Guidelines for Sighting
Drawing or representing a three-dimensional object
on a two-dimensional surface requires in essence a
language translation.
You are translating a three-dimensional form into a
language that will be effective on a twodimensional surface….Drawing paper. Some of you
may feel like your drawings are much more
successful when you draw from a photograph as a
reference. That’s because the three-dimensional
form has already been translated for you.
*** A sighting stick is the basic tool for the process of sighting.
A wooden dowel 1/8” in diameter and about 10” to 12” long is
best. But whatever you use, it should be slender and straight. A
pencil can suffice when nothing else is available.
*** All of your sighting observations will take place in an
imaginary two-dimensional plane that is parallel to your face.
If you look downward, the imaginary plane remains parallel to
your face. The same if you look upward.
*** Always keep your arm fully extended and lock your elbow
when sighting. This keeps a constant scale, which is especially
important when you are sighting for relative or comparative
proportional relationships.
*** Never tip your stick forward or backward, keep it parallel
to your face.
*** It is helpful to close one eye when sighting. Monocular vs.
binocular (flattens what you see).
*** When sighting,
you must begin by
establishing which
object or shape will
serve as your point of
reference or unit of
measure.
*** When working
with the human
figure, the head is
frequently used as the
point of reference.
In instances where the head is not visible or is
partially obscured, another unit of measure will need
to be established ( possibly a hand or foot).
Applications of Sighting
First Application: Sighting for
Relative Proportions
Before beginning the actual sighting
process, do a delicate gesture drawing
based on what you see. This “breaks the
ice” of a blank piece of paper and gives a
sense of how the objects being referred to
will occupy the paper surface.
Draw your point of reference first.
** Begin by sighting to establish between the total
height and total width of the object (head).
** With arm extended, align the end of the sighting
stick on one side of the head and then slide your
thumb back until the tip is aligned with the other side.
** With your arm still fully extended, rotate your arm
until the stick is in a vertical position and observe how
many times the width of the head repeats itself in the
height of the head.
** Continue to refer to your point of reference for
establishing relative proportions throughout the
drawing.
Foreshortening
Foreshortening can be especially
challenging since it is often recorded
with a significant amount of inaccuracy
and distortion.
While sighting is an ideal way to
overcome this inaccuracy, there are a
few things to be particularly attentive
to when dealing with foreshortening.
First, be aware of the fact that when foreshortening
is evident, the apparent relationship between the
length and width of forms is
altered to varying degrees,
depending upon the severity
of the foreshortening.
For example, a foreshortened view of the thigh may
measure wider from side to side than it does in length
from the hip area to the knee area.
Second, be on guard against tilting your sighting
stick in the direction of the foreshortened axis.
Be aware that instances of overlapping, where one
part of an object meets another part, are more
pronounced and
dramatic in a foreshortened view
and require greater
attention to the
interior contours that
give definition to this.
Second Application: Sighting for
Angles and Axis Lines in Relation to
Verticals and Horizontals or in
Relation to the Face of a Clock
An axis line is an imaginary line that
runs through the core or center of a
form.
Some observed angles
are more apparent
than others. Sighting
can be used to provide
greater accuracy when
drawing obvious or
implied angles.
Simply align your sighting stick visually along the
observed axis of the angle and observe the
relationship between the angle and a true vertical or
horizontal, whichever it relates
to more closely. When drawing
the angle maintain the same
relationship to the vertical or
horizontal that you observed.
(The left and right sides of your
drawing paper provide fixed
verticals for comparison, and
the top and bottom of your
drawing paper provide fixed
horizontals for comparison.
Third Application: Sighting for
Vertical and/or Horizontal
Alignments Between Two or More
Landmarks
This sighting process is closely related to
sighting for angles and axis lines but is used
to observe vertical or horizontal alignment
that is less apparent or to observe a vertical
or horizontal alignment between more
distant reference points (landmarks).
Keep in mind
that the human
form is rich in
visual
landmarks.
Many of these
landmarks are
readily apparent
and easily identified
verbally ( the tip of
the nose, the back
of the heel, the tip
of the elbow, the
wrist bone, the
navel, the inside
corner of the eye,
the right nipple, the
side of the face,
etc.).
Many more landmarks are available to you that may
not be as easy to describe.
These landmarks may be defined by a significant
directional change in a contour, by a point of overlap
or intersection, or by the outermost or innermost
point of a curve.
These alignments
help to maintain an
accurate relationship
of size and placement
when drawing the
figure and its
component parts.
Sighting for vertical or
horizontal alignments
between figurative
landmarks that are
spaced far apart on the
body is especially helpful.
For example, you may
observe that the left or
right side of the face aligns
vertically with the foot or
ankle area.
When you observe a vertical or horizontal
alignment between landmarks, it is fairly
simple to translate this alignment since a
vertical or horizontal is fixed or constant.