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View Full Version : Paradoxville (Suburb of Frustration City)

WillDrawForFood
May 13th, 2004, 06:01 PM
So i'm currently working on the sighting chapter of 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0007116454/qid=1084484208/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_9_1/026-9244988-0994801), and it's driving me nuts! :(

Here's why:

OK, i've drawn the doorway outline on my plastic viewfinder in pen. the bottom of the door is about 2cm from the bottom of the viewfinder window. i've worked out the ratio as 1:2 & 5/6ths. This outline looks correct proportionally

But, and this is the paradox; when i sight it using a rod with my thumb to work out the length and ratio, it comes out as 1:3 exactly. this means the bottom of the door goes right to the bottom of the page and the doorway looks taller than the viewfinder pen drawing and looks wrong.

This is baffling because the viewfinder drawing is correct when I line it up, but my sighting is correct also (and my arm is locked straight), because i've measured it about 20 times!!! (seriously, I have) But there's still this discrepancy of 2cm and I don't know where it's come from! Surely even if the sighting wasn't spot on it wouldn't cause that much of a shift in length and proportion. I mean I need to sort this out when i'm doing small stuff, otherwise I can see it being a BIG problem.

If anybody has any advice it would be much appreciated.
WillDrawForFood
May 18th, 2004, 03:58 PM
Hmm. Maybe I should have just called the thread 'Sighting Problem' instead of trying to be a smart-arse! :D
WillDrawForFood
May 18th, 2004, 04:51 PM
ok. i've just measured the door. it's 27 inches wide. and the length is two lots of 27 inches plus 22 inches. which is not a 1:3 ratio. why is my manual sighting so out? I just can't work it out. this is so annoying as this is one of these basic concepts I need to grasp fully before I move on. :confused: :confused: :confused: (excuse the rant!)
WildSpruceMoose
May 18th, 2004, 10:14 PM
Are you looking at the doorway from an angle?
WillDrawForFood
May 19th, 2004, 08:46 AM
nope. i'm looking at the doorway straight on.
FlipMcgee
May 19th, 2004, 01:28 PM
Dude....just reading your opening post made me think you're using too much of your left brain :) Relax...it's not a technical drafting exercise.
WillDrawForFood
May 19th, 2004, 03:04 PM
Dude....just reading your opening post made me think you're using too much of your left brain Relax...it's not a technical drafting exercise.

Hmm, true, but surely you want some degree of accuracy? It just seemed quite a bit off to be able to dismiss it.

I guess I was hoping for someone to say: 'Ah, this is the classic 'XXXX' phenomenon. This is caused by 'XXXXX' and this is what you need to do to correct it.
WillDrawForFood
May 19th, 2004, 03:18 PM
Aha! got it. A guy from WetCanvas.com (http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums) helped me realise what was causing the problem:

1. Although your arm is locked straight, perhaps you are not holding the pencil absolutely vertical every time you sight your subject.

This was it. I didn't notice that I wasn't keeping the pencil vertical because I was concentrating on getting the measurement right. Made sure the pencil was vertical this time and it measured perfectly! Thanks for trying though guys. :clapping1 :clapping2