Freehand perspective and sketching; principles and methods of expression in the pictorial representation of common objects, interiors, buildings and landscapes

Front matter

New York

At Cornell University

Ithaca, N. Y.

Preface

THIS book presents essentially the course of study in Freehand Perspective and Sketching as developed during its teaching at Pratt Institute since the founding of the institute in 1887. It consists of a series of illustrated exercises with explanatory text, so covering the subject that students who follow the course as directed acquire the power to draw with ease and intelligence, not only from objects, but from memory and from descriptions. The principles and methods thus set forth have been taught by the author for some years in the above school, and have been found practically effective in that direction.

As offered to the public this course is intended to form a textbook for high, normal, and technical schools and for colleges ; also as a book of reference for supervisors and teachers of drawing, and for draughtsmen and artists whose training in perspective needs to be supplemented. Where a less extended course is desired, selections can be made from it at the discretion of the teacher. Moreover there are students so situated that personal art teaching is beyond their reach, though books could be had. But while perspective books, excellent in certain directions, have been published, it has been found difficult to direct inquirers to anything at once directly applicable to immediate use and comprehensive enough to give a working knowledge of the subject. For several years, therefore, the need which this book is intended to meet has been increasingly felt. In the hope that it may pass on to others the aid received in the past it is sent forth.

In making these illustrations the author has been aided largely by Mr. Ernest W. Watson, a graduate of the Massachusetts Normal Art School, and later a student and now an instructor in Pratt Institute. Of this efficient and valued assistance it is a pleasure to thus express a cordial appreciation.

D. M. N.

Brooklyn, July 14, 1908.

Contents

Page

Introduction X1

Chapteb

Introduction

FREEHAND Perspective teaches those few principles or truths which govern the appearance of things to the eye, and the application of these principles to the varied conditions encountered in drawing. Strictly speaking, there are but two foundation truths in perspective, namely:

First. Things appear smaller in proportion to their distance from the eye. A house ten rods distant can be wholly seen through one pane of glass (Fig. 8, Ch. II).

Second. The eye can see surfaces in their true shape only when placed at right angles to the direction in which the eye looks, or, generally speaking, parallel to the face. When not so placed they ap- /

pear lessened in one dimension, that is, either nar- / ^S. rowed or shortened, in proportion as they are turned away from the face or tend to coincide with the direction of seeing. This apparent change of shape is Foreshortening. The cylinder top held at right angles to the direction of seeing appears as a circle (A in Fig. 1). When turned away from this direction (as at B), it appears narj rowed, or foreshortened. So the pencil seen its

/^^j 1 ,/-^ full length at A in Fig. 2 appears foreshortened //l /| when held as in B. All the phenomena of free- ? a \ » hand perspective, however complicated and per- Fig. 2 plexing, may be simplified by referring to one or both of these principles.

One great obstacle to the ready mastery of these principles is our knowledge of the actual shapes of objects. For

xi instance, we know the top of a cylinder (B, Fig. 1) to be in fact a circle, and therefore we tend to mentally see a circle, though it is just as truly a fact that the top can only appear to the eye as a circle when the cylinder is held so as to lose sight of all other parts of it, as at A. Consequently, the first aim and benefit in studying perspective is the learning to see; that is, to k now what is the image really prese nted tothe ey e. Therefore no step should ever be passed without clearly seeing the appearance under consideration. And in all drawings the final test must be the eye; for, unless the drawing looks right, it is not right. All rules and tests are only means to this end.

Furthermore, the right study of perspective, which is thinking and drawing in perfect coordination, enables the student to draw objects singly or combined or in unfamiliar positions, without having them in sight. Also he should be able to draw an object which he has never seen if a description of it can~bV supplied. That this last is quite possible any practical artist will agree. The writer recalls hearing a popular illustrator ask in a company of friends, "Does any one know what a cider press is like?" adding that he must put one in an illustration with no chance to see the thing itself. No doubt of the sufficiency of a description was expressed. In fact it must suffice — a not uncommon situation. Hence the necessity of memory work and dictation problems, such as form part of this course of study.

Finally, it is not intended that in later practical work drawings should be actually constructed by the explanatory methods here given. These exercises should be drawn as directed, since only by the actual experience of doing it can their principles be mastered,, but a rigid clinging to these methods in practice would result in very little art. Freehand Sketching means drawing by the trained eye and judgment, only using constructive methods to test new or doubtful points. It is to make such sketching valuable by a foundation of definite knowledge that these methods

xii

INTRODUCTION

are given. The trained artist draws a vase in his flower study, or a round tower in a landscape with no distinct recalling of ellipse laws, feeling only joy_in the living c urve s as they spring out under his hand^ But he would labor long and wearily over their shaping had he not this foundation knowledge, which he uses almost unconsciously.

