The first picture is what I do. Thank you for this. Now it's much easier to see my mistakes 😊

It used to be a meme or a trope: almost every time an artist was depicted in a cartoon, they were holding up a pencil, pen, brush or their thumb while looking at whatever they were about to commit to paper or canvas, as if they were _aiming_ at it and the pencil, pen, brush or their thumb was their gunsight. This is why. It's a way to relatively accurately judge proportion. While looking at your subject, hold your pen (or pencil, brush or your thumb) out at arm''s length horizontally or vertically, depending on whether you're estimating width or height, line up the tip with one side or the top of the subject and "mark" the other side or the bottom of the subject with your thumb and then transfer that distance onto the paper (or board or canvas) in the same orientation. Then sketch in the line.

My 2 cents of experience agree with what you are demonstrating: In a lot of theory we get taught to draw as much as possible from big shapes first, and fit in details more or less in declining size, and indeed it makes sense to overcome the typical beginner mistake to just cue detail to detail, until minor inconsistencies in proportions add up to massive inconsistencies in scale, and the overall result ends up massively distorted The problem is, that ignoring the details doesn't work either, as they provide necessary intermediate landmarks for correctly meassuring the big proportions and relationships. I think the solution is a strange balance and a mindset shift. The design of the drawing, the idea, still has to start with the big shapes. Some details have to be there, but they have to be subordinated to being a measuring tool for the big shapes. So the proportion of every detail can't be thought about in relationship with the next adjacent detail, but has to be thought about in relation to the big shape, until the big shapes are established. We can't revert back to the beginner mistake to try to fit as many beautiful details as possible on the page and hope, that the overall proportions somehow magical work out, but ideally we have to try to find the minimum amount of details to establish the big proportions, then draw the big shapes, then fill in remaining details to prettify the design.

most people tell you, its easier to find the basic shapes and than go into the details. You try a different approach in this video but the result is still amazing.

this actually makes a lot of sense because we are much better at comparing the relative sizes of shapes rather than gauging the size directly. You see this applied a lot in figure drawing where many people draw the head first, and then figure out the size of the torso, then legs by using size comparison. I always find that starting with an overall encompassing shape makes it hard to keep proportions and this video shows that I'm not the only one 😅 thanks for the tip!

Thank you for showing us how to break this all down into a less intimidating process.

Although…to get the position of (say) your building exactly where you want it on the paper, and at the relevant scale (key word there) requires that you do have a handle on the overall proportions from the outset. So..in figure drawing, where legs are often longer than you think, I draw a head and torso in correct proportion..adjusting as you are with the door and then pillars, relative to each other, but then run out of paper for the feet. A long time ago I was trained as a draughtsman (with pen and ink) and getting the overall scale (so it fits on the paper) is the first problem to solve. Drawing 'actual size' in the field can help, where the image matches the sight size. But scaling something is a much harder thing to get right.

This made me realize i get lazy in checking my proportions against each other, and i tend to move "baselines" arbitrarily, making the overall result chaotic to look at AND to draw! Thank you so much for your advice and demonstration ❤

At some point in this video you show some more complicated architectural sketches of yours in perspective that are lovely. I would love to see something like that produced with you explaining how you achieve the proportions.

This is sheer brilliance! Thank you!! Proportion is probably the one element I’ve struggled with the most. So I really appreciate your sharing your skills. ❤

This is perfect - I've been struggling with trying to outline the entire thing in advance and breaking it down like this was working better for me - and I thought maybe I was doing something wrong.. This clarifies my next steps for exercises and gets me past the current mental hump..

Very good tips, thank you , for me it`s a good way to see the right proportions... and the dots are helpful.

I remember watching a demo by US artist and teacher Richard Schmid. He painted the eye of the model on his canvas and then made all his other measurements from that one point. It was stunning and very accurate in the reveal. I loved this video of yours, so helpful!

Another perfectly timed video. Really struggling with proportions now. Thanks as always for the excellent content.

Great exercise! Very helpful for the beginner.

Interesting approach for a complex drawing. Thanks very much for taking the time to share your skills.

very helpful. thanks so much. I've tended to work from big picture down to details, and this seems like a good exercise for me to be able to broaden my abilities.

Exactly what I needed. Thanks.

Deserves more view for such helpful advice You earned a subscribe and like,sir

Very timely for me. I've been working on improving my freehand proportions and this is very helpful.

