England, and promises to be exceedingly suitable either | tunity of acquiring it. The most simple objects afford for large classes or for private study. The pupils draw examples. În fig. 2 we have a group of this nature, from solid forms, models of objects, not from drawings; being a stone, a piece of broken wood, and the leaves therefore every line they make is a result of intelli- of a tall grassy plant, such as may be observed in a field gence and a test of knowledge. Before they begin to or by the roadside. delineate, they are made to understand what they are Mr D. R. Hay, in his excellent work, The Laws of about to do, and the scientific rule they are taught to Harmonious Colouring,' has the following practical exemplify. This is, in our opinion, the only sound and observations on the method to be followed by young true theory of elementary training in the science of men in gaining a knowledge of drawing, with reference drawing; for with the art this introductory course has to patterns, decorations, and ornamental designs :nothing more to do than exercising the hand; its objectThe course of study I am about to point out is within is limited to teaching the pupils to see correctly the the reach of all-even those in the most humble situaapparent forms of objects, and the seeming direction of tions of life. They will find it of easy acquirement, and lines, and to know the optical laws by which the real a source of continual enjoyment, in the improved meforms and actual direction of lines appear differently dium through which it will lead them to view the most to the eye, according to the angle of vision under which ordinary productions of nature. She shall be their inthey are seen. The pupils are not at first required to structor; for all that I can pretend to do, is to point draw evenly or neatly, but only to express intelligibly, out to them a practical mode of receiving her lessons. by rude lines, their comprehension of the rule exem- To the uninitiated I therefore address myself; and let plified by the model.'-Art Union. It may be added, them not be dissuaded from beginning by having no that all such lessons will fall short of their desired end, predilection for the study-the more they persevere, the unless the pupil acquire a proper idea of relative pro- more they will love it. portion in parts. He must learn to give each member its due size and no more, and to put all together to form a harmonious whole. Beginners usually commit ludicrous blunders in this respect, making a man's head as large as his whole body, or the windows of a house three times larger than they should be. Experience, and an attention to the following rules, will remedy these misconceptions: In the first place, your attempts ought to be of the most simple nature, and on as large a scale as you can conveniently adopt; therefore begin by procuring a black painted board or slate, of from two to three feet square, and with white chalk practise the drawing of squares, circles, and ovals, without any guide to your hand. You may make yourself copies of these figures by the ordinary rules. When you are tolerably perfect In pursuing the elementary lessons on solid objects, at these, upon the proper combination of which depends an idea of perspective will be unconsciously gained. It all linear harmony, you may practise in the same way will be noticed that strong outlines mark the objects or triangles, hexagons, octagons, and such other figures parts of objects nearest the eye or in the foreground; as arise from the various combinations of the straight while to make parts retire, or have an appearance of line. Next, by your circular and oval lines, you may being at a greater distance, the lines must be made form crescents, circular and flattened volutes, regular light, and the representations smaller. It is a matter undulations, and other figures, which arise out of their of first consequence to bring out effects on a broad scale, various combinations, first making an accurate copy to not by repeated small markings, but by a comparatively yourself of each figure by measurement, and continuing few bold lines of greater and lesser thickness. You to practise until you can form it by the eye with perwill observe that an object may be represented in two fect ease. Avoid forming your figures by little bits at ways-first, by mere outlines describing its figure; and, a time; do each line as much as possible by one sweep second, by introducing strong shades among the out-of the hand. When you find yourself pretty perfect in lines. Take, for illustration, fig. 1. Here the blades Fig. 1. of a plant are represented by a few thin and thick lines properly disposed, and by a little shading being thrown in to bring out the effect. Fig. 2. A just idea of the value of lights and shades may be said to be the beginning of all excellence in pictorial delineation; and you are recommended to lose no oppor this kind of practice, I would recommend you at once to draw from nature. You may take for your first subject a cabbage leaf, the larger the better; and persevere in copying it, full size, until you can represent it accurately in outline, with its principal fibres. You may then vary your practice by other simple subjects of a similar kind, until you find you can do them all with ease, Before endeavouring to draw more than one leaf at a time, you must know a little of perspective. The most simple mode by which you will attain such knowledge of this art as will be most useful for your present purpose, is to hang a circular object, such as a hoop, between you and the window; set it a-moving gently round, recede a little from it, and you will find that, as one side of it retires and the other comes forward, the circle which it describes becomes narrower and narrower, until it disappears altogether, and leaves nothing but a dark line, as if a stick instead of a hoop were hanging before you. I recommend you to do this between you and the window, because the hoop will appear like a dark line, and