Chapter 1 | GROWN OR SHRUNK?

A draftsman can work magic with proportions: he/she can make something or someone seem gigantic by drawing the world around it relatively small or vice versa. The result can be funny, dreamy or creepy. In the following examples I have chosen the combination of an animal and a human figure. The frog, the ant and the snail have grown enormously or the human figure has shrunk incredibly.

Exercise: 
Draw two figures/objects. One of the two has grown or shrunk enormously! You can use one of my simplified animals but you can also choose buildings or objects.

Suggestion: Exercise 1 can also be done very well in the collage technique. Instead of drawing everything, you work with cut-out images. See also the lesson Collage, level 3. 

Creating an environment

In my previous examples, the frog, the ant, the snail and the human figure are each time drawn next to each other. In the following example, a whole environment has been created: parts of the rabbit are hidden/overlapping by a car, a ladder and a house. The skyscraper on the left is half behind the rabbit. This gives the drawing depth.

In my last example I first drew the basic shape of a turtle as lightly as possible. Then I drew the mountains in front of and behind. I erased the lines of the turtle that were still visible behind the mountains. The added buildings and the boat emphasize the gigantic size of the turtle. Perhaps this turtle was on its way to the sea and has finally arrived.

EXTRA: draw an animal that appears incredibly huge because of the environment that you draw around it, so not only next to it but also in front of and behind it.