Although I find it tricky, it is definitely helpful when figuring out how to capture images on the page more accurately. The weather is not conducive to getting outside to do this in the field, so I am stuck with objects in the house for now. I’m hoping to get out tomorrow.  The easy part if getting the measurement at the top; the hard part is moving the pencil down to count out the size. This was tricky for a stationary object. I can’t imagine what it will be like with one that jumps around. In doing this assignment, I definitely found my observation skills improving. I drew walrus tusks that have been hanging on my wall for approximately 8 years and I never realized there were carvings on the sides before. If I get outside tomorrow, I will comment on the measurements of various subjects.

What is that ruler you were using? I like the idea of having it when I’m up close and able to measure for identification.

On a still subject measuring proportions worked very well.  I always try to capture photos of my subject because I know I'm not quick enough to get all of the details before they move, so I started small.  I think the proportions of this pine cone were helped with the measuring trick.

April 20, 2023. Here's my field sketch using the extended arm measuring tool. My learning note wasn't about proportion so much as about finding a way to simplify a landscape - I'm accustomed to putting in detail, and there was just too much going on here. I tried squinting, to pull out the lights and darks, but ultimately decided the light was pretty uniform. Onward!

April 18, 2023 - was chilly out today, so I wimped-out and sketched indoors. My still life was fun to arrange, with the objects adjacent to each other and then quite separated. I usually try to capture these positional relationships by eye, but the brain plays tricks and I found the measuring exercise very helpful. And the negative space awareness also helped get things positioned on the page. I think it will be a challenge to practice this in the field - but I'll give a landscape a try.

I Think that using this method really does help a lot with making the picture look proportionate. I know before I always had a problem with making it look realistic and I think that this is going to be a big help.

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I tend to forget to check on the negative space as I am drawing.  It will be a habit to develop, because it does help in accuracy when I use it.

This is a great method which I have been using for subjects but haven't for landscapes.  I will have to tackle that next because it's my proportions that make my landscapes look like a 3 yr old sketched it! It will be a challenge to use on a moving animal.

I think measuring proportion is a great tool for making things more accurate. I almost always draw something, and only use negative space to make it look right, but I think my drawings will become even more accurate using proportions! Animals are easier for me to use proportions on than landscapes so I guess I should practice that more.

Measuring proportions certainly shows up the errors in my accuracy.  Particularly with masses of tall vegetation I found I overestimate the proportion significantly.  My mind's eye must say "they are big tall trees"  so I make them too big proportionally!  It was hard to get things in the landscape looking real.  The boat is still not right.  Much more practice needed but at least I know I have a  tendency to do that now which is better than not being aware.

I I still found it a bit challenging to get the proportion just right. It is better but definitely a work in progress. I do think the measuring technique is beneficial and will improve the more I practice using it.

For this exercise I chose to practice measuring proportions on my houseplants. I measured the height of each pot using a ruler and divided the length by 5 to get their height for my illustrations. Then the hight of the flower pots served as a reference for everything else. I used eyeballed or used the finger trick to get the width of each pot and the hight and width of each plant. For a change I drew these on toned paper with a Blick Terracotta color pencil and used a Prismacolor white color pencil for the highlights.

I am lucky I could practice with my sleeping cat! Although I applied the pencil technique right, I find that the back leg looks too small in proportion to the body… I wonder if perspective has something to do with it.

The measuring of proportions helped me more accurately depict animals. If I were to use this in the field I feel that it would work perfectly for natural formations and plants, but for animals it has a downside. Unless the animal is very still or sleeping, it'd be a bit of a nuisance to try to use this on a moving animal. To answer the last question, yes it is easier to measure still objects more than moving ones.

I recognize I didn´t use exactly measury proportions technique´ to do this exercise, this morning walking down the street I took this photo, and I thought can be a good example to appreciate several proportions in the same image, and how amazing nature sometimes opposes resistance against any human architectural barrier, bringing us a beautiful and decorative vision while demonstrate it´s possible to weaving both, so to solve the draw, I took the straight lines as reference to calculate approximatelyhedera´ leaves different proportions.

The technique helped a lot to capture my subject more accurately. I practiced on some flowers in the house

It helped a lot to measure the proportions with a simple tool like a pencil. I draw my orchid I have at home. I will use it next time for outside.