you will thereby be better able to mark the change that takes place in the shape of the circle. Fix it in various positions, and draw from it, and observe that it is a different figure from an oval. You may now hang up your cabbage leaf, or that of any other large and well-developed vegetable, and you will observe the same change in its figure as it turns round, Make an outline of its shape while its front is half turned from you, then bring it from between you and the light, and place it where the light will fall upon it, with its face half turned from you, as when it hung before the window. Take your outline, and within it draw the principal fibres as you see them. To do this properly will require a great deal of practice, but it will pave the way to your being able to draw the most complete groups of flowers and foliage that can be placed before you. You ellipses, and other simple mathematical figures, and may now hang before you a small branch of any tree therefore we need occupy no time here in describing or plant, with two or more leaves upon it-the larger them: those who wish to refresh their memory on these the leaves are the better-and endeavour to make out-matters are referred to the article GEOMETRY. lines of them, varying their shape according to their perspective, as already described; be particular on this point, for a great deal depends upon it. You may now lay aside your chalk and slate, and provide yourself with a few sheets of common cartridgepaper, and some pieces of common charcoal-that made from lime-tree is the best. Stretch a whole sheet of your cartridge-paper upon your board by a wafer or a little paste at each corner. Place before you a cabbage, cauliflower, stalk of dock-blades, or any such large vegetable, and they will be more picturesque if the outer leaves are hanging loose. Copy these carefully in outline, using your charcoal gently, that any inaccuracy may be easily dusted off. A large thistle with its foliage is likewise an excellent example, but more difficult. Indeed you cannot go wrong in your choice-hemlock, fern, nettle, are all worthy of your study. From these the richest and most effective of Gothic ornaments were taken by our forefathers. The more you study such subjects, the more beauty and grace you will find in their forms.' When a considerable advance has been made in the elementary department of drawing, it will be proper to go on to the higher stage of perspective drawing, in exact accordance with the rules on the subject. For this you will require the following Requisites for Drawing.-Among the various articles required in systematic drawing, the first place may be given to a wooden board of a convenient size, or about two feet in length by eighteen inches in breadth; it should be perfectly smooth, and perfectly squared. On this board the paper on which the drawing is to be executed should be properly fastened. This is done by damping the surface of the paper with a wet sponge, and after it has fully expanded, fastening it down with a little thin glue round the edges; it should be laid on the board evenly, and left to dry in the air. The next requisite is a flat rule called a T-square; this is a thin straight-edge, or rule, attached at right angles to a short piece of wood much thicker, so that when the cross-piece is moved along any side of the board, the rule will project across the paper, and by its edge pencil lines may be drawn straight from left to right and from top to bottom. To test the accuracy of the square, let other lines be made from the opposite sides of the board; and if they agree with the former lines, by being parallel to them, all is right. On these guiding lines, or rather indications, the correctness of the drawings will materially depend. To these must be added a pair of compasses-an instrument so well known, that it is only necessary to remark, that the points should be just as sharp as to hold on the paper without piercing it. The compasses should be held lightly by two fingers and the thumb, and moved with the least pressure which the operation may require. These simple implements will be sufficient, until a knowledge of the art suggests the necessity for a case of mathematical instruments. Paper may be purchased of all qualities; for early practice, it is sufficient for it to be what is called hard; that is, able to endure being written upon with common pen and ink. Black-lead pencils are of various qualities: a soft pencil gives off the lead too freely, and will not retain its point; a hard pencil wounds the surface of the paper, and cannot be easily obliterated; therefore the medium pencil is best for drawing perspective. The wood should be carefully cut from its point, and the lead sharpened by being gently rubbed on a file, which produces a better point than can be formed with a knife. Indian-rubber, or a clean crumb of bread, to take out lines incorrectly drawn, is also necessary. Every student of drawing is supposed to be acquainted with the form of acute, obtuse, and right angles, circles, PERSPECTIVE DRAWING. The study of perspective is commenced by acquiring a knowledge of certain principles, and the technical appellations by which they are described. The first thing which you will attend to is the existence in all correct perspective drawings of a horizontal line. The horizontal line is always the height of the spectator's eye, and of course fields or hills may be above this imaginary line in a picture. In the following diagrams the horizontal line is always marked H. There is a certain point on the horizontal line to which the eye is directed; this is called the point of sight, and in the following diagrams is marked P. As noticed in the article OPTICS (No. 16), the apparent magnitude of any object is influenced by its distance from the eye: if near, the object seems large; if remote, it is small. It is, then, a most important principle in perspective drawing, to regulate the size of the objects marked according to the distance at which we wish