Ruler, French curve and ellipse guide in Easel by Zaweba
Easel by Zaweba has a ruler, French curve, ellipse guide, compass, proportional dividers and a grid for straight lines, curves and true proportions.
Freehand is lovely, but nobody draws a perfect ellipse or a long straight line every time. Draughtsmen, architects and illustrators have always used drawing aids, and Easel by Zaweba has a set of its own: a ruler, a French curve, an ellipse guide, a compass, proportional dividers and a grid.
These turn Easel from a loose painting studio into something you can also use for technical drawing, lettering and careful construction.
Ruler
The ruler is for straight lines. Horizons, buildings, the edges of a table, a frame around a picture. Lay it down and draw along it with whatever tool you like: a pencil, a technical pen, a ruling pen, even a brush.
A painter's trick is to use the ruler for the lines that must be straight and freehand for everything else. A building with ruled verticals and loose brushwork on the walls looks both believable and lively.
French curve
A French curve is a template of smooth, varied curves. You slide it until part of its edge matches the curve you want, then draw along it. It is the traditional tool for fashion drawing, car and product design, boat hulls and any long, flowing curve that has to be smooth.
Ellipse guide
The ellipse guide is particularly handy. Strokes that start on it follow it. So you can draw a clean ellipse simply by starting a stroke on the guide and going round.
Ellipses are everywhere in drawing: the tops of cups and bottles, wheels, plates, round windows, anything circular seen at an angle. They are also hard to draw well freehand. The guide gives you a true ellipse every time.
Compass and proportional dividers
The compass draws circles and arcs. Use it for wheels, clock faces, mandalas, rose windows and geometric design.
Proportional dividers are an old tool for scaling. You measure a length on one end and the other end shows the same length scaled up or down. Artists use them to copy proportions from a photo or a small sketch to a larger canvas. They are a good way to check that a face or figure is in proportion.
The grid
A grid lays out regular squares over the canvas. It is the simplest way to scale up a drawing: put a grid over your reference and a matching one over the canvas, then copy square by square. It is also handy for planning compositions, centering a design and keeping lettering level.
Getting the most from them
Use the drawing aids with the tracing sheet. Guides and constructions can go on the sheet, which you can show or hide with Ctrl+H, so they never get in the way of the finished picture.
Don't let them take over. A drawing made entirely with rulers and curves can look mechanical. Use them for structure and leave room for freehand marks where character matters.
And choose the right tool for the line. A technical pen or fineliner along a ruler gives crisp architecture. A brush along a French curve gives a confident, sweeping stroke. With these aids at hand, Easel by Zaweba covers precise drawing as comfortably as it does loose painting.
