ArtistsNetwork.com 11To visualize the stacked boxes, sketch them as
transparent wire-frame forms. Be sure to use
the vanishing point(s) that are on your eye-
level line.
Remember your high school geometry? Use
diagonals to fi nd the center of one of the
boxes, and then draw a vertical line up and
down from that center (A). Each layer will be
centered on this vertical line, and it gives you
the correct location of the very top of the
tower. Notice also that each layer is set back
(B) from the layer below it.
Imagine a wedding cake. If one layer
is off -center, there will be a tragic cake
collapse and a wedding disaster! Th e
same is true for towers.
Both a tower and a cake are a series
of stacked round or rectangular boxes
that get smaller the higher up they go.
To avoid the appearance of imminent
danger in your sketch or painting, the
key is understanding where the center
of the tower is, as this vertical line con-
nects all of the layers with the point at
the top and keeps everything balanced.
TIP: TOWERS ARE LIKE WEDDING CAKES.
Málaga From Alcazaba (2 hours; watercolor and ink, 5x8¼ ) by Josiah Hanchett