek
happens on the off-beat as to draw as little attention as possible to the
“dirty work.”
This can also be used to peek other forms of information written by the
spectator, however this pdf gives you the presentation and justification for
a drawing duplication and therefore you would need to alter it to suit other
uses as you see fit.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy my take on this classic.

Art Vanderlay
September 2015
 What The Spectator Sees

“Have you heard of the phrase, “A picture is worth a thousand

words.”? Of course you have, it’s a phrase that has been used for
hundreds of years to describe the way that a complex idea can be easily
described with a single image, or that a single image can have vastly
different meanings to many different people. I personally have a
different phrase which is, “A picture is only worth five words.” Let
me explain, when I was growing up in the 80’s, we didn’t have
PlayStations or Xbox’s or smart phones that could do everything and
anything we wanted. Back then we had to use our imaginations to create
our own fun, we created games out of thin air, an art for that has been
lost to this new technological dependant generation. One such game that
my sister and I used to play was “A Picture Is Worth Five Words”.
The rules of the game were this: One of us would secretly draw
something onto a piece of paper and keep it hidden from the other, they
would then call out five random words that had nothing to do with the
picture they drew. The other person’s role was to figure out what the
drawing was based on those five random words and their knowledge of
the other person. During our time playing this game my sister would
always complain that the reason I would usually be able to guess the
drawing was because I knew her so well. However with you it is a
different matter altogether since we have only just met. With your
permission, I would like to play this game with you, is that ok?”

The spectator agrees to the game.

You proceed to remove a stack of business cards from your top jacket
pocket. Handing them a single card you request for the spectator to draw
something on its back and to then place it face down onto the table. Once
this has been done you address the spectator once again.

“Normally, my sister and I would hide the drawing in an envelope,

unfortunately I don’t have one on me right now let’s cut it into the middle
of the stack.”
The card they drew a picture on is then cut into the middle of the stack of
business cards.

“Now I would like you to name five random words that have nothing to
do with your drawing.”

The spectator starts to name random words.

Removing the top card from the stack, placing the rest back into your top
jacket pocket, you proceed to write down each word onto the card as the
spectator names them.

“Now the reason why I was able to correctly guess my sisters drawing
each time is because I soon discovered that no matter how hard we try,
the five random words we say will always give off clues as to what the
drawing actually is. For example, the first word you said was “House”
which tells me that your drawing is primarily made up of straight lines,
much like a house is when you draw one. Another word you said was
“Rainbow” which also tells me this is a colourful object in real life. Based
on the words you said and what type of person I believe you to be, I am
pretty confident that what you drew was a KITE, correct?”

The spectator freaks out calling you a “Devil Boy” and runs off crying to
their mummy.
 What Actually Happens

I am pretty confident that I have provided enough clues as to what the

method is. For those who are still pondering let me tell you that you will
slap yourself when you realise how easy it is.

Once the drawing has been done you either place the card back on top of
your stack of business cards or have them do so. You then perform a false
cut retaining their card on top.

The false cut which I perform is extremely simple, I hold the stack in my
right hand using a top down grip, I then swing cut a portion of the cards
into my left hand, the right hand portion is then tapped against the side of
the left hand portion as to square them up and is then placed onto a table.
Finally the left hand portion is placed on top of the stack on the table. Done
correctly and the stack of business cards will be in the exact same position
as before.

For standing performances, again hold the stack of business cards in your
right hand using a top down grip. Perform a swing cut into the left hand,
the right hand portion is then brought round over the left hand and then
placed underneath the stack in the left hand.

However, if you already perform a false cut then the false cut that you feel
works best for you is the right one to use.

Videos of the two cuts are to be found at the end of the pdf.

When the spectator starts to name their random words, you perform a
double lift with the stack of cards, you can cleanly show the top card as
blank. As you slide it off, tilt the stack towards yourself getting a peek of
the spectators drawing. This is what I call the “Cheeky Peeky Peek”.
The stack of business cards are then placed into your top jacket pocket.
You could also get the peek as you place the into your top jacket pocket
which was popularised by the great Bob Cassidy. The card you slid off onto
the table is used to write down the five random words.

All that is left to do is to make the random words they mention to fit their
drawing, this is not as hard as it sounds as any five random words will
share some sort of correlation to their drawing.

For example, if the drawing was of a FLOWER and that the five random
words were:

1. CAKE
2. BULLET
3. KEYS
4. SOFA
5. PLANET

• Cakes are usually round therefore the drawing will have elements of
circles. (Much like the centre of a flower)
• Bullets are man-made therefore the drawing will be the opposite.
• Keys are functional whilst the drawing will be aesthetic.
• A sofa is something you find in the house therefore the drawing will
be of something outside.
• A planet is found in space so the drawing is something which is
usually found in an open space.

The above statements are direct and vague enough to convince the
participant that you are using some form of psychology to deduce their
drawing. It also demonstrates how easy it is to fit random words to any
subject matter.

Instead of revealing the drawing verbally, you could reach into your top
jacket pocket and remove a blank business card. Upon this you duplicate
their drawing and then place it face down onto the table. You ask them to
name their drawing and to then turn over the card. I personally use both
reveals depending on if I want the participant to forget about drawing
anything or not.

Another idea is to have them write a word, once peeked you could ask
them to use word disassociation to come up with five random words that
you then have use to decipher the participants word. You could no longer
use the “A picture is worth only five words” presentation obviously as it
has no relevance to the written word.

Finally, instead of doing a double lift, you could perform a triple lift. The
top card is slid off to write down the five random words as normal. With
the stack of business cards still in your left hand facing you, swing the new
top card to the right so it is now horizontal revealing the participants
drawing on the card underneath. You can now stare down at the
participants drawing whilst duplicating it on the horizontal card.

And there you have it. A very simple and bold way to perform a 100%
impromptu drawing duplication.
 Videos Of Some False Cuts

Sitting Down False Cut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr9fUL1_Fw0

Standing False Cut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYeaTYQAfR0
 Credits

Stuart Nolan
For teaching me numerous false cuts

Bob Cassidy
For the top jacket pocket peek

Pete Turner
For his business card peek on Freeform Mentalism & other works

You
For buying this pdf and continuing to support magic

Copyright Art Vanderlay 2015.