The Basic Shapes

Comparing the size and placement of objects to one another in a composition in order to proportionally draw them as they actually appear Relationship

First Hold up your view finder and fill the space with the objects by moving the view finder forward or backward from your eye. Some of the objects and/or cloth will run out of the frame.

Second Pick the cone or cube that is closest to you, sitting on the table and most visible. It should also have a clear defined smaller unit, such as, the height of the cube or the base of the cone, that can be used as the unit of measure to compare everything else to. Third Use your pencil to project lines horizontally and vertically to the view finder border from the outer edges of the object. Mark the points on the view finder with your pencil.

Determine what part of the object you will use as your standard unit of measure and then compare everything else to it. Not only the size relationships, but also the distances of the objects apart.

Measure and compare sizes and distances with a standard length. Pick a short unit of measure on a object on the table and closest to you.

Relationship Hints The wide length of the cube is 2 times the width of the short end. The Cube The short end of the cube is 2 times the height.

The Cone The width of the bottom of the cone is 2 times the height of the cube. The height of the cone is 2 1/2 times the width of the bottom of the cone. The bottom width of the cone is 4 times wider than the flat top of the cone.

The Sphere The diameter of the sphere is 3 times the height of the cube. It is also 1 1/2 times the width of the bottom of the cone.