• Nora
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      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.Proportions
    • Cecilia Louise
      Participant
      Chirps: 13
      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.
    • Gillie
      Participant
      Chirps: 26
      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. Practicing proportions
    • Cheryl
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      HummerI 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.
    • Jane
      Participant
      Chirps: 25
      129770C6-0E11-417E-A8EF-C84303D33042 DD6DDE35-D9A0-4ABD-8E73-7BCAD7FA3EDD 3CFC26AA-35EB-44CD-B67B-969135770E6A
      • Katelynn
        Participant
        Chirps: 5
        I love how you used the color in the background for the flamingo!
      • Carmen
        Participant
        Chirps: 6
        Jane, how brilliant to reverse the image for Left-handed drawing!  I also enjoyed you adding color  as background!
    • Natalija
      Participant
      Chirps: 16
      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. proportions square lighter
    • Marjolaine
      Participant
      Chirps: 8
      874F32E3-6214-4479-A85E-15E5B59BF6C4 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.
    • Kayla
      Participant
      Chirps: 19
      IMG-7183 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.
    • Olivia
      Participant
      Chirps: 17
      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. dia17febrero dia17febrero2
    • Christine
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      6391A905-7458-444E-BEE1-76243784D9AA
    • Christine
      Participant
      Chirps: 9
      5178454D-3F9A-4697-A24D-5467FB9F5858
    • Sue
      Participant
      Chirps: 3
      IMG_0209 The technique helped a lot to capture my subject more accurately. I practiced on some flowers in the house
    • Anastasis
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      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. WhatsApp Image 2021-12-09 at 19.23.42
    • Dawn
      Participant
      Chirps: 25
      This is a really valuable tool to use in the field or anywhere.  I have always struggled with getting the proportions right.  This could work well with a still subject, but not so much, for a moving one.  I feel like it is easier to do with plants in general and more difficult with any type of animals (especially humans) since we are so tuned in to how they should be portrayed accurately.  Feels like there is more room with plants and more abstract subjects like landscapes.   IMG_1204IMG_1146
    • Patricia
      Participant
      Chirps: 7
      Negative space FlamingoSnake plant Using negative space for the colored centers of these leaves was easy. The technique was more difficult to apply, and probably not as successful, when I tried to use it from the "outside in" to create the shape of the bird in the other picture. It was a real challenge to create the fringe of tail feathers by drawing in the background vegetation, for example. But I enjoyed seeing how far I could take it. Crane - negative space
    • Beth
      Participant
      Chirps: 15
      IMG_3026
    • Jacqueline
      Participant
      Chirps: 14
      Using the technique of pencil and ruler to measure was so helpful. While drawing the praying mantis,I don't think I Would have come close to getting all the parts of the mantis in proportion to each other.  I used the head to base my measurements on for the thorax, abdomen and legs. The praying mantis was very slow moving and climbed right up onto my journaling sketchbook. I was then able to snap a few pictures that helped me use my pencil and ruler for sizing. When doing the sketch of the praying mantis I referred to the picture I took and that helped immensely with negative space.So all in all I think the proportion is fairly close to being accurate but it will certainly take much more practice to become more proficient. so all in all I think the proportion is fairly close to being accurate but it will certainly take much more practice to become more proficient4E3E997B-D58F-4010-8B8E-64E299DC8326
    • Marc
      Participant
      Chirps: 16
      image I actually really enjoyed this assignment, I’ve always had problems with proportions and this helped me build confidence with such a simple method. With fast moving birds or critters I had a much more difficult time but I’m certain that with practice I will be fine. With plants on the other hand a wondrous tool to have available.
    • Claire
      Participant
      Chirps: 11
      It has really helped to adjust my quick sketches and to focus more closely on details.
    • Himesha
      Participant
      Chirps: 5
      IMG_9097
      • Measuring proportions makes it easier to get the height or length or width of some object when drawing exactly.
      • Though it is hard measuring the proportion in some objects in the field, comparatively it's easy with most.
      • It gives you an idea of how you should draw the subject.
    • Kathleen
      Participant
      Chirps: 74
      I am think am OK with proportions, especially with birds, since I have drawn more birds than anything else. IMG_20210810_174456
    • Carolyn
      Participant
      Chirps: 17
      img301 darkened
    • Carolyn
      Participant
      Chirps: 17
      Seems to be close to accurate.  However, some objects  and fields are easier to measure using this technique than other. img300 darkened
    • Gerda
      Participant
      Chirps: 10
      for some reason I am unable to upload my sketches. I love the negative painting, I also went on a hike the day before this lesson and saw this ladyslipper orchid. they are protected here in the State of Oregon and Washington.