Accuracy

A DRAWING GUIDE

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How to use this guide
WELCOME TO THE GUIDEBOOK
It is designed to help you improve your drawing skills by training your brain to see
and capture accurate proportions. Over the next few pages I will share a distillation
of the most important tools and techniques that I know about. My goal is to give you
information that you can incorporate into your art practice immediately.

T H E R E A R E T W O PA R T S :
1 . The Focus Glasses section contains methods of seeing and thinking.
2 . The G​ood Habits ​section gives a summary of advise I've learned in my classical
training that has stood the test of time.

I recommend giving all pages a quick glance and then reading the guide from the
beginning. If you encounter something you don’t quite understand, take a look at the
video lessons that are included with the guide package. Of course, the real test of
understanding happens when you touch your pencil to the paper.

May these pages aid you in your journey.

– Dorian

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PA R T O N E

Focus Glasses

We’ll begin with the concept of F​ocus Glasses.​Each pair of glasses can be put on and
taken off to help you focus on one distinct task at a time. They are like filters that free
you from needing to multitask so you can work efficiently. Whenever I encounter a
problem with proportions, I put on my Focus Glasses to clarify what the problem is and
how I can solve it.

BUILD A SET OF TWO CARDBOARD GLASSES

This is a hands-on drawing manual. Let's build a set of two cardboard glasses! ​We will
use these as physical learning aids. Do not skip this. Students who use these cardboard
glasses learn and improve faster. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Let’s do it r​ight now.

G E T Y O U R M AT E R I A L S R E A D Y
• Cardboard • Ruler
• A Pair of Glasses • Cutting Knife
• Pencil • Cutting Board

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Making Focus Glasses
Note: m
​ ake two pairs so you can switch from one to the other as you move between
Focus Glasses concepts.

1. Collect Materials 2. Trace Actual Glasses on Cardboard

3. Cut out Cardboard Glasses 4. Fold and Done

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Alignment Glasses
L E T ’ S S TA R T W I T H T H E A L I G N M E N T G L A S S E S .
T H E Y A R E T H E M O S T S T R A I G H T F O R WA R D T O U S E .

1 . Put on your Alignment Glasses.

2 . Scan across your subject and notice any two points that align horizontally.
3 . Make a note of the alignment and check if you got it right in your drawing.
4 . If it’s not right, see if you can resolve the mistake by using alignments.
5 . Do the same for vertical alignments.

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Angle Glasses
HERE WE ARE FOCUSING ON GETTING
T H E C O R R E C T I N C L I N AT I O N S / A N G L E S .

1 . Put on your Angle Glasses.

2 . Scan across your subject, noticing parts that you can simplify into straight lines.
3 . Compare the angles of these lines in your subject to the angles you have drawn.
4 . Are they the same? If not, adjust.

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Measurement Glasses
R E C U R R I N G D I S TA N C E

1 . Put on your Measurement Glasses.

2 . Find a measurement that repeats at least 3 times in your subject.
3 . Check if this repeating relationship also works in your drawing.
4 . Did you find mistakes? Use the measurements to resolve them.

Note: make sure to find a repeating measurement both horizontally and vertically.
If all your recurring distances are on the same axis, you might distort your drawing.

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Measurement Glasses
SIGHT SIZE MEASURING
When your drawing is the same size as your subject

1 . Put on your Measurement Glasses.

2 . Find a large measurement that is easy to take.
3 . Compare this measurement between your subject and your drawing.
4 . Use the measurements to correct mistakes.

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Measurement Glasses
HIERARCHY OF SIMILAR MEASUREMENTS
Comparing similar elements

1 . Put on your Measurement Glasses.

2 . Find 3-4 elements that share a similar measurement.
(For example: width of the neck, width of the arm at the elbow, width of the leg at
the knee, width of the leg at the ankle.)
3 . Create a hierarchy. Which is the largest measurement? Second? Third?
4 . This comparison can help you find mistakes.

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Notes on Measuring
O N LY M E A S U R E B I G S T U F F
After much experimentation, this is my conclusion: most measurements taken with
an aid are off by at least several millimeters - even with extreme concentration and
body control. The strategy I am using now is to measure only BIG proportions with
a measuring aid. The rest I do by eye. The eye will get more sensitive, accurate and
efficient than any mechanical aid. We don’t want to end up relying on a crutch.
We want to be free! Measure early. Measure the big stuff. Expect a margin of error.

HOW TO HOLD YOUR ARM FOR MEASURING IN SIGHT SIZE

Take your measuring aid in your hand. Extend your arm fully, and lock your elbow.
Pull the shoulder of your extended arm back into alignment with your other shoulder.
As you compare a measurement, moving from subject to drawing, avoid rotating
your shoulder. Instead, rotate your entire torso at the pelvis. Rotating at the shoulder
changes the distance from your hand to your eye. This distorts measurements.