them to appear. We have a good example of this gradual diminution of objects as they recede from the eye, in the manner in which a long avenue of trees seems to close in a point at its further extremity. It would be possible for a person, unskilled in the rules of perspective, and merely by the general directions already given, to give a representation on paper of the manner in which objects thus seem to diminish, as, for example, a row of posts; but as mathematical science gives exact rules on the subject, no one need trust to chance, but appeal to principles of unerring accuracy. We crave attention to these principles, which we endeavour to illustrate by certain lines in the diagrams which follow : Figure 3 represents a quadrangular drawing, of which AB is the base. Across the picture, at rather more than a third of the height, is a line H, representing the horizontal line. On the horizontal line, a point at P is the point of sight, and to this point all objects are diminished in proportion as they approach it. Thus a road represented by the two lines CD tapers to a point at P, and a row of posts E diminish towards the same centre of observation. The horizontal line which, it will be perceived, regulates some important points in pictorial delineation, may be placed high or low at pleasure; but it is generally regulated in its elevation by the nature of the subject to be drawn. If placed high up, it leaves too small a proportion of sky, and produces what is called a bird's-eye view; if placed near the base, unless the scene be mountainous, the proportion of sky will be too great. In general, the horizontal line should be drawn at about one-third of the height of the picture. The point of sight may also be fixed at pleasure; but its best situation is removed from the centre towards one of the sides; if directly in the centre, the perspective would have too formal an effect. When an object having angles, as a box, stands on a base parallel to the horizon, and two of its sides or sur AB, A P H F D B faces can be seen, that which is farthest from the eye will recede according to the situation of the point of sight. Place a box, as in fig. 4, immediately in front of the eye; AB is its bottom or base, and EF is the farther edge of its top. the base, being parallel to the horizontal line H, the point of sight will be at P, and the visual rays from the upper corners of the box will centre in P, because the eye is in front, and above the object. Any alteration of the position Fig. 4. of the box, or the eye, will consequently require a corresponding arrangement of the laws of perspective. Place the box toward the farther side of the table, immediately in front, and lower the eye till the horizontal line is one-third down the box, when the top will be lost sight of; there let the eye be fixed, by resting the chin on any convenient object, and the front, or only one side of the box, will be seen. Then let the box be moved to the left, in a straight line, the position of the eye being retained, and a second side of the box will come into sight; its receding lines or visual rays will then be centered in the altered point of sight, and the side in front will retain its form, because its base is parallel with the horizon. When this experiment has been made, and the situations of the box and the eye have been considered-presuming the box to have been a cube-proceed to ascertain the mode of representing this object according to the rules of perspective, referring to the natural appearance of the box occasionally, the more effectually to fix the mutual resemblances in the mind. Fig. 5 will show the process by which all the particulars may be demonstrated. Presuming the paper is fastened down on the drawingboard, the T-square and pencil ready, commence thus: Apply the T-square and draw the base line A B, and also the boundary of the picture CD. Then draw the horizontal line H across the paper; this may be fixed at pleasure, but parallel to A B. Then find the half of the base A B, and draw a perpendicular beneath the picture to O, and on it place the profiled angle of 60 degrees, just at that distance which, by continuing the sides of the angle, they will intersect the extremities of the base, and together form an equilateral triangle, as AOB: this must be strictly attended to. Now, as before observed, the point of sight is better when removed from the centre of the picture; and taking a station to the right, by a horizontal line from O to S, this be comes the station whence the picture is seen, and the point of sight is therefore found by the perpendicular line from S to P on the horizontal line. Now, as a vanishing point is required to determine the width of the receding side of the box, the profiled angle of 90 degrees is to be placed at S on the perpendicular P S, and the side line continued until it intersects the horizontal line at V, which fixes the vanishing point: this also must be strictly attended to. It will be observed that the angle at S is one of 45 degrees, being the half of the profiled angle of 90. We now call attention to the situation of the eye, which is always on a level with the horizontal line; therefore the true position of S is immediately in front of P, or, as if the perspective lines beneath the picture could be raised up to the level of S, and fixed at that distance from the picture, to show the true situation of the eye when viewing the object. The front square shape of the box may then be drawn in, occupying less than half the base of the picture, in order to show the perspective, as at fig. 3; then from the nearest perpendicular of the box draw the visual rays from the top and the bottom of the square to P, which give the diminutions. Now a line drawn from the corner of the box near A to the vanishing point V, will intersect the diminishing line, which gave the receding base of the box at L; and a perpendicular line from L to K on this intersection, will give the true representation of the square box as seen in