The line of light upon cylindrical objects may be beautifully produced by the same means. To indicate this line with perfect regularity is highly important, for if strict uniformity be not maintained throughout its length, the object will appear crooked or distorted. Having marked in pencil the position of the light, and filled the drawing pen with a just perceptible tint, draw a line of colour on one side of the line of light. Then, with the brush filled with the same tint, fill up the space unoccupied by the shade tint, within which the very light colour in the brush will disappear. The portion of the surface on the other side of the line of light being treated in the same way, the desired effect, of a stream of light, clear and mathematically regular, will be obtained. The effectiveness and expeditiousness of this method will be most noticeable on long circular rods of small diameter, where a want of accuracy is more immediately perceptible. The extreme depth of shade, as well as the line of light, may, on such rods, be marked by filling the pen with dark shade tint, and drawing it exactly over the line representing the deepest part of the shade. On either side, and joining this strip of dark colour, another, composed of lighter tint, is to be drawn. Others successively lighter should follow, until, on one side, the line of the rod is joined, and, on the other, the lightest part of the rod is nearly reached. The line of light is then to be shown, and the faint tint used at this part of the operation spread with the brush lightly over the whole of that portion of the rod situate on either side of this line, thus blending into smooth rotundity the graduated strips of tint drawn with the pen.
For the correct representation of a building, plans, sections, and elevations are required. The plan is usually a horizontal section of the building close above the ground floor. The position and the dimensions of the walls and the rooms of a house are shown by this means. As the walls are shown in section in the plan, sections of the various walls must, of course, be supplied before the plan can be drawn. It is usual to colour the section of the walls in a ground plan; but not unfrequently a dark wash of Indian ink is preferred to colour. The number of sections required will depend upon the regularity of the building; but generally it will be found that two half-sections are sufficient. These two half-sections are usually placed side by side, separated by a single line. The lines on which they are constructed must be drawn distinctly on the plan, and lettered. The section is then described as “Section” or “Half-section” on A B, &c. Usually the line of section is broken in plan, and the section is then said to be on A B, C D, one half being on A B and the other half on C D. Separate sections to larger scales are required for the details of construction, such as joints of rafters, mouldings to windows, and other parts needing distinct representation. Elevations generally represent the whole of one side of the building, and every side that differs from the rest must have its own elevation. Such elevations are termed Front, Back, and End Elevations, or North, South, East, and West Elevations. In order to show the foundations, a section of the ground is sometimes given with an elevation; in such a case the level of the ground should be shown by a distinct line. Sometimes the portions of the structure below the ground are shown by dotted lines. Such portions should not be coloured. In getting out the drawings the plan should first be drawn, then the sections, and finally the elevations. The colouring of elevations will afford the student an opportunity of applying the knowledge he may have acquired from a former Section of this work, and of displaying his artistic taste.
In the accompanying Plates will be found examples of colouring mechanical and architectural drawings. These should be studied in conjunction with the Section on colouring in the first part of this work. [Plate 22] shows a piece of marine engine carefully coloured to indicate the material of which the several parts are made, and [Plate 23] contains a piece of permanent way, consisting of wrought-iron rail and bolt, cast-iron chair and wooden sleeper and block, and an elevation of a skew bridge, accurately coloured and shaded in accordance with the principles already explained. It is not within the scope of this work to treat the subject of projection, whether orthographic, isometrical, or perspective; but we have given examples of each of these for the purpose of illustrating the remarks and instructions on colouring given in the Section referred to above. Thus [Plate 24] is a perspective drawing, such as are frequently made by architects, requiring a high degree of skill and taste on the part of the colourist. And [Plate 27] contains two isometrical views of a building. These examples are intended to serve as models of finished colouring.
The Plates relating to this Section are Nos. [22], [23], [24], and [27].
Section VII.—Copying and Reducing.
Duplicates of drawings are very frequently required; so frequently, indeed, and in such numbers, that their production constitutes a large portion of the work executed in every drawing office. Generally, these duplicates are required to the same scale as the original drawing; but often it becomes necessary to reduce or to enlarge the scale to render the drawing suitable to the purpose for which it is intended. The various means and methods by which such duplicates are produced are, therefore, important matters to the draughtsman, and especially to the young draughtsman, whose labours in the drawing office will for a long time be confined almost exclusively to their employment. These means and methods will now be described.
Drawing from Copy.
—Drawing from copy is rarely resorted to for the purpose of obtaining duplicates, the process being too slow for practical requirements. But it constitutes the principal means, after the study of projection, by which pupils in the office are initiated into the art of producing drawings. A few hints concerning the best modes of proceeding in these operations will, therefore, be serviceable, both to the instructor and the instructed.
First draw a horizontal and a vertical line through the middle, each way, of the sheet upon which the copy is to be made; draw also similar lines upon the copy. As these lines divide the paper equally, they may, for the sake of distinction, be called “divisional lines.” If the centre lines are not shown on the copy, these must next be drawn in lightly with the pencil, great care being taken to place them correctly. The position of these centre lines relatively to the divisional lines may then be transferred by means of the dividers from the copy to the fair sheet, upon which they must be drawn finely but distinctly. Sometimes it will be necessary to draw other lines upon the copy, and to transfer them in like manner to the fair sheet. The details may then be drawn in upon these centre lines, by transferring to them the measurements taken from the centre lines of the copy. In taking measurements from a centre line through an object that has both sides alike, the dividers should be turned over to ascertain whether the distance on the other side of the centre line is the same, so as to prove the accuracy of the drawing with respect to the centre line. All measurements must be taken in the exact direction of the distance to be measured, and be transferred in the same direction, or an obviously incorrect distance will be the result. In making the mark, the point of the dividers should not be pushed into the paper, a just visible mark being all that is required; care must also be taken, when using the compasses, not to press the leg into the paper, as the holes thus made render circles and arcs inaccurate, are unsightly at all times, and completely destroy the unbroken appearance of a tint on a coloured drawing by retaining the colour. When drawing in circular details with the pencil, it will be well to place a small hand-drawn circle around the centre for reference when inking in; also, when a curve is struck from several centres, a temporary pencil line to represent the radii should be drawn from the centres to their respective arcs.