Xlll

Chapter I GENERAL DIRECTIONS

MATERIALS. — Any paper having a fine and fairly soft texture can be used. It should produce an even grain in both vertical and horizontal pencil strokes. Pencil exercises such as those reproduced in this book are usually drawn on paper of quarter imperial size (11" x 15"), on which at least an inch and a half of margin is allowed. This is a good size for the student's drawings, whether copied from these exercises or drawn from objects. Have two pencils, one fairly soft (as No. 2 Faber, SM Dixon, or 2 B Koh-i-noor), and a harder one; also a good eraser.

Line Practice. — Cut the pencil like the illustration (Fig. 3), and rub on practice paper 1 till a broad line,

firm at the edges and transparent (that is, with the grain of the paper slightly showing through it) can be made. Sit erect, with the paper directly in front, and have the desk top inclined, or use a drawing board (Fig. 4), that the paper may be as nearly as possible parallel with the face. Hold the pencil almost flat, as in the illustration (Fig. 5), and as loosely as is consistent

1 Save spoiled sheets for this. Practice paper should be like that on which drawings are made.

Fig. 3

Fig. 5 with a steady control. For horizontal lines use position A, Fig. 5, moving the pencil from left to right; for vertical lines use position B, moving from the top downward. Practice vertical, horizontal, or oblique lines persistently; moving the hand freely from the shoulder, not resting it on the wrist or

elbow. If the muscles acquire an unpleasant tension, relax by dropping the hands at the sides and loosely shaking them. Unfamiliar or difficult exercises should be first carefully sketched with a thin, light line. If wrong, draw over without erasing until a satisfactory form is obtained.

Erase the incorrect part, and render expressively (Ch. IV). But after the composition of the exercise is planned, such straight lines as margins, cylinder sides, and many ellipses may be drawn in full at once. And as the student gains in skill, more and more of the work should at the first touch be put on the paper as it is intended to remain. The aim is to acquire exact knowledge, that artistic interpretations may be expressed with ease and certainty.

Models for Work. — Objects in common use have been chosen for most of these exercises. Geometric solids are assigned only as needed for the clearer elucidation of perspective truths. , Necessary models, as the cylinder, the cube, and others, should be made by the student as directed. For forms (as the hexagonal frame) too complicated to be easily made, the well-known wooden models have been used. But after thorough mastery of the simpler forms, most of the later lessons can be understood without models.

Placing of Models. — All objects for study should be placed so as to present their vertical surfaces in nearly their true shape to the student. Thus if the model is to be near, as on the table

GENERAL DIRECTIONS

at which the student sits, it is better to raise it a few inches (Fig. 4). This will not be necessary if it can be placed four or five feet distant. If the study is seen too much from the top, the perspective will be unpleasantly violent, as in a photograph where the camera has been pointed too much downward.

The Table Line. — To indicate a supporting surface under the objects a horizontal line (A, B in Fig. 6) is used. It stands for the back edge of the table or other horizontal supporting surface, and is called the Table Line. It should be represented as further back than any portion of the study. As will be observed later, it need not be used if the supporting surface is otherwise suggested, as by a cast shadow (Fig. 34).

All "Work Freehand. — All work is to be done freehand, that is, with no ruling, and no measuring other than by the eye and pencil.

Chapter II PENCIL MEASUREMENT AND THE PICTURE PLANE

PENCIL Measurement.— Before studying the exercises which follow, the beginner should become familiar with Pencil Measurement. Place a book upright directly in front of the eye. With one eye shut and the arm at full length (to ensure a uniform distance from the eye) measure on the pencil held horizontally the apparent width of the book. Then turning the pencil, compare this distance with its height (Fig. 7). (It is better to take the smaller distance first, and to measure it into the larger.) Compare the proportions so found with those obtained by actual measurement of the book.

But always get the pencil measurement first, for this compels the eye to do all that it can unaided before showing by actual measurement how much better it can learn to do.

Now turn the book away a little, and compare this new appearance of the width with the height (Fig. 11). ■ *

At this point the student must learn to keep the pencil parallel with the face in order that the pencil measurement may be reliable. For this, go to the window, and stand facing

Fig. 7

PENCIL MEASUREMENT, ETC.

WJWDONX/ US ED AS

PICTURE

, PLANE

Z o a

J z

<j

B. Plan of A

A. Showing use of window as picture Plane the glass, so the face is parallel with it. Choose some object seen through the window, as another house, and resting the pencil against the glass measure its width and compare that with its height (Fig. 8).