Thank you so much Steven. That lesson really helped me work out my problems in keeping things in proportion. I really appreciate how you break things down into smaller, workable bits that help make the whole process much easier.

Thank you for the video! helpful as always ❤❤

what a great point you make. first of all, proportion and perspective does make or break the drawing. and a lot of times we do not practice just those two aspects enough. as you’ve illustrated that, focussing on the smaller aspects and working towards the bigger picture makes your drawing a lot more effortless and allows you to spot mistakes earlier. This is how we as engineers also operate. we design little things that will be used to construct very big objects.

This technique reminds me of a principle in dimentional metrology (science of measurements). That is accumulationerror. By starting with the middle shape and working outwards there is less chance of an error creeping in had you started with the left window and worked your way to the right. I also spend a lot of time lookking back and forth. Any errors jump right out at you. Thank you for showing this method.

Excellent tip! I just started learning how to draw so it's good to know these things early.

This helped because I tend to make my drawings a bit too tall and slim, as compared to the reference. I have to observe better.

Actually amazing technique. So helpful!

This is a great technique! I love architectural drawings and would love to sit and do them, but I struggle so much with proportions. I mostly do animal drawings, but watching this is getting me excited to try doing more architecture. I also want to apply it to my animal drawings as well to see how it works with them. Thank you!

Thank you so much for this!

Amazing different technique as you titled, and different concept as well that's so helpful!!! Though my drawing doesn't ask for high accuracy, it's a matter of whether I can or cannot describe things correctly. Thanks so much for a new world opened up!!!

What an eye opener! I can see how it would help. Will be trying this! Thanks!

As always, I learn from you everytime I watch your videos. I haven't come across you in a while, as I mo Ed on to acrylics. Abstract I've been working on for some time. It's always nice to learn from you.

your videos are always so useful and inspiring!!

Nice job explaining your method. I enjoyed it and plan to give it a go. Thank you,

very helpful tutorial. Thank you.

Really handy tip, thank you ☺

I'm happy to have found your channel today.😊☀️

Both ways of drawing are correct: starting either from general shapes and breaking it progessively into smaller pieces or starting from a detail and growing your drawing around it. In the second way one might miss the general scale and find later or too late that the start was wrong. So, the first approach, form general shapes to details is the safest and easiest.

thanks Stephen

I'm taught to draw in exactly the opposite way: from large shape to the details. It's amazing how it works for you and it looks ... awesome

Thanks for sharing this technique! Drawing from the inside out... I'll try this. My sketches of mausoleums were too tall 😊

Thank you! You reminded me of what it means to draw again!

I have wanted to learn how to draw buildings like this for ages. I'm so glad I found your channel! You explain everything so well! Thank you for your content! Its been a big help to me. 🫶

amazing, thanks for the tips

Thank you ❤

In the picture itself you have a kind of mushroom effect: the base seems to be a tiny bit smaller and the higher you look the more the building seems to become broader. Of course this isn’t the case but it appears that way. A lot of office buildings have the same fate. I would build a building that becomes really a tiny bit smaller in the rise to cancel this effect. The base of the triangle also seems to bend down. The Greeks already knew these effects, hence they manipulated the Parthenon to remedy these effects.

This is great! Thanks so much!

This was so very useful! Thank you Stephen. I really enjoyed this concept of measuring realtively. So many of my buildings are so wonky...I am now going to try this method. When you were fliping the pages, I thought..."hang on a second!" I often walk past the spot you show at 18:40. Berlin, Klosterstrasse U-Bahn / Metro with Marienkirche / St Mary's church in the background. This church from the 1600s has a beautiful carillion that plays many times a day, sometimes while I walk past. I also took a photo of that U-Bahn sign, because it is so elegant and intricate. Now I have to draw it, using your method here. THanks again!

It's very useful, thank you!

Hello, thank you so much for these great videos.

Very good Video. Thank you.

liked/shared

As a commercial illustrator i use lots of photo reference for work. however, if you are just going to copy photographs there are plenty of ways including A I to do that sort of mechanical thing for you. I encourage fine artists to draw from life. I saw a portrait contest on TV where all they did was copy from photos they took with their phones in spite of having a model in front of them. Art is not a gimmick or trick and it is sometimes hard.

