SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/somehintsonlearnOOhutc SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW • • ■ A CLANDESTINE INTERVIEW SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW G. W. CALDWELL HUTCHINSON ART MASTER, CLIFTON COLLEGE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY SIR F. LEIGHTON, Bart., P.R.A. SIR GEO. REID, P.R.S.A. G. F. WATTS, R.A. E. J. POYNTER, R.A. II. S. MARKS, R.A. J. MacWHIRTER, R.A. ALFRED PARSONS, R.I W. G. ADDISON. LESLIE THOMSON. G. P. JACOMB-HOOD. BLAKE WIRGMAN. J. R. WEGUELIN. HUGH THOMSON. WILLIAM STRANG, R.P.E. REGINALD CLEAVER. J. PENNELL. J. R. BROWN. Hontion MAC M ILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1893 The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved ICIIARn Cl.AY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND IU NGAV. PREFACE I have much pleasure in expressing here my most sincere thanks to the following artists, who have so kindly and willingly lent, or obtained for me, drawings for this book : — SIR F. LEIGIITON, Bart., P. R.A. SIR GEO. REID, P.R.S.A. G. F. WATTS, R.A. E. J. POYNTER, R.A. IT. S. MARKS, R.A. J. MacWHIRTER, R.A. ALFRED PARSONS,. R.I. W. G. ADDISON. J. R. WEGUELIN. G. P. TACOMB-IIOOD. BLAKE WIRGMAN. J. PENNELL. J. R. BROWN. HUGH THOMSON. WILLIAM STRANG, R.P.E. REGINALD CLEAVER. LESLIE THOMSON. To Dr. F. Parsons and to Dr. O. Parsons for the loan of drawings by Alfred Parsons ; to the Daily Graphic for drawings by Reginald Cleaver ; to Messrs. Seeley & Co. for drawings by J. Pennell ; and to H.M. Stationery Department for permission to reproduce the portions of Albert Durer's drawings used for army examinations. G. YV. C. H. C li fton, January, 1893. PAGE Introductory i Measuring 13 Foreshortening 15 Elements of Perspective 18 Concerning Outlines 32 Foreshortened Rectangular Blocks 33 Foreshortened Triangular Blocks 42 Blocks Containing Semicircles 52 Books Lying Down 61 Comparison of Curves 62 Centre Guide Lines 63 A China Palette and its Curves 68 A Chair 74 Ornamental Outline 76 Outlines of Leaves from Casts 79 Nature 82 A Chapter on Shading 86 CONTENTS PAGE Copying Albert Durer 109 Drawing Leaves from Nature 116 Flowers 123 Monochrome Painting in Water Colour 139 Pencil Drawing 155 Elementary Anatomy 158 Drawing from the Life 166 Drawing from Reproduction 181 Index 193 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIG. , TAGK A Clandestine Interview. By Hugh Thomson Frontispieie. 1 Elementary Measurement : 13 2 Elementary Foreshortening 16 3 Diagram of Raft 18 4 Block in Perspective 20 5 Block out of Perspective 21 6 Blocks in Perspective 24 7) & V Box Lids in Perspective 258:26 9 Circles in Perspective 27 10 Centres of Arches 29 11 Series of Circles in Perspective 31 to Foreshortened Blocks 34 to 60 36 j 37 Two Books 61 38 Three Jam Pots 62 39 Perspective of Three Jam Pots 63 40 Walnut Leaves , 64 41 A Jar 65 42 A Pillar Lying Down 67 43) to - A China Palette 68 to 73 47; 48 A Chajr , , 74 xii ILLUSTRATIONS FIG. PAGE 49 ) & • Ornamental Outline 76 to 78 51 ) 52 Outline of Leaf from Cast 79 52 Outline of Ivy Leaf from Cast 80 54) & ^ Outlines of Leaves from Nature 82 & 84 55 J 56 Cross-Hatching 89 57 Gradated Shading 91 58 Apple from a Cast 93 59 Eggs 95 60 Cast of an Ivy Leaf 97 & > Ball in a Bowl 99 & 1 01 62 J 63 Cast of Passion Flower Leaf 103 64 Sketch of. an Ivy Leaf. J. R. Weguelin 104 65) to / Portions of Drawings. By Albert Durer 109 to 115 71 ) 72 Plane Leaf. G. P. Jacomb-Hood 117 73 Ivy Leaf 118 74 Elm Leaf . . 118 75 Bramble Leaves 119 76 Oak Leaves 119 77 Laurel Leaf 120 78 Brussels Sprouts 120 79 Walnut 121 80 Fir Cone 122 81 Wood Shaving . 122 82 ) & > Lemon Blossom. Sir F. Leighton, P.R.A 125 & 127 83 I 84 Snapdragon. Sir F. Leighton, P.R.A 129 85 Rose. E. J. Poynter, R.A 129 86 Broom. Alfred Parsons, R.I 131 S7 Snapdragon „ „ „ 133 ILLUSTRATIONS xiii FIG. PAGE 88 Poppies. Alfred Parsons, R.I 135 89 Honeysuckle ,, ,, 136 90 Sweet Pea • . . 137 91 Ivy Leaves 144 92 Larchcones. W. G. Addison 146 93 Leaves. By Alfred Parsons, R.I 147 94 Fir Trees. J. MacWhirter, R.A 148 95 Beech Trees. Alfred Parsons, R.I 150 96 The Avon „ ,, ,, 152 97 Monochrome Sketch. David Cox 154 98 Glasgow Cathedral. Sir George Reid, P.R.S.A 155 99 High Street, Guildford. J. R. Brown 157 100 Drawing of a Bridge. Sir Geo. Reid, P.R.S.A 159 roi Front View of Human Skull, from a Photo 161 102 Side View „ „ ,, ,, „ „ . . . 162 103 Human Skeleton 165 104 Drawing from the Antique. G. F. Watts, R.A 168 105 An Egg Collector. H. S. Marks, R.A 169 106 ditto ,, ,, ,, .170 107 ) & > Chalk Studies „ ,, ,, 171 & 173 108 j 109 Head in Pen and Ink. G. P. Jacomb-Hood 175 110 Female Head. Blake Wirgman 177 in "Thomas Wright." G. F. Watts, R.A 179 112 How our Grandfathers Danced. Reginald Cleavkr 185 113 How we don't Dance „ ,, 187 114 j & > Pen and Ink Drawings by J. Pennell 189 & 190 116 Japanese Jar. W. Strang, R.P.E 191 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW SOME HINTS ox LEARNING TO DRAW An amusing story is told in the autobiography of James Nasmyth, the famous engineer and inventor of the steam hammer. He was travelling in Sweden, and was ignorant of the language. He says : — " The post-house where I was set down was an inn, though without a signboard. The landlady was a bright, cheery, jolly woman. She could not speak a word of English, nor I a word of Dannemora Swedish. I was very thirsty and hungry, and wanted something to eat. How was I to communicate my wishes to the landlady ? I resorted, as I often did, to the universal language of the pencil, I took