Ways of holding the pencil25the figure, using the head proportion as your
gauge. It is important to remember always to
measure only on the horizontal or vertical
axis - if you measure at an angle you will get
distortions – and always measure with your
arm straight out in front of you and from the
same position to maintain consistency.
5/ Once you have your vertical and hori -
zontal proportions, you can now transfer this
information to your paper. If you wish, you
can make what is called a ‘sight size’ drawing
by using the exact measurements you have
assessed. This does, however, usually turn
out to be a very small, tight drawing, and is
not advisable unless you are very experi -
enced. The other way is to make a scaled
drawing relative to your propor tions; for
example, if your original head proportion
was one inch in height, you could double it
when you came to transfer each
measurement to your drawing.Establishing the head proportion: Align the top
of the pencil with the top of the head, then slide
your thumb down the pencil until the top of
your thumb aligns with the bottom of the chin.
Each head proportion relates
to a specific part of the body:
A. top of head to bottom of chin
B. bottom of chin to nipple
C. nipple to navel/stomach
D. navel/stomach to groin
E. groin to mid-thigh
F. mid-thigh to knee
G. knee to calf
H. calf to toe
1.2.3.