perspective. If this were a cube of glass, the farther sides would be seen, as shown by the finer lines in the diagram. Repeat this study in different sizes, referring to the natural appearance of the box, in order to feel, as well as see, the coincidence between that and the object produced by the rules of linear perspective. It is of importance that this diagram should be thoroughly understood, because many of the rules employed in it are frequently required. The boundary of a picture, or the plane, may be of any proportions. The base is marked, in fig. 3, A B. The perpendicular, from the middle of this base line, assists in finding the situation for the angle of 60 degrees O, the width of the base, measured from the extremities to the perpendicular O, forming an equilateral triangle, as AO B. This is a rule, whatever may be the size of the picture; it also shows the proper distance at which a picture should be viewed. This expanse of vision, at an angle of 60 degrees, is marked in the diagram 0, and places the point of sight in the middle of the picture, which is very often objectionable; therefore a line parallel with the base is drawn from O, and on this line the better station is taken, which is marked in the diagram S. Now the horizontal line H having been taken at pleasure, a perpendicular drawn into it from S will give the point of sight at P, into which the visual rays are drawn that regulate the receding side of the object. The vanishing point V is entirely distinct from the point of sight, of which there can be but one; but vanishing points may be numerous. This, marked in the diagram V, is of great consequence, for by it is determined the proper width of the object, by the line which intersects the visual ray from the base of the box A to V, as at L; and here the perpendicular to K, which intersects the upper visual ray, completes the perspective form of the object. No objects better exemplify rules in perspective than articles of household furniture, such as boxes, chairs, tables, and chests of drawers. We direct your attention to the following illustrations:-Fig. 6 exhibits a parlour chair and a footstool. Observe that the chair stands with the corner of its seat nearest to the spectator, the point of sight being in the middle of the picture. The receding sides of the chair have their respective parts regulated by diagonals to their vanishing points. The footstool stands on a line parallel to the base, and therefore its visual rays tend to the point of sight in the centre of the picture. These may prepare the mind of the student to consider that objects, Fig. 5. when differently situated, have each their vanishing | wards the spectator, both sides will require their repoints regulated by the angle at which they are viewed. ceding points, which are determined by the vanishing points V 1 and V 2. Such familiar objects should be drawn, by which the more readily to fix in the mind of the student the leading principles of linear perspective. It will be seen that, when an object has its base line parallel to the horizon, the point of sight is in the picture, and that it is arranged in agreement with the angle under which the object is viewed. Thus if it be an object which has four sides, and one of those sides be immediately in front of the eye, the visual rays will be hidden, because the point of sight is in or behind the object. It will also be seen that if the object be moved on either side, or the point of sight be altered by a change of station, the visual rays determine the receding side of the object immediately on a second side being seen. If the base line of an object be removed from its parallel to the base line of a picture, the angle under which the object is viewed becomes altered in strict conformity with its changed position, the particulars of which the student may ascertain by placing an object in the various positions. Suppose a chest of drawers, or a cube, to be placed and seen as in fig. 3, and while the nearest corner is to act as a pivot, the end near A to be moved so as to We recommend you, on all occasions, to draw the horizontal line so far on either side, that it will be intersected by the diagonals, which are to be drawn at an angle of 90 degrees from the station, into the horizontal line, where they determine the vanishing points. These are only indicated in the diagrams by the direction of those lines, and the words to V 1' or to V 2.' In fig. 6, the base line A B is drawn, its centre determined, and the perpendicular drawn to 0; the angle of 60 degrees is taken in agreement with the base line, inaking an equilateral triangle, and the point of sight P is fixed on the horizontal line H. The vanishing points are found by the angle of 90 degrees at O, projected on either side to V 1 on the left, and V 2 on the right, as before described. All the diminutions of corresponding ornaments on the back and front legs of the chair are drawn to V 2, while the side of the chair is regulated by V 1. The footstool is placed parallel to the base on the line C D, and its diminution regulated by the rays E P and F P. The diagonal G from the leg of the footstool D, to the vanishing point V 1, would determine the square of the stool, or the position of the farther leg, at the point where it intersected the ray C P. Fig. 7 shows the perspective lines required to represent a writing-desk placed diagonally on a table which stands on the base line. The base of the picture is drawn as A B, the centre is taken, and a perpendicular drawn to 0, for the angle of 60 degrees. The horizontal line is drawn at H. The parallel is drawn from O to S, and there the perpendicular to the horizontal line fixes the point of sight at P. Then the angle of 90 degrees is taken at S, and the sides being projected to the horizontal line, gives the vanishing points V 1 on the left and V 2 on the right. Now the table being seen in front, or on the base line, the visual rays from the legs and the top are drawn to the point of sight P. The table being