out my sketch-book, and in a few minutes I made a drawing of a table, with a dish of smoking meat upon it, a bottle and a glass, a knife and fork, a loaf, a saltcellar, and a corkscrew. She looked at the drawing and gave a hearty laugh, she nodded pleasantly, showing that she clearly understood what I wanted. She asked me for the sketch and went into the back garden to show it to her husband, who inspected it with great delight. I went out and looked about ■4 q v, 2 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW the place, which was very picturesque. After a short time the landlady came to the door and beckoned me in, and I found spread on the table everything that I desired : a broiled chicken (smoking hot from the gridiron), a bottle of capital home-brewed ale, and all the etceteras of an excellent repast. I made use of my pencil in many other ways. I always found that a sketch was as useful as a sentence. Besides, it generally created a sympathy between me and my entertainers." He proceeds later on to say, " To prepare the landlord for my setting out, I again resorted to my pencil. I made a drawing of the little gig and pony, with the sun rising, and the hour at which I wished to start. He under- stood it in a moment, and next morning the trap was at the door at the specified time." Mr. Nasmyth, who was a practical man, considered that he was the possessor of a "Graphic language," that "the language of the pencil " is truly a universal one, especially in communi- cating ideas which have reference to material forms," he says, " a few strokes of the pencil can convey ideas which quires of writing would fail to impart. This is one of the most valuable gifts which a man who has to do with practical subjects can possess." Again he says, " My father was an enthusiast in praise of this Graphic language, and I have followed his example, in fact, it formed a principal part of my education. It gave me the power of recording observations with a few graphic strokes of the pencil ; and far surpassed in expression any number of mere words. This graphic eloquence is one of the highest gifts in conveying clear and correct ideas as to the forms of subjects. This accomplishment of accurate drawing served me many a good turn in future years with reference to the engineering work which became the business of my life." THE VALUE OF DRAWING 3 This is capital testimony by a great engineer of the value of drawing to engineers. As to the value of drawing to architects, we may quote Mr. Walter Millard in a paper read before the Architectural Association ; he says, " Every day it seems to be more generally understood that the first thing necessary for good architecture is that the architects must be artists. Good designs are not to be produced by accident any more than good pictures or good sculpture, but by men endowed with artistic ability, who have taken all care to cultivate it to the utmost." Again, Mr. Millard advocates "the habit of sketching in the student or draughtsman of architecture, because it must tend to bring out whatever artistic ability he may happen to be endowed with, to accustom his eye to appreciate delicacies of form, subtleties of proportion, and beauty of composition." Mr. Pennell, in speaking of architects says, "If they are unable to draw, that is, see artistically, they cannot build ar- tistically," and Mr. Burgess in a paper on Architectural Drawing goes very far when he says, " No amount of architectural drawing would make a man an artist or an architect unless he knows the human figure." In a paper in the Parents Review on the age at which science should be taught, Mr. Cadell speaks of the indispensable nature of the powers of observation ; he says, " Those who have taught the natural sciences to young men and women will tell you how frequent it is to see good pupils (sometimes the best in the generality of subjects) who do not know how to note the most visible things in a material object. To judge fairly of this it is sufficient to ask one of them to describe a plant viva voce. I have known some of them who did not even look at the specimen put into their hands. They seek for information in their head, p. 2 4 SOME HINTS ON LEARN INC TO DRAW and when called upon to observe they cannot even note whether the leaves are opposite to each other or whether they are at different heights along the branch. At the age of five or six years they would perhaps have seen better, but during a number of years they have been occupied entirely with internal or abstract matters, grammar, words of different languages, &c. If they had learned any of the facts of natural history it was from a book. It has been overlooked that the faculty of obser- vation is not only the fact of looking at everything but of engraving it in the memory, of comparing and reflecting, in order to draw true conclusions." Professor Meiklejohnn, in discussing " How shall teachers be trained?" says, "The young teacher should learn to draw, he should be able to draw at least maps, diagrams, and plans. The report of the eye is the truest report that can be carried to the mind by any of the senses." Mr. Hamerton writes, " I have no doubt whatever that drawing is a necessary part of a complete education," and this is being more generally allowed on all hands, and the old-fashioned idea that the power of drawing is a natural gift, and, therefore, belongs only to the few, is fast fading. Every one can learn to draw, more or less, if they will be patient and sincerely try, and will probably find some clay that power of use to