Drawing: Equipment Assembled

Well, I was finally able to put together the tools I need to continue with the drawing exercises in Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

I needed to make:

• Two different 8" x 10" frames out of black cardboard, with inserts cut to specific dimensions
• A transparent glass or thick plastic sheet 8" x 10" divided into four equal quadrants by two permanent black lines, like a crosshairs

This was a lot harder than it sounds. Couldn't find black cardboard and had to use black foam core poster board, which is a pain to cut. Also, marking on a black surface to note the cutting lines doesn't work, so I had to mark the lines with an Exacto knife and hope I was right. Experimented with a couple glass sheets that did not hold up until I broke down and bought a cheap 8 x 10 picture frame and removed the glass.

Here's the final result:

I put masking tape along the edge of the glass for safety reasons.

Here's what it looked like clipped to one of the frames for close up work:

And here's what it looks like viewing something at a distance:

Using the viewfinder is supposed to help train your eyes to see contours and lines more carefully, which also helps with depth perception. I'll soon see how well it works for me!