In the journey of every budding artist, the path to mastering proportions begins with acute observation and relentless sketching practice. While this skill is inherently developed, there’s a valuable technique known as the thumb-and-pencil method that aids in estimating and verifying proportions with remarkable accuracy.
Here’s a step by step guide on how to use your eye along with your pencil and thumb to estimate proportions when drawing-
Place your pencil or pen in your hand and then holding it at arms length between your eye and the object that you plan to draw.
Slide the pencil up or down, to increase or decrease its length between the points ‘a’ and ‘b’, (shown above). This way you will be able to check the height of the object as shown below.
The further you are from the object, the shorter will be the distance between ‘a’ and ‘b’. This measurement is used to check the height of your drawing by simply holding your hand and pencil near the surface of the paper. The width is checked (as shown above).
In this example, the artist applies the pencil and thumb measuring method we discussed earlier. They determine that the tiger's head is 6 times the length of its body. Using this scale, they also measure the tiger's height, finding it to be approximately 3 heads high. With these proportions established, the artist proceeds to add details while maintaining this scale of measurement.
An example of how to use your pencil as a measuring stick to find the height and width of the house with the use of your pencil and thumb. You can also find the angle of the roof with this methodology
Finally, you must know the correct ways to hold the pencil while drawing. Holding it as you would a pencil or pen while writing is INCORRECT. The CORRECT ways are shown below.
By holding your pencil as shown in (a), (b), or (c) you will get complete freedom of arm movement and will, after considerable practice, develop a professional touch that would be impossible to acquire by employing the incorrect method shown in (d).
You can even learn how to draw using graphite and charcoal pencil technique by referring a drawing lesson book included in “How to Draw Kit by General’s”. Find the product here.