them. This is not saying that every one can be an artist, for that implies the possession of imagina- tion and creative powers, which arc a gift, but all can become observers and recorders, and as such may do very useful work. The inventor, the discoverer, the traveller, the naturalist, the geologist, and the doctor, should all be able to record in this Graphic language that Nasmyth tells us is so valuable, and there are marvels or beauties on every hand to be recorded. Every day numbers of people go out into the world, and see ACCURATE OBSERVATION 5 objects of beauty and interest, and return with no record to show. Forms of decorations, pottery, carving, weapons, plant-form or details of architecture, that would be interesting to others, are lost because those that saw them could not draw T them. What an additional interest is found in letters from abroad when they are full of sketches, showing what the writer has seen and admired, where and how he lives and what are his surroundings. A camera cannot be carried everywhere, but a pencil and piece of paper can. The man who cannot draw is ignorant of a common language that all should possess : we need not aim at being Royal Academicians, but that is no reason why drawing should be left to artists. And as a general rule the man who can draw is a better observer than one who cannot draw, simply because his eye is trained to look for whatever character and subtleties of form or colour may be in the object before him, for there is no possibility of anyone making an accurate drawing from nature unless he can observe accurately : and the more accurately we see, the more we shall find to see. u The eye sees what the eye brings means of seeing." But the fact is that the untrained eye does not know what to look for, or what it sees, and is in reality content with seeing very little, and that little, even, is often not very clearly seen. The eye may be bright enough, and sharp enough, and yet miss many of the things it might see and enjoy. So it comes to this that the more truly we observe, the more easily we shall learn to draw. Practically the first step in drawing is to learn to see accurately. Mr. Ruskin tells us that when once we see clearly enough, there is very little difficulty in drawing what we see, this certainly implies that the chief difficulty lies in our untrained and unpractised eye-sight. It is not enough to look at things in a general sort of way, we must notice keenly every variation 6 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW of form and colour, and proportion in the object looked at and its surroundings, we must compare one part with another, and each part with the general effect of the whole, and to enable us to draw the object w r e must reflect and remember what we have observed ; thus memory, too, has its work in drawing, for when we have, as it were, learnt what we have seen, we must turn away our eyes from the object, to the paper and pencil. To quote Mr. Ruskin again, "The eye to be perfect in its power must be made accurate, as well as keen, and not only see shrewdly but measure justly." We may take it that to measure justly is to compare accurately, any measurement implies comparison with something else, and accurate comparison is the most necessary thing for all drawing, for it is only by most careful comparison that true proportions in a drawing can be obtained ; and it will be readily acknowledged by all that no drawing can be good where the general proportions are inaccurate. Thus in making any drawing, our first care must be that we get the proportions of size accurately fixed, for unless this is done most carefully, when we come to finishing the drawing w r e shall most probably find that the details will not fall readily into their proper places. Still, further, there are other proportions or values to be considered, and carefully determined. If we look at any simple object in the room we may be in, we shall see that it has its surroundings ; it is not alone, even if we try to isolate it on, and in front of, white paper, it is not actually alone, and not being alone, the values or proportions of its tones to those of its surroundings or background of paper have to be considered and dealt with : and it is onlv when these values of tone are most carefully attended to, that objects in a drawing appear to keep their proper place in that drawing. All parts of a drawing depend upon each other. Every LEARNING TO SEE 7 shade is relative in its depth to another shade, and all are relative to each other, taken separately they are valueless. They are component parts of a whole, and unless these parts have their right proportion or value the whole becomes distorted and the drawing does not please nor look real. "How are things in a drawing made to go back is a question often asked by beginners ; and the answer is, by carefully considering and comparing the values of their tones with the tones of everything around them, and their proportions of size with the proportions of all around them also. A line in a drawing is only long or short by reason of its proportion to other lines, a shade is only deep or faint from its proportion or value to other shades, and colour delicate or otherwise by its contrast to other tints. The height of an object in a drawing only appears right when it is in true proportion to its surroundings. We see a good picture, it may be, and find it very pleasing and satisfying, and do not always realise that .this is because its proportions of line, and values of tone, and composition of light and