Observe that if the outline of the house could be traced by the pencil on the glass it would form correctly the apparent shape of that house.

This leads us to see that all perspective drawing may be regarded as placing on paper the equivalent of such a tracing on the glass. It will therefore be apparent at once that pencil measurement, to be correct, must be taken with the pencil held as if laid on such a pane of glass; or in rSr . other words, on a plane parallel with and in

,<^*~ ')^\ front of the face. This imaginary transparent " \j plane is called the Picture Plane, and is a ! h!l x J most important factor in all freehand drawffp ing. Thus, by turning or revolving the pencil on the glass in front of the face, that is, by revolving the pencil in the picture plane, it can be made to cover the appearance of any possible line or direction. For example, the sloping gable edge of the outside house, though retreating from the eye and therefore foreshortened, can be covered by the revolving pencil (Fig. 9) , thus giving

Fig. 8

Fig. 9 the appearance or picture of its direction. Its apparent or foreshortened length can also be taken on the pencil and compared with any other dimension, as the height of the nearest corner. The essential requirement is that the pencil shall constantly lie flat on this pane of glass; that is, on the picture plane.

We have therefore, in the use of pencil measurement on the picture plane, a ready and accurate means of ascertaining any direction or any proportionate dimension seen by the eye. It cannot give us actual sizes, as the length of the gable in feet ; but it will tell us how long the slanting line representing the gable must be drawn in proportion to other parts of the house. In this case, for instance, the sloping edge appears three-fourths of the gable width. The difficulty in using this valuable aid with exactness lies in the beginner's trouble in keeping the pencil always in his invisible picture plane. To do this, he should always mentally see this plane, recalling that it is always parallel with the general position of the face — that is, vertical. And since the eyes look mostly straight out, or at right angles to the face, the picture plane is at right angles to what we may call the Central Direction of Seeing.

The Central Direction of Seeing. — This central direction of seeing must also now be imagined very definitely. It extends from the eye to the center of the objects observed. In the case of the house seen through the pane of glass, the central direction of Seeing prsrtftnrls frr>rP * nft pyft tn f.Tia Pantm* aLJJl&Jipjasej while the

face and the picture plane are parallel to each other and at right angles to it. The picture plane may then be thought of as a transparent vertical plane pierced in its middle by the direction of seeing.

We have said the central direction of seeing is at right angles to the face. Since the face is generjdly-jzeitifial^jthe- direction of_ seeingjs_ generally horizontal (A in Fig. 14, Ch. III). The commonest exception is that of being directed slightly downward (B in same Fig.). In this case it cannot be at right angles to the picture plane. It will, however, always appear at right angles to

PENCIL MEASUREMENT, ETC.

it when looked at from above. That is, it is at right angles from side to side, and in a plan will always be shown at right angles, as in Fig. 8.

Return now to the seat (Fig. 7), and try pencil measurement on the turned book. Imagine as clearly as possible the transparent picture plane at arm's length, on which the pencil may be revolved, but through which it must never be thrust. Starting with the pencil erect (Fig. 10) drop it directly over to the left (Fig. 11), watching carefully to keep it from leaning back or forward.

Let another person help by turning the book away while you measure it and at

the same time Fig. io

keep the pencil from following it backward as it is turned away. Thus as the book is turned, the pencil, if it remains on the picture plane, shows the book to appear narrower or be foreshortened. What is now sought for is that which the eye really sees as the width, not what the mind knows it to be. It is of great importance to distinguish sharply between actual facts of form and size and the perspective appearance of them as presented to the eye.

An excellent object for practice is a door. Stand facing a closed door, and take its proportions by pencil measurement. Then let some one open it, and observe the apparent decrease in width.

For further consideration of v the picture plane see Chapters

XXXV, XLI, and XLIII.

it

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Chapter III THE ELLIPSE

HAVING- learned that the book cover and door appear foreshortened in proportion as they are near to coinciding with the direction in which they are seen, we naturally look for the same change in the circle. Roll a stiff piece of paper into a cylinder, the thickness of which shall be half its length. Fasten it with a pin or rubber band. Holding the cylinder vertically, as in A, Fig. 13, and with one eye closed, raise it slowly till on a level with the eye. The top now appears as a straight line (B, Fig. 13). It is so foreshortened that its surface is entirely lost to sight, leaving only its edge visible. Now, keeping the cylinder vertical, lower it till the eye sees into it perhaps half an inch. Observe carefully the shape formed by the top. Turn it so the top app e ar s as a circle (A in Fig. 14), then, holding it vertically again (as at B), compare mentally the apparent shapes as the top is placed in the two different positions.

Now (keeping it always vertical) raise and lower the cylinder slowly, and note how the form of the top changes, appearing

Fig. 14

THE ELLIPSE

rounder as it is lowered. This peculiar shape, varying in roundness between the straight line and the circle, represents the appearance of the circle seen obliquely, and is the Ellipse, one of the most beautiful, spirited, and subtle of curves. While the circle is formed by a curve bending equally in all parts, the outline of the ellipse is constantly changing in the degree of its curvature. From the middle of each side (A, A in Fig. 15) this curvature increases smoothly to the Fig. 15

ends (B, B). Thus the ellipse may be divided by lines through the middle of its sides and ends into four duplicate curves or quarters. These lines are known as the Long and Short Diameters. On these two lines the ellipse must be symmetrical, whatever the proportion of the diameters to each other; that is, whatever the roundness of the ellipse.

A test useful to determine the correctness of a drawing of the ellipse is sighting with one eye along the long diameter. If the ellipse is perfect it will appear foreshortened to a circle having a diameter equal to the short diameter of the ellipse. But there is no test of the ellipse like the ellipse itself as seen in objects. The student should compare his drawing of ellipses with the rhythmically varying curves which compose ellipses as seen in real objects, correcting and comparing till the eye is satisfied. If this be faithfully done, the time will be short before ellipses, often deemed a bugbear of freehand drawing, become a pleasure instead of a penance.

. Since the top ellipse appears rounder as it is dropped below the eye level, it must be concluded that could the bottom be fully seen it would appear as a rounder ellipse than that of the top. Place the cylinder on the table and trace around the bottom with a pencil. Move the cylinder to one side and compare the shape of this traced ellipse with that of the top ellipse (Fig. 16). Also compare both with that part of the cylinder bottom which can be seen. There is no difficulty in perceiving that the ellipses in a vertical cylinder below the eye are rounder as they are farther below the eye level.

Now, keeping the cylinder vertical, raise it slowly. When the bottom ellipse reaches the level of the eye, it appears as a straight line (A in Fig. 17), like the top ellipse when at the same height. When the cylinder is moved on above the eye, the bottom becomes an ellipse (B), which as we raise it farther above the eye level appears rounder. We perceive that it appears rounder or less foreshortened in proportion as it is farther from coinciding with the direction in which the eye looks to see it, as was the case with the book cover in Chapter II. Furthermore, if the cylinder be turned horizontally and held at the level of the eye with its length parallel to the picture plane, and one end be brought in front of the eye, we shall again see this circular end as a straight line (B in Fig. 18), because it coincides with the direction of seeing. If the cylinder be moved horizontally to one side, still keeping its length parallel with the picture plane (A in Fig. 18), the ellipse appears to widen exactly as when the cylinder was held vertically and moved above or below the eye level. The circular top appears as a circle only when its surface is at right angles to the direction of seeing (A, Fig. 14). When oblique to this direction, as at B, it appears as an ellipse, or foreshortened circle. The ellipse is plainly, therefore, an illustration of the second great principle, that of Foreshortening.

The student should now practice drawing ellipses, both vertical and horizontal, until they can be formed with ease and exactness. Mark the extreme points (A, A, B, B, Fig. 15) first taking care to have B B exactly opposite the middle of A A. Hold the pencil

Fig. 18

THE ELLIPSE

for drawing ellipses as directed in Chapter I for straight lines, using a position of the hand that will bring the pencil at right angles to the long diameter. If the ellipse is horizontal, begin it a little to the left of the middle of the upper side, drawing to the right first. If vertical, begin below the middle of the left side, and draw up. Make the whole outline with one movement, first carrying the pencil evenly several times over the paper without touching it, to gain confidence and certainty of movement.

Chapter IV A CYLINDER AND A CYLINDRICAL OBJECT

THE student should draw this exercise, following carefully the directions given. After doing so he should draw a cylindrical object of his own choosing, putting in practice the principles taught in this chapter.

Fig. 19

Planning the Drawing. — The Design, or Composition, or Decorative Arrangement of the exercise, which is that kind of beauty secured by a harmonious and artistic relating of the work and its spaces, is to be considered first in all drawings, and should always be kept in mind. For this exercise (Fig. 19) we first consider how to place most effectively in a drawing these two separated

CYLINDER AND CYLINDRICAL OBJECT

objects, a cylinder whose height is twice its width and some simple cylindrical object (in this case a rose jar). To this end after drawing the margin the extreme points in the boundaries of the objects are lightly indicated on the paper (Fig. 20), taking care that the spaces between them and the margin are such as to give an agreeable and interesting division of the inclosed surface. The continuous table line behind them indicates that they stand on the same surface, and thus links them together. The size of the space between them, being no

Fl<3 ' 20 more than that between either and the side

margin, also helps unite them ; and the position of the ornament on the jar, near the middle of the sheet, attracts the eye to the center in comparison with the whole.

Drawing the Cylinder. — For this the paper cylinder model used in Chapter III is placed as shown in the illustration (Fig. 19), that is, a little below the eye level, and at least six times its height from the eye. The apparent proportion of the top (that is, if the width of the ellipse appears to be one third, one fourth or some other part of its length) should be carefully judged by the eye and then tested by pencil measurement. Four points for this ellipse should then be lightly marked, and it should be drawn through these points as previously directed. The bottom ellipse is sketched directly under the upper and in the same way, remembering that it must be of the same length, but rounder. The back or invisible part of each ellipse is left light. The straight lines for the sides must be tangential to the ends of the ellipses, so they will join with perfect smoothness. If they do not thus join, the ellipse is the part most likely to be wrong.

Now is the time to put the drawing back by the paper model and compare the two. Look longest at the model, glancing briefly at the drawing ; the aim being always to form in the mind a clear image of the model's true shape, and to correct the work by it. The student should ask himself if the cylinder in his drawing appears to press evenly on the ground like the model. The commonest error is that of bending the outline of the partially visible ellipse too much at A in Fig. 21, and not increasing the curvature toward its ends (B, B), thus making the curve more circular than elliptical, and causing the cylinder in his drawing to look as if it would rock on its base, instead of resting firmly on every

part of it. Sketching the ellipse entire (C, C) is cor~ c ;,o~ an a ^ ^ n sucn a case

Next a pencil line is drawn around the paper cylinder half way between the top and bottom. Points (E, E, Fig. 21) are then marked on the drawing, one half way between the fronts, and the other half way between the backs of the ellipses. These points should be tested after marking and made correct, but never measured till the eye has been made to do its utmost. Observe that these marks give a short diameter for the middle ellipse half way in size between those of the upper and lower ellipses.

In the same way the two other lines around the cylinder may be made on the model and represented in the drawing.

Now another paper cylinder, of the same length as the first but only two thirds its diameter, must be made, and placed within the first. Have the space between them even all the way around, so that the circular tops of the two cylinders form concentric circles. They appear as ellipses. Observing carefully the space between these ellipses, the student easily sees that it appears widest between the ends, and a little wider between the front sides than between the back sides. As we made the inner cylinder two thirds of the diameter of the outer, the horizontal space between the ends of the two ellipses will each be act- FlG ' 22

ually made one sixth of the length of the outer ellipse. They will also appear as sixths, because the ends of the ellipse are equally distant from the eye. The ends of the inner ellipse (C, C) are marked by light vertical lines. For its front and back we divide

CYLINDER AND CYLINDRICAL OBJECT

the width of the outer one also into sixths, but as these sixths are in perspective or at varying distances from the eye, they are perspective sixths. That is, they appear successively smaller as they recede from the eye. This perspective division is here made wholly by the eye (though later -another method is given). The perspective middle (point Gr) is first marked on the short diameter, making the near half considerably larger than the far one. Each perspective half is then divided into perspective thirds, after which the six divisions are tested to see if they are successively smaller, as directed above. Draw the inner ellipse, making its ends tangential to the vertical lines (C, C), and exactly opposite the middle of its short diameter. It will now be found, if we have drawn the long diameters of these two ellipses where they must always be, in the apparent middle from front to hack, that the long diameter of the inner one falls higher on the paper than that of the outer one. From this we conclude that neither long diameter represents the actual diameter of the circle. Fig. 23 shows the plan of a circle with its true diameter, A A. The eye at x sees B B, a line connecting two tangentials, as the longest line in that circle. It therefore becomes the long diameter of the ellipse which the eye in that position sees. Meanwhile the actual diameter appears both shorter and farther back than B B, because farther away. That part of the circumference back of B B, though actually larger, is so foreshortened as to appear exactly like the part in front, producing the symmetry which is the wonderful and unfailing characteristic of the ellipse.

Since the inner circle is smaller, the eye can see farther round it, as shown in Fig. 23. This furnishes another reason for its long diameter falling farther back, and agrees with the fact that the really even space between the two circles appears greatest in front.

The Rose Jar. — For the second object proceed as with the cylinder, drawing lightly all of the ellipses entire first. Should