How to Measure – When drawing from any object the proportion can be measured by holding up a pencil and measuring or gauging on it with the thumb, and comparing the length of one point with another, as shown in the accompanying diagram.
To insure accuracy the pencil must be held at arm’s length and at right angles to the line of vision.
Hold the pencil so that the end comes between the eye and some certain point on the object to be drawn; for instance, in drawing a house, the height of the chimney might be taken as a standard of measurement. Hold the pencil upright, the top on a line with the chimney top. Now move the thumb downward until the end of the thumb comes between the eye and the bottom of the chimney. Then draw the chimney. Repeat the measuring operation, finding where the length of the chimney corresponds to other parts of the building.
That is to say, the pencil may be moved between the object and the eye and by using the chimney length as a standard, corresponding length and width thereof may be estimated.
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