shade, and arrangement of colour have not been obtained accidentally, but are the result of much thought and care in striving to see correctly on the part of its maker. So as nearly everything depends on our seeing things correctly, learning to see is of the first and utmost importance, and the education of the eye more necessary than the education of the hand, for the hand will soon learn to obey the eye. Now as seeing correctly helps us to draw, so also learning to draw helps us to see more correctly, and so we have an argument, why even those who do not care to draw should try to do so, for few people do not appreciate powers of observation. The teaching of elementary drawing has undergone a great change for the better. The old-fashioned lithographic landscapes and animal 8 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW studies gave way to the refined freehand copies issued by Mr. Poynter, R.A., from South Kensington, and although these are most admirable and useful, yet they do not train the student to observe and see and think for himself, as drawing from common objects does. A student who can draw fairly well (with the aid of surreptitious measuring) a jar from a flat copy is frequently found quite perplexed when given for the first time an actual jar to draw from. Copies from the flat fail to make him think sufficiently for himself, a foreshortened portion of the copy may be very narrow, but it too often fails to impress his mind in any way ; whereas in drawing even the foreshortened upper surface of a common child's brick from the actual block, he has to think for himself, and decide for himself, and habits of comparison and observation are brought into play. Suc*h habits of observation cannot be taught too early. Provided that we can draw a fairly straight line in any direction, and a combination of straight lines such as a square or triangle correctly from a flat copy, it will be well to place before us a block of wood, and learn how to see it, and to draw it as ive see it in various positions and to note the change that takes place in each of these positions ; and so get at once accustomed to notice why lines and spaces appear long or short. When we can see this on the actual block for ourselves on seeing a good drawing of a fore- shortened block, we shall understand it and appreciate the correctness of the drawing, and its proportions as we could not have done before. One of the earliest lessons to be learned is how very untrustworthy is the testimony of the untrained eyesight ; when this is realised, the importance of keen observation becomes apparent. Mr. Collier, in his excellent Primer of Art speaks of the great WHAT TO DRAW 9 difficulty the mind has in separating the one aspect of an object before it from all the other aspects in which it has ever seen it, and notices that even the trained artist, because of his first concep- tion of the top of a table as a square, finds difficulty in drawing it sufficiently fiat without the aid of perspective. This previous conception he considers "one of the great difficulties in the way of good drawing," and recommends that the student should " be placed face to face with it as soon as possible, without wasting too much time on the far less important operation of drawing from the fiat." He continues thus: " Of what sort of objects is it best to make outlines ? Of simple ones at first. Anything will do : a book, a candlestick, a chair, anything ; as long as it is drawn as accurately as if it was the most precious thing upon the earth." Here we find in this last sentence one of the greatest secrets of successful drawing, that we must be in earnest and try our very best, and not think, as too many do, because the subject is simple that great pains and care are not necessary. Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well, and carelessness in starting a drawing too often requires very great care to get it right afterwards. In a box of accurately made toy bricks a fund of simple models may be found, and as each brick can be placed in many positions, a variety of foreshortening arises that must evoke some thought to reproduce. Triangular forms, curves, and well-turned pillars among these bricks carry us on to other objects, such as cups and saucers, jugs, mugs, plates, eggs, bottles, glasses, boxes, books, candlesticks, chairs, <&c, until by practice the student can draw almost any such objects with intelligence and with a fair amount of skill and correctness. All such common models are within the reach of every one. Care should be taken to have as perfect specimens of these models as io SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW possible, and they should be placed when to be copied on a piece of white paper, and have also a white paper background ; on the white ground pencil construction lines may be drawn, such as are given in the examples, to aid the drawing for beginners. Freehand outline copies from the flat may with advantage be alternated every now and then with outline drawings from objects, so that we, by seeing and working from good copies, may have a high standard before us to show what our own work should be like. From the drawing of such common objects as have been men- tioned we may pass to outline drawing from casts of leaves or fruit, and thence to outlines from natural leaves and growing plants and shells, and casts from the antique. Facility in outline drawing having been gained shading may be attempted ; but tmless we have obtained a certain power of drawing it will be useless to attempt shading, as