W H AT T O M E A S U R E
• As much as possible, only measure distances horizontally or vertically.
Measurements taken at an angle are prone to be off.
• Measure from points that are clearly visible, that give your eye something
to hold on to. Horizontal and vertical lines are helpful, as well as areas of
high value contrast and sharp edges/transitions.

• In life drawing, measure from points that are stable. Don’t take measurements
from points which are going to move, such as hair, folds in clothing, etc.

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Notes on Measuring
MEASURING AIDS
The most useful tool for me is a knitting needle. Not so thick that it is heavy, not so thin
that it bends from the pressure of my fingers. A US size 6 / metric size 4 should work.
You can also use a paintbrush, a pencil, or anything thin and stable. The ideal measuring
tool is pointy at the tip.

TRACING
Tracing has a terrible reputation among “real artists”. Tracing instead of training your
eye, weakens you. Tracing to check accuracy is useful to train your eye for proportions.

EYE FIRST
This is arguably one of the most important principles. If you want to get better at
judging proportions and drawing with accuracy, you need to train. Therefore, every
single time you take a measurement, make your best guess by eye first. Take another
look, and refine your guess. When you have done the best you can by “eyeballing”, you
can use a measuring aid. The opposite would be to “blindly” measure, and stop actually
looking altogether. I’ve done this and it ends in disaster. Try it.

G R E AT A R T I S M O R E T H A N A C C U R A C Y
This is obvious, but I want to make this point firmly. The purpose of this guide is to
explore the development of sensitivity and control about proportions in drawing.
Artistic accuracy includes far more than that. It requires that the artist is aware of all
sensations produced in him by a subject. Purposeful distortion is the soul of drawing.
Accidental distortion is poor craftsmanship.

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Implied Line Glasses
1 . Put on your Implied Line Glasses.
2 . Look for hidden lines in your subject.
3 . Compare if they flow the same way in your drawing.
4 . If they don’t, use this information to find mistakes.

Note: implied lines are great for gesture drawing.

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Creaturizing Glasses
1 . Put on your Creaturizing Glasses
2 . Look for a shape that resembles an object you can name. It can be an animal,
a letter of the alphabet, a geometric shape, etc. It’s like looking at the clouds
and finding fantastical creatures.
3 . Compare this “creature” shape in your subject with the shape in your drawing.

Note: don’t draw your subject. Draw the “creatures” you find within your subject,
and it will draw itself.

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PA R T T W O

Good Habits
STEP BACK
When you step back from your work, you see “the big picture”. Your focus
moves from the details to the larger effect, the big proportions of one area
relative to another. This makes it easier to catch mistakes.

MIRROR
Use a mirror to see the image reversed. You can flip either horizontally
or vertically. As far as your brain is concerned, you are looking at a new
image and you are seeing it “with fresh eyes”. A smartphone screen
(turned off) also works well. If you are you working on a drawing board
with both the reference and your work next to each other, simply turn the
drawing board upside down. You can keep working on it upside down.
Continue to flip it every 20-30 minutes to keep your eyes fresh.

SQUINT
When you squint, the image you perceive is simplified. This has several
useful effects in both drawing and painting. For our purposes here,
squinting unifies small shapes into big shapes. This makes it easier
to see what the essence of the image looks like.

PHOTOGRAPH
When your work is large or your studio small, you may not be able to
step back far enough. In this case, you can also take a photo and look
at your work on the small screen of your device.

TA K E B R E A K S
Taking a break can be all that’s needed to refresh your eyes and see
old mistakes. Make your breaks a conscious part of your process.

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Conclusion
W H AT T O D O N E X T
Thank you for reading the guide. I hope you gained new insights.

If you haven’t already done so, take these two action steps now:

1 . Print the Cheat-Sheet and pin it up in your studio.

2 . Create two pairs of cardboard “Focus Glasses”.

As you draw, keep referring to the Cheat-Sheet. When you encounter a challenge
with proportions – as one does in drawing – put on the first pair of cardboard glasses.
Make a conscious choice about which pair of Focus Glasses you are engaging. Scan and
apply the concept for about 5 minutes. Then switch to the second pair of cardboard
glasses and a new corresponding set of Focus Glasses. Of course, you can make five
pairs of cardboard glasses as well. Have fun with this!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
If you want to learn more about realistic shading, see my other guides and course:
• The Values Guide
• The Light Guide
• The Shading Course

THANK YOU
Thank you for reading this guide. If you've found it helpful, please encourage your peers
to get this guide and support my work.

Happy drawing!

– Dorian Iten
Surava, May 2021

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 About the Author

Dorian Iten draws, paints, sculpts and teaches.

He completed a classical painting education at Angel
Academy of Art in Florence, Italy and studied Entertainment
Art at The Art Department in the USA. Dorian has served
as the director of the Digital Art & Design program at
Barcelona Academy of Art and currently lives joyfully and
creatively in a small village in the Swiss mountains.

You can find his work and learn more about his projects at
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