Lesson 10 of 12 · 15 min

Measuring with your pencil

Artists hold up a pencil to compare sizes. It’s how a drawing gets its proportions right.

1. 1Hold your pencil at arm’s length, arm straight, and close one eye.
2. 2Line the tip up with the top of the object and slide your thumb down to its bottom. That’s one unit.
3. 3Now compare: how many units wide is it? How tall is the thing next to it?
4. 4Keep your arm straight every time, or the measurements change.