the forms of the lights and shades require very true drawing or the modelling of surfaces will be very incorrect. Do not be in too great a hurry to get on to difficult subjects. The time is not wasted that is spent in striving to do everything as perfectly as possible, even the smallest thing. We should go slowly at first that we may go fast in the end ; and should remember in all art work, as in every sort of work, it is safest and surest to build upon a good foundation. We shall gather by seeing various examples of work and style that there is no simple road, no one process or rule by which success may be obtained in drawing. And it should be a great encouragement to see that success has been attained by so many various styles. No one need feel themselves compelled to adopt any one system of work. No two people ever express themselves in an exactly similar way, all are free to choose the CULTIVATION OF TASTE 1 1 way they like best for themselves, and the way that suits them best, and in which they feel most at home ; but before doing this, before getting into a style of our own, we should have seen good work in many styles, and appreciated the variety and excellence of each ; and on no account must the beginner mistake slovenly, careless work for boldness or artistic freedom. Bold and artistically free work is, and has been, obtained only after patient accumulation of knowledge and observation have trained the eye and hand to act simultaneously and in concord with each other. The true teacher would never compel his pupil to adopt any particular style or mannerism, but would endeavour to encourage in each pupil his own originality to the utmost, and to teach and cause him to think for himself. There is yet another important reason why every one should learn to draw and so learn to see, and this is that our taste for what is really good may be improved. Taste is a matter of cultivation in most people, and too many, because their taste has made no progress since childhood, do not know a good drawing from an indifferent one, and are readily attracted by gaily painted pictures that are full of faults. The true judge is the person who can do fairly well the thing he judges, and who knows the difficulties that have conquered the artist or have been overcome by him. It is not sufficient that a drawing or painting should please us. To the street Arab the gaudy flaming advertisement may seem a splendid work of art, though it may be hurried past by others as a hideous sight, and in the same manner we, unless we know something of drawing, or get our taste second hand, are sure to admire things in which, when we have acquired some knowledge of art, we shall find many defects. Improved taste demands good 12 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW work to satisfy it, and will not be content with gay daubs of untrue colour and form, but will in preference seek real w T orks of art when every line is full of feeling and grace and where, if colour is present, it is refined and true to nature. Improve- ment of taste in the general public who buy, means improved and higfher work from the artisan and the artist, greater beauty in our homes and refinement around us and in ourselves. Learn- ing to draw will enable us to appreciate what is beautiful both in nature and art, in a way that those who cannot draw cannot understand. The beauty of a flowing line, or the charm of a well-proportioned shape, will be far more appreciated when we have learned, by learning to draw r , to see with understand- ing eyes, eyes that have realised how much there is to see. It is not necessary to give any especial advice about pencils or paper ; any pencil will do, for outline work, that is not too soft, and any fairly smooth paper. Rough paper and soft pencils are not recommended for beginners, as faults in delicacy of line are too often attributed to the paper and pencil. Common cartridge paper is good enough for all early work. There is a primary difficulty that beginners will of course meet, and that is in drawing a straight line. The best practice for this necessary accomplishment is to take an ordinary sheet of ruled foolscap paper, and to go over the ruled lines with pencil until the pencil line can be made to cover the ruled line without deviation at all on either side ; then draw lines for yourself between the spaces until you can do so fairly well, keeping an exact distance apart from the ruled lines. It is a very hard thing to draw a really straight line, and requires accuracy of eye and great steadiness of hand. To test the correctness of a line, place the drawing in some MEASURING 13 change of position ; if the line is horizontal, turn the paper and look at it as a vertical line, and vice versa, and you will generally be able to make some corrections without the aid of a critic. It is an extremely good and useful plan to look at the draw- ing in a hand-mirror. The drawing appears reversed and atten- tion is very quickly drawn to faults. The eye sees the drawing from a new point of view, and faults are discerned which it could not see in the old view to which it had become accustomed. MEASURING When this first step is fairly conquered, the next most necessary thing in learning to draw is to learn to measure correctly, and so we will make this our starting point here. B Fig. 1. Fig. t represents the front view of a small wooden block. It affords almost the simplest test of measurement possible. To find the comparative width of a c with the length of a c is obviously all that is required for the drawing. Place