In the last post I focused on how easy it is to do some simple measuring to get your subject on paper more accurately. (Here’s a link in case you missed it: Tips for Quick Measuring )

The next thing you want to pay attention to is observing angles.

Sketch Your Hand

At first, when you look at something to measure where the top and bottom are, you’ll also see some noticeable parts sticking out.

For instance if you’re trying to draw your hand. You see where the top and bottom of your drawing are, and you’ve estimated how wide it is.

Now it’s like connecting dot-to-dots. Can you see and imagine the angle from the tip of your thumb to your index finger?

Visualize the angles from each of the prominent landmarks.

Angles Are Harder to See

You might notice that it’s a little harder to see and sketch the angles at first. At least it takes a few more tries than it did when you were just trying to measure where the middle and thirds are.

Well, don’t beat yourself up. It’s actually harder for humans to accurately see and draw diagonal lines compared to horizontal and vertical lines.

That’s because of our eye’s physiology. You know, rods and cones and optic nerve stuff. You can look it up if you want, but I don’t want to get distracted here.

The cards are stacked against you before you even start. So is there anything you can do about it?

Obviously artists have found a way to sharpen that skill even if it’s only subconsciously.

But there are things you can do to consciously practice and get better at seeing and sketching diagonal lines.

First, stop beating yourself up. If you don’t get it right after a couple tries just slow down, take a deep breath and try again.

Remember how hard it was to learn to read or drive a car. You know that if you’re patient with yourself you’ll get better.

Practice Seeing Angles

One way to improve is to pay attention to angles even when you’re not drawing. As you go about your day and have a few minutes waiting, look around.

By noticing angles even when you’re not drawing you’re flexing the observation muscles you need so when you do pick up a pencil you’ll notice you can see angles quicker than before.

It gets better with practice.

Things Aren’t That Complicated

The other morning I was looking at our ceiling fan and I started thinking how hard or easy that would be to draw for a beginning artist.

At first it might not seem too hard. But then when you think of where to begin it starts to look so complicated and overwhelming.

Instead of panicking just start by deciding where the longest measure is. The fan is wider than it is tall, so on your paper just lightly sketch where you want the left and right edges to be, and mark where the middle is.

Now, how tall is it? If you compare it to 1/2 of the horizontal you’ll see that’s too short.

But if you look at the thirds it looks like 2/3 of the horizontal is just right for how tall it is.

What should your first marks be? I’m always looking for the easiest marks, the landmarks that jump out at me.

The easiest way to see them is to lightly extend the center horizontal and vertical marks.

You can see some easy landmarks by comparing nearby angles to the center lines.

Start in the middle. Look for things nearby and that line up. Compare angles close to the center vertical and horizontal lines.

Now you can see the invisible angles that connect the outside edges of the blades. Just look at them carefully and give it your best shot. Even I have to erase a little and try a few times, but that’s okay.

You’ll see how this helps to locate the outside edge of the lower right blade, which is far from the center lines.

Pay attention to the V shapes created between the blades and sketch those in.

If you’re struggling you might notice how three of the edges point really close to the center intersecting guidelines.

Look at the curved parts near the middle. The curved part of the light is 1/2 the distance from the center line to the bottom.

The curved part of the mount that touches the ceiling is near 1/3 the distance from the center line to the top.

Estimate how wide the curved shape of the light is by comparing it to your original 1/3 measuring marks on the horizontal center line.

Lightly sketch in these curved shapes.

To help with the complicated shapes near the center, first focus your attention on where the ends of the blades are mounted—where visible. Feel free to erase some of your previous guidelines to see things more clearly.

You’ve captured enough of the main shapes and angles to go ahead and finish adding as many details as you like.

If you’ve followed along I think you’ll be surprised at how well you did. Certainly you didn’t wake up this morning and think you could draw something as seemingly complicated as a ceiling fan with all it’s intimidating angles.

Closing Thoughts

In the last post you learned to measure, this one you learned to see angles, and in the next one I'll show you the next step to draw faster, seeing shapes.

These two skills of measuring and seeing angles will take your drawing to whole new levels. I hope you'll let me know how this helps your drawing ability.

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