It's cool, but I think the main reason why art schools and such teach people the opposite way is because it won't work if you have a limited space to work with (e.g. planning to fill the entire canvas or not being able to cut it after work if your art ends up fitting badly).

The curve above the top right window.

Thank you so much, l always struggle with proportions, this video will be very usefull. And thank you again for sharing your skills😍

Thank you…. Really appreciate this tip. Art saver xxxx

4:38 Michaelerplatz, Vienna 💘

of course your deft strokes in the solution version do show your skill Oh - the second attempt Watching you work was most enjoyable - and inspiring Thank you. 👋

I believe there are basically two kinds of proportion: additive(extrapolating the line out) and subtractive(dividing up the working area). When we use methods that involve counting, as with grids or ruler measures, we can extrapolate with very high accuracy. Detailing a small area like the head of a figure and then building the rest with estimated "heads of height" is another way of extrapolating. The subtractive method is how we describe written symbols: we know that an "A" is built with a horizontal bar halfway down the area, and a peak halfway across the area. This method tends to appear when we look at comparative measurement, because one of the key things it introduces is the measurement of angles. If you divide up the page with a lot of angle observations, you can see clearly where the intersections are failing to meet, and describe proportional errors in terms of angle instead of distance. When working additively in freehand, I prefer to use the methods of contour drawing, and rely on my ability to *feel* how much distance I've moved my hand, versus *seeing* a distance. But I also like using stencil shapes to set up ideal sizes: while I can make OK circles freehand, I make much better circles with a stencil. That reduces the potential for error caused by drawing slightly different circles.

I like this approach. It's like when people draw people, they usually start with the bodies & end up having to make the heads too large. Burne Hogarth always taught his students to draw the head first & then it's far easier to get the bodies proportional to the heads. Thank you for sharing it

I’ll give this a try. But it all depends on you getting the proportions of your first section correct. Why would it be any more correct than with the other approach? Maybe I missed that part of the explanation.

When you say "hit the like button" the button itself light up with a rainbow colored line...

Can you let us know what pen you are looking using? Great video, game changer for me! Thank you!

Thank you so much! This is exactly what I'm struggling with now. I'm not trying for architectural precision, but I am always disappointed when I get the proportions wrong, usually too narrow as in your first example. If you were drawing from direct observation instead of a photo, would you use the same method, from smaller shapes to larger shapes?

Thank you! Nothing kills a drawing more than if the dimensions are off. I've found in the past it was easy to fool myself for a good portion of the drawing only to realize late that I've painted myself 'into a corner' with bad ratios (I'm a bit more guarded now so it's not as frequent - but it happens). :\ In all fairness, you probably could have done a credible job with the first drawing if you had focused on it like it was a masterpiece. Still, that's about the most exacting way to try to draw correctly - and it leaves no wiggle room, either. I still have issues with feature sizes on animals (head one size, body the other) - it's the curves that throw me off I think.

I am doing ok on proportions when drawing from a picture, but still struggling a lot when sketching outdoor, maybe cause I can't use the pen or fingers to help me as a guide.

This feels so backwards to me. It's like drawing a human figure by the belt first, the head by it's eyes first, or the legs by toes first.

Ya that first drawing hurt🤔

Interesting approach, and I sure can’t argue with the results you create. But, if you start w/ the small and then grow out to the large, seems like you’d be in danger of running off the page. Are you able to manage the overall composition with such an approach? Seems like you’d struggle with controlling the location of objects inside the picture frame. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe that is an aspect that you ignore or maybe it just doesn’t influence your art.

Professor stephen i can not find your reference photos. Please tell me how i can take this. Thanks for your videos. You ar a very good teacher.❤

I have also found that starting with a certain part rather than trying to get the proportions correct for the whole thing, also works very well from me when I'm drawing figure. I can never get it right if I try to do the full body from the start and fit elements in, some of them always end up with weird sizes. However, the problem I run into by starting with a part is that I often run out of space on the sheet or my figure is way too small compared to the rest of the sheet etc. Do you have any advice for that? Does it ever happen to you that you start a building and then you can't finish it, because you run out of space?

I’m proud to say that I gave this video its six-hundred and sixty-sixth like.

I don't want to do draw-RING!

Really helpful video, this is going to sound like a stupid question but why not use a ruler to get an idea of length and height?

In summary: Use your eyes