supposed to be a parallelogram, its side, seen in perspective, will be about half its width seen in front; therefore let half the space seen in front be set off from the leg on the right; and the diagonal from that half to V 1 will give the diminution of the side of the table, where it intersects the ray from the front leg to the point of sight P, at R. A parallel line from this to the ray from the other front leg will give the situation T for the most distant leg. The writing-desk being presented with its corner to cause a space between the base line of the object at that end and the fixed base line of the picture, the angle of vision would require that the base and top lines of the object should have their vanishing points. The object could be moved thus at different times, until that which in the diagram is the receding side would become the front, and each position would require a diagram; but the student is presumed to have become acquainted with the fact, that at each pause in the movement of this object on its pivot, there will be exhibited a diminution on one side proportionate to the increase of the other side; until, by continuing these rotatory movements of the object, that side which was at first presented obliquely, becomes the front, and its base parallel to the base of the picture. The original front of the object, by the revolving movements, will have been lost or hidden, exactly in proportion as the receding side advanced to the front. Thus the vanishing point extended as the advancing side became more evident, just in proportion as the receding side diminished. Make these experiments, and observe, on the first change of position deviating from a parallel with the base of the picture, that the vanishing point V 1 was required, and so far removed on the horizontal line on | the horizontal line, as at K, and draw diagonals from the perpendicular C; then, with the compasses, take the measure of the space between the perpendicular C, which is the corner of the house, and the edge of the window D, and mark it on the line F as at 1; then take the width of the window E, and mark it as at 2. It is better to have a second pair of compasses to prevent mistake in the alternate alteration that is required, or the space for the windows may be marked with the point of a needle on a piece of writing-paper, and then marked off carefully on the line F; then the compasses will mark the space between the windows only. The small projection which separates the centre from the wings must be noticed, as at G; then the space with compasses 4, then the window 5, then the space 6, then the window 7, then the space 8, then the window 9, then the space 10, then the window 11, then the space 12, then the window 13, then the space 14. This being the farther extremity of the centre of the house, the corresponding projection to G must be noticed, as being so much of the next space hidden behind the projecting centre; it will therefore be marked 15, then the window 16, then the space 17. These compose the spaces and widths of windows as seen in the front of the house; and it must be mentioned, that the points which have been made on the line F, must be perfectly true on the line, or the truth of the diminution will be impaired. Now assume a point about the middle of the house, on all the points made on the line F into the point K, observing that the point of the pencil runs into both at every line. A needle may be placed at K, against which the straight-edge may be pressed, to assist in drawing the diagram correctly. Now the diagonals which regulated the diminution in the height of these windows, as drawn to V 2, will be intersected by the radii drawn from the point K into the marks on the line F, and those intersections will show the diminution of width according to the laws of linear perspective. As this diagram may be crowded with lines, you are recommended to examine the intersections carefully, and mark the forms of the windows with a hard pencil, and then draw in all the perpendiculars as regulated by the radii on the diagonal lines. If in this state of the diagram there should appear any confusion, it will be far better to commence another; and the larger the drawing is, the less risk is there of disappointment. The side of the building-that is, the wing and the portion of the centre seen above, with the little projection at G, are drawn by diagonals to the vanishing point V 1. You are advised not to pass this diagram without having obtained a perfect knowledge of the principles by which the diminutions are regulated. Difficult as this may appear, it ought by all means to be attempted, for it cannot be too strongly impressed on the mind, that no perfection in drawing, no delicacy in finishing, nor boldness of effect, can atone for deficiency in perspective. When a little progress has been made in this, so that the judgment is prepared to understand the arrangements which objects must undergo to be correctly represented on a flat surface, a scene in nature can be sketched without any material difficulty. Fig. 9 represents a method by which archways are put into perspective : The base A B, the horizontal line H, and the point of sight P, are determined as in the preceding diagrams. In this it will be seen that if the point P had been retained in the centre of the subject, the sides of each respective arch would have been alike; to obviate this, P is placed a little to the left of the centre. This is a subject which may often be met with, and you are advised to study such objects in nature, be they of one or more arches; ever remembering that the station must be preserved with the head towards the point of sight; the eyes only are to be turned from one part to another. You will thus practically learn the distance at which to take a station for such studies. If it be taken too near, too little of the subject will be seen. If it be taken too far off, then there will be more expansion than is required, and the subject will not show the minutia. |