How to Use a Pencil to Measure in Drawing
Find yourself a pencil, a sketchpad or paper to draw on, and a subject to draw., Hold out your pencil at arms' length, close one eye, and line up your pencil to your subject., Keep your thumb in place on the length of the pencil., Repeat the...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Find yourself a pencil
Make sure you find a relatively stationary subject in good lighting, and that it/they won't move midway through your sketch. , Find the height/length of an object in your subject that can be used for reference, like an eye in a portrait or a single apple in a still life.
Holding the pencil, place the tip of your thumb at the point on the pencil to mark the length of the object measured., Use your other hand to copy the length from the pencil to the paper, then draw in the line.
Divide this reference line in half and if necessary or long enough, into quarters., This part can be a bit tricky, but remember to always relate the dimensions and proportions of everything back to the original line.
Use the half and quarter marks on your reference line to draw in your objects accurately.
Reference your reference line.
Use it.
For example, if you are drawing a portrait and originally measured the horizontal width of an eye as your reference line, to draw in the nose you would hold up your pencil again and find the width of the base of your nose.
Then you would compare it to the width of the eye (the measurements of the widths should be roughly equal).
This step helps you keep everything in the same dimensions.
Use your pencil to measure the distance from the inner corner of the eye to the width of the nose across the nostrils and draw it in. , If anything seems off, double check the proportions in relation to the original object. -
Step 2: a sketchpad or paper to draw on
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Step 3: and a subject to draw.
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Step 4: Hold out your pencil at arms' length
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Step 5: close one eye
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Step 6: and line up your pencil to your subject.
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Step 7: Keep your thumb in place on the length of the pencil.
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Step 8: Repeat the previous steps
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Step 9: but instead of measuring in the reference object every time
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Step 10: draw in everything around the original object measured.
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Step 11: Remember to relax and always look back at your subject!
Detailed Guide
Make sure you find a relatively stationary subject in good lighting, and that it/they won't move midway through your sketch. , Find the height/length of an object in your subject that can be used for reference, like an eye in a portrait or a single apple in a still life.
Holding the pencil, place the tip of your thumb at the point on the pencil to mark the length of the object measured., Use your other hand to copy the length from the pencil to the paper, then draw in the line.
Divide this reference line in half and if necessary or long enough, into quarters., This part can be a bit tricky, but remember to always relate the dimensions and proportions of everything back to the original line.
Use the half and quarter marks on your reference line to draw in your objects accurately.
Reference your reference line.
Use it.
For example, if you are drawing a portrait and originally measured the horizontal width of an eye as your reference line, to draw in the nose you would hold up your pencil again and find the width of the base of your nose.
Then you would compare it to the width of the eye (the measurements of the widths should be roughly equal).
This step helps you keep everything in the same dimensions.
Use your pencil to measure the distance from the inner corner of the eye to the width of the nose across the nostrils and draw it in. , If anything seems off, double check the proportions in relation to the original object.
About the Author
Elizabeth Jackson
Specializes in breaking down complex creative arts topics into simple steps.
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