the block at some convenient distance, and at such a level that only its front is visible and draw it first without measure- ment, and then test your drawing as follows. , 14 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW Hold your pencil at arm's length horizontally before you, between you and the model, but not touching the block, so that the tip of the pencil appears to be at the point A and your thumb- nail at B. When you have found this measurement exactly on the pencil, turn your hand (keeping at the same distance from the model, and without moving your thumb-nail) and see how many times the space you have fixed on the pencil is contained in the length a c. The line a b can be drawn of any length to start with, but a c must be of sufficient length to contain a b, exactly as many times as you have found it to do by measurement. It is well to use only one eye for measurement and to keep carefully in one position. In almost all the examples given of outline drawings a hori- zontal base-line will be found. This line is of great assistance in finding the angles of receding lines, and should be always the first line drawn on your paper. Take in all drawings one line y and one only if possible, as a standard for measurement. The object to be drawn should be always placed sufficiently far from the eye to enable all its proportions to be seen at once : and not too far either to the left or right of the direct line of vision. It should be placed at least three times its greatest dimensions away from the eye. Do not draw things larger than they are, unless for some especial purpose. Should the object be small draw it as nearly as possible its real size ; if the object is large draw it so that it will fairly fill your paper. Don't make miniature drawings. "A young man ought to begin to learn perspective by measuring everything." — Leonardo da Vinci. Albert Diirer asserted that " no one could be a good workman without measuring," and that " it was the true foundation of all painting." FORESHORTENING OF RECEDING OBJECTS T 5 FORESHORTENING Now as soon as we place the wooden block on one side of our direct line of sight, and below the level of the eyes, two other surfaces of the block come into view, and here we .find an appear- ance which is called foreshortened. A dictionary explanation of the term to foreshorten in drawing, gives it,." to represent objects as they appear when not extended in front of the spectator." Foreshortening then takes place in those parts of an object that appear to recede from the spectator. The familiar illustration of a coin will show this plainly. Hold the coin so that the complete circle is visible ; height and width are now equal, but tilt the upper edge slowly away from you, and it will be readily seen that the height becomes distinctly less than the width, until, as you continue to slope the coin, the height entirely disappears and the width, which has never altered, becomes a mere line. Now hold the coin as a complete circle again, and push one edge of its width gradually backwards ; you will find that the width becomes much less than the height, until the width disappears and the height only remains as a line, and is of the same length it has always appeared. Again showing clearly that it is the parts of an object that pass away or recede from the spectator that alone foreshorten. Therefore in any receding part of an object, expect to see fore- shortening. Be constantly observant lest foreshortened surfaces and lines are too much enlarged or lengthened by you in your drawings. i6 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW The eye is only too easily deceived as to the real length or size of foreshortened parts, and the exaggeration of foreshortened parts is one of the commonest mistakes in drawing. Fig. 2 represents a block having one side and its top foreshortened. It will be well to place your model on a piece of white paper, and to draw upon that paper a horizontal line on which to place the base of the block. After some practice this line can be dispensed with, for the eye with experience can imagine its position, but for some time at any rate it will be found of great assistance. Place your block before you in a similar position (for these illustrations are not meant as copies, Fig. 2. but as examples to show how similar models are to be observed and drawn), draw a base-line on your own paper, and proceed to find the proportion of ab to AC as in Fig. i that is the proportion of the width of the block to its height, and com- plete the front of the block. Now without taking any measurement try and draw the foreshortened side as it appears to you, and then test your drawing as follows. Imagine the line F ii lengthened downwards until it reaches the base-line in a point G. Measure the distance d g on your pencil (your thumb-nail in measuring to be exactly under n) and find how many times dg will go in the line AB of the block (ab FORESHORTENED SURFACES 17 is to be the standard for measurement in this drawing), and then in your drawing make d g in the same proportion to your line a b, that is if d g will go. say, almost four times into a b on the block, find a length that will go almost four times into your line a b in your drawing. And having found such a length mark it off on the base-line from d, and that will give you the right proportionate length for your line d g. From g now draw a vertical line parallel to d b ; this line will be one outline of the foreshortened side of the block. The next step is to get the foreshortened top. Measure