PERSPECTIVE & PROPORTION (SKETCHBOOK #2)

As in other content areas, words in art might be similar to those you've heard outside the art room. SOMETIMES they mean just about the same thing, but other times, they relate to art-specific concepts or technique. PERSPECTIVE is one of the words that is similar, but definitely has it's own art-specific definition:

Perspective: Art technique allowing for 3-dimensional space to be depicted on a 2-dimensional surface (Having to do with the angle from which an object or space is viewed and depicted).

From Below

From Straight On

From Above

PROPORTION as a word is a little more universal across contents:

 

Proportion: The comparative relationship between pieces and parts of a whole.

IN PROPORTION:

 Proper relation between the pieces and parts - "his nose is just the right size compared to the rest of his facial features."

OUT OF PROPORTION:

Improper relation between the pieces and parts - "his nose is BIG compared to the rest of hie facial features."

Leonardo Da Vinci
Vitruvian Man
1490

BASIC Proportion RULES (things to consider when beginning to draw/paint a person ... there are ALWAYS exceptions and slight variances)

FULL BODY

• Hieght = 8 heads stacked top to bottom
• Height = Arm Span
• Shoulder Width = 3 Head Widths
• Forearm = Foot Length

FACE

• Eyes are located, horizontally, in the center of the head
• Eye Width = space between the eyes
• Eye Width = Nose Width
• Top of ears align with the outer edge of the eyebrows
• Bottom of earlobes align with the corners of the mouth

SKETCHBOOK #2: Sketching Perspective 

Find an object to sketch, position it on a flat surface - DO NOT move the object after placed - and then sketch it from the three perspectives pictured above (From Below, From Straight On and From Above).

Specifically THINK about and NOTICE how the lines, shapes and values change as you change your perspective ... do you see something from one perspective that you couldn't from another?