To keep the outlines of a panel in the same proportion while enlarging its area for the purpose of making a drawing for reproduction, lay out the required finished size of the panel near the upper left hand corner of the paper, and draw a diagonal line through the upper left hand and lower right hand corner of this panel, extending it beyond the panel
boundaries. From any given point along this diagonal, lines drawn parallel to the side and top lines of the original panel, and extended till they intersect the extended left side line and top line of the original panel, will give an outline of the same proportions as the required panel. By taking various points on the diagonal, panels of any height or width but still of the proper proportions may be obtained (see diagram [210]). Diagram [211] illustrates a variation of the previous method of enlarging the proportions of a panel, in which, by the use of two diagonals, both perpendicular and horizontal center lines are retained.
When it is necessary to lay out a border of a predetermined width within the required panel, the foregoing method can only be used to determine the outside lines of such a border, and it becomes necessary to make the drawing some numerical proportion, say, one-half as large again, or twice as large as the finished panel. The width of the border will then be of the same proportionate width.
The beginner will find it always wise to base his lettering on penciled top and bottom guide lines, and occasionally to add "waist" guide lines, as in [193]. Indeed, it is rare that even accomplished letterers dispense with these simple aids. These guide lines should invariably be laid-in with the
T-square and triangle. After drawing the horizontal guides, it is often advisable to run a few perpendicular lines up and down the paper, which will serve to guard against the very common likelihood of the letters acquiring a tilt. In drawing Italic, Script, and all sloping letters numerous sloping guide lines are especially necessary; see [193]. Perpendicular guide lines will be found of marked assistance, also in drawing Gothic small letters, which, as they do not come against the top and bottom guide lines squarely, but at an angle, are often deceptive.
If it is desirable to make two lines of lettering of the same length, although they contain an unequal number of letters, this may be effected—provided, of course, that the number of letters does not vary too greatly—by broadening or narrowing the letters that occur in one line but not in the other, and by varying the spacings about the I's and the open letters. Note, for example, the spacing of the upper lines in the poster by Mr. Crane, [87]. It is by no means essential to draw the same letter always exactly alike even in the same line; in fact, variation is generally demanded by the different surroundings and neighboring letters. So long as the general character of the letter remains unchanged in its distinctive features, such as weight,
treatment of serifs, angles, height of waist and cross lines, etc., its width and outlines may be varied and arranged to help out the spacing without interfering, to any noticeable extent, with the uniform appearance of the line.
In Roman lettering emphasis may be obtained for any special word by spacing its letters farther apart. This has something of the same emphasizing effect as the use of Italic, without so greatly breaking the harmony of the line. Much of the lettering of the Italian Renaissance shows a very subtle appreciation of this use, and in some of the most beautiful inscriptions the important words are often so differentiated, while others are emphasized by slightly larger characters.