Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Proportion

D1.2 D1.3 D1.4 D2.2About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain proportion as the relationship of the size and shape of the parts of a figure to the whole figure.
  • I can use proportion guidelines to draw a believable human figure and face.
  • I can measure proportions by sighting with a pencil.
  • I can change proportion on purpose (exaggerate it) to show importance, feeling or humour.
  • I can plan a narrative art work using proportion and other principles of design.

Words to know

proportion
The relationship of the size and shape of the parts of a figure to the whole figure, and of objects to each other.
principle of design
A way of arranging the elements of design (line, shape, colour, value...) in an art work. This year's focus is proportion.
unit
A part you use to measure, like using the height of the head to measure a whole body.
sighting
Measuring with a pencil held at arm's length, to compare sizes of things you are drawing.
scale
How big something is compared with something else, or compared with real life.
exaggerate
To make something much bigger (or smaller) than it really is, on purpose.
narrative art work
An art work that tells a story.

Remember from Grade 4

Your principle of design last year was emphasis: creating a focal point using contrast, colour and placement. You also made a narrative art work that told a story.

This year's principle of design is proportion. Proportion helps your figures and scenes look believable, and when you break the rules on purpose, it helps you tell a story with feeling.

Something looks... wrong

Imagine a drawing of a hockey player with a tiny head, short arms that only reach the waist, and enormous feet. You'd probably laugh, or feel something is "off."

Our brains are experts at faces and bodies. We notice right away when the sizes of the parts don't fit the whole. That's proportion: the relationship of the size and shape of the parts of a figure to the whole figure.

Measuring a figure in "heads"

Artists often use the head as a measuring unit. Here are some common guidelines for drawing a standing adult:

  • An adult is about 7½ to 8 heads tall.
  • The hips (where the legs begin) are about halfway down the body.
  • The elbows line up with the waist.
  • With arms hanging down, the fingertips reach about the middle of the thigh.
  • The shoulders are about two heads wide on an adult man (often a bit less on a woman).

These are guidelines, not laws! Real people come in many shapes and sizes. Children have bigger heads compared with their bodies: a young child is only about 5 heads tall. That's one reason babies and little kids look so "cute" in drawings with big heads.

A wooden artist's mannequin stands on a table beside a sketchbook and a pencil.
Artists use mannequins like this to study proportion. Check the guidelines: are the hips about halfway down, and do the elbows line up with the waist? AI-generated image
12345678head = 1 unitelbows: waisthalfway: hipsfingertips:mid-thighfeetabout8 heads
An adult figure measured in head units: about 8 heads tall. One head is one unit. The elbows line up with the waist, the hips are halfway down (at the line between units 4 and 5), the fingertips reach mid-thigh, and the feet are at the bottom of unit 8.

Proportions of the face

Many beginners draw the eyes too high. Try these guidelines for a face seen from the front:

  • The eyes are about halfway between the top of the head and the chin.
  • The bottom of the nose is about halfway between the eyes and the chin.
  • The mouth is a little below the nose, about one-third of the way from the nose to the chin.
  • The ears fit between the eye line and the bottom of the nose.
  • The space between the eyes is about one eye wide.
top of headeyes: halfway downbottom of nosemouthears: eyes to nose
Face proportions: an oval head with a guideline halfway down where the eyes sit. A second guideline lower down marks the bottom of the nose. The mouth is a little below the nose, and the ears fit between the eye line and the nose line.

Sighting: measure with a pencil

When you draw from real life, how do you know how big to make things? Use sighting:

  1. Hold a pencil straight up, with your arm fully stretched (keep it straight every time).
  2. Close one eye.
  3. Line up the top of the pencil with the top of your model's head. Slide your thumb down to the chin. That's one head.
  4. Keep your thumb there and count how many "heads" tall the whole person is, or how many heads wide a table is.
  5. Use the same relationships in your drawing.

Breaking proportion on purpose

Sometimes artists change proportion on purpose to send a message:

  • Importance: making the most important person biggest (you saw this in ancient Egyptian art in Grade 4). A child might draw their hero much bigger than everyone else.
  • Feeling: huge, staring eyes can show fear or wonder. Tiny figures in a giant forest can show feeling small or lost.
  • Humour: cartoon characters often have giant heads and small bodies. Caricatures exaggerate one feature (a big smile, curly hair) in a funny but kind way.
  • Focus: a giant snowflake or a giant ladybug in a picture makes you look at nature up close.

The key is that it's a choice, not an accident.

Worked example

Example: Drawing a standing figure in proportion

Let's draw a grown-up standing at a bus stop, about 8 heads tall.

  1. Draw a light vertical line and mark 8 equal spaces on it, like a ruler. Each space is one head.
  2. Draw the head in space 1.
  3. Shoulders just below the head, about two heads wide. The chest and waist fill spaces 2 and 3; the hips come at the halfway mark (end of space 4).
  4. Draw the legs from the hips down to the bottom of space 8. The knees are about at the end of space 6.
  5. Draw the arms: elbows at the waist, fingertips at the middle of the thigh.
  6. Check: hold your drawing at arm's length. Does anything look too long or too short? Fix it before adding details.

Using the head as a unit keeps every part in proportion to the whole figure.

Worked example

Example: Planning a narrative art work with proportion

Plan an art work that tells the story "The day the snowstorm closed the school."

  1. The story moment: kids building a gigantic snow fort while the snow keeps falling.
  2. Realistic proportion: the kids are drawn about 6 heads tall (older children), and an adult shovelling the driveway is about 8 heads tall, so the people look believable.
  3. Exaggerated proportion on purpose: the snowbanks are enormous, taller than the house door. This shows how amazing the storm felt to the kids.
  4. Emphