大象传媒

Observational drawing - AQAAccuracy and proportion

Being able to draw by observing is used throughout the GCSE course. Learn the skills of figure drawing, perspective and proportions, and apply them across all areas within your portfolio and your assessment.

Part of Art and DesignDrawing

Accuracy and proportion

Visual measuring

Young woman holding paintbrush in front of canvas to measure proportion.

Artists often use visual measuring techniques to make sure the subjects they are drawing are the correct size and shape. Visual measuring can be done with different tools and there are a range of techniques to try, such as sighting or the grid method.

A man holding out a pencil for perspective

Sighting is done by holding up a pencil, pen or ruler at arm's length to the object being drawn. Measure the height of the subject along the pencil and still at arm鈥檚 length compare it to the size of the other objects being drawn. Use the pencil, pen or ruler and line it up with the edges of the objects to see the angle of the line.

Sketch of boats in a harbour with a grid of squares overlaid.
Image caption,
Grand Canal, 1956, John Aldridge, pencil on paper

The grid method takes some time to set up correctly but can make the work more accurate. Use a gridded to find your composition, then draw a blank grid that is the same onto the paper or background.