the space between a b and K f on the block, and find its proportion to a b as you did with d g, that is if the measurement of the space will go three times and one-third into your standard line ab of the block, find a length that will go three times and one-third into your line a b, and that length will show you at what distance to draw kf from a b. This line kf will meet the line from g in f. Join b f. To get the base line d h of the foreshortened side, find the proportion of g h to ab (as you have done with d g and the space between a b and k f) and when you have the right height of g h join d h. One more line remains to be found, namely a k. From k on the block drop an imaginary line down to a b. Notice where it would cut a b in e. Find the propor- tion of a e to a b, and then mark off a length a e in similar proportion to your line a b. From e in your drawing draw a short vertical line to meet k f in k. Join a k, and your drawing should then be correct in all its proportions. It will be seen in Fig. 2 that the lines a k, b f and d h if continued far enough would eventually meet. To understand why they have this appearance should be the next step, and for this it will be necessary to know something of the elements of perspective. c i8 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW ELEMENTS OF PERSPECTIVE Whether standing down on the sea-shore or up on a high cliff, we notice that the sea appears to end in a line exactly at the level of our eyes. This line is called the Horizon Line. If a large square-sided raft was on the water near and in front of us, with its stern parallel to the shore, we should see a con- siderable amount of its upper surface, and the full width of its stern. But if the raft was sent, by some mechanical means, Horizon Line Vanishing Point L 3 2 Raft 3 r A^B A,^,B A, "B B Ab ID ' 9) o \ iQj 2 \ i TO . i B Ground Line -s: Spectator Fig. steadily away from us in a direct straight line, it would appear to be rising up the sea towards the horizon, and would look smaller and smaller the further it went, until at last it faded away in a dot. Now if that raft paid out two uncurvable ropes, that would float, from each corner of its stern, and our ends of the ropes were fastened clown on the shore, exactly the width of the stern of the raft apart, as the raft proceeded we should see that the two ropes got nearer and nearer together in proportion as the raft became smaller, until at last they joined in a dot on the horizon. ELEMENTARY PERSPECTIVE 19 The theory of perspective is that the further an object is away the smaller it appears ; so as the stern of the raft goes further away its width appears to lessen, and consequently brings its ends of the ropes nearer and nearer together, until as the stern ends in a dot so too the ropes meet in a dot. The two ropes were in reality parallel to each other all the way, and yet appeared to meet ; and this is the case with all parallel lines that recede from our sight, the further they are continued the less the space between them appears ; and in consequence we find that we must so draw all parallel lines that recede from us as to give the im- pression that they would meet if continued far enough ; and this appearance begins at once, for directly the stern of the raft leaves the shore it has already begun to appear smaller to our eyes than it actually is, and so at once begins to draw its two ends of the ropes together. Now precisely the same thing occurs with the block in Fig. 2. The line k f being one side of the square a, k, f, b, is in reality exactly the same length as the line a b, but being on the further side of the square, it is further away from us, and therefore appears slightly smaller ; this being so, we can easily realize that it has begun to di'aw together its two ends of the lines a k and b f, and that if the block were pushed away from us, as we have imagined the raft to be, the line K F would appear smaller and smaller till it ended in a dot on the horizon or vanished altogether, and all the time it would be drawing the lines a k and b f nearer and nearer together until they vanished also. See Fig. 4. We may thus see a reason why receding parallel lines appear to ultimately join : it is because the space between them appears smaller the further it is away from us, and so draws the parallel lines together. c 2 20 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW Notice in Fig. 4 the same drawing together takes place between the two parallel lines b f and d h, because F n appears shorter than b d, as it is further away from us. Notice again that a k, b f, d h, being all parallel to each other must all recede in the same direction, and should all eventually appear to meet in one spot. Now in perspective drawings any spot in which any set of parallel lines appear to meet is called a vanishing point, and is generally marked V.P. See Fig. 4. P.O. or Point of Distance Horizon Line Vanishing Point V.P. Ground Line D c: ,0 0> HO Fig. 4. In Fig. 5 the same block is shown drawn badly — that is, out of perspective as it is termed, with the parallel lines a k, b f, and d h, not meeting together in one vanishing point ; it is easy to see how wrong it appears in comparison with the block in Fig. 4. All good drawings are made so as to look correct when hung upon a wall, and then they should, unless flat outlines, represent something that will recede from us in a natural way, and this receding effect is, we have seen, obtained by the diminishing in their proper degree of all objects or lines that are not immediately in the foreground. If paper was as transparent as glass, the ELEMENTARY PERSPECTIVE 21 artist would have nothing to do but look through it at his subject, and mark on it what he saw, and he would then obtain a true perspective drawing, and one in which every object and line would have its correct proportion. So, in looking at the drawing of the raft, we must try and imagine that we are looking through transparent paper or glass at the raft, as it passes away from us to the horizon, and marking on it what we see. In making every perspective drawing we must imagine a horizon line in front of us at the level of our eyes, and try to P.fl. or Point of Di stance Horizon Line Vanishing Point V.P. A B H Ground Line D CD s: Fig. 5. realize that this line is, as w T e have seen on the sea-shore, as far away from us as we can see. A central line of vision is supposed to pass directly from our eyes to the horizon, and this line is the actual centre of our field of vision, our field of vision being supposed to be only just what we can see without turning our heads at all. The field of vision is supposed to be a circle that would be limited by rays at 30° passing above, below, and on each side from the eye to the horizon. 22 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW If we turn now to the first drawing of the raft (Fig. 3) we find another very important point to notice, namely, that the length of the raft also appears less and less the further it goes away from us and the nearer it gets to the level of our eyes. If we look directly down upon a table, we see a great deal of its upper surface, but if we stoop lower and lower and so lower the level of our eyes, we see less and less of the top, until, by stooping low enough, we see nothing of it at all. Now if we were to draw the table as we first saw it, the top would not appear to be lying flat, it would appear to be rising up. So it will be seen that to give the table the appearance of lying flat and going properly away from us, we must draw it as though the level of our eyes was very low clown or the table very near the horizon. This is an important point to be remembered, that if we wish to give an object the appearance of lying flat we must make its parallel lines meet together, or vanish as it is called on a low horizon line. It is a common fault to draw the upper surfaces of objects as though they were rising up instead of lying flat. In Fig. 2 we found the correct length of the line ak by careful measurement. In perspective drawings the length of such a line is found by means of a point on the horizon. From the vanishing point mark off on the horizon, on either side of the vanishing point, a length equal to the distance we are supposed to be from our horizon line. In Fig. 4 it is marked p d or point of distance, and is a measuring point for all lines going to the vanishing point. A line drawn from b to p d will cut off a K at its correct perspective length. I n the same way to get the perspective length of d h, as d h is really the same length as c d (the top and bottom of the block ELEMENTARY PERSPECTIVE 23 being squares), we should mark off from d a length equal to c d on the ground line, and from the end of that length if we draw a line to pd we should find it passed through the point h, thus cutting off dh perspectively equal to cd. If we wished to make d h longer or shorter than c d, we should have to mark off from d the exact length we require, and then as before draw a line to cd and so make dh perspectively correct. In perspective problems the object is not supposed to be seen, but has to be drawn from description and given measurements, so it is necessary to have some such measuring point, but with the object before us to be drawn we need not trouble ourselves about this measuring point, but should only rely upon careful and actual measurements with the pencil to get the length of such receding lines. This measuring point has been now mentioned, as in the illustration giving perspective of circles in a square it will be found tised. Notice in Fig. 4 and in Fig. 2 that the parallel lines k f, a b, and c d, woidd never meet even if produced as far as possible, because they do not 7'ecede from 21s. The same may be noticed of the lines a c, bd, and f h ; they would never meet if lengthened indefinitely. It should be also noticed that the parallel lines a k, b f, d h, all appear to meet on the horizon line at the extremity of our centre line of vision. They meet at that spot because they are also parallel to our centre line of vision. The base c D of the block is standing squarely on the ground line which is at right angles to our centre of vision, therefore the parallel lines a k, b f, d h, which are really at right angles to the base c d of the block, are parallel to our centre line of vision. So this should be remembered, that parallel lines that recede 24 SOME HINTS ON LEARNING TO DRAW directly from us and are parallel to our centre line of vision vanish in the centre of vision on the horizon. (Fig. 6.) Before going further it must be stated that though most receding parallel lines vanish on the horizon, there are some that do not, but as a general rule we may take it that all receding lines that are parallel to the flat surface of the earth or floor of the room as it recedes from us have their vanishing point some- where on the horizon line. Whereabouts on the horizon that ^ v.. P. . V- ' Vr-7, 'ii V 'l 1 1 1 1 / 1 1 1 1 ' , 1 1 ? ( ' I ! : \ ! i \ | O 1 t 1 1 1 1 1 / 1 - - 1 Horizon Line P.O. --A - Ground' Line i i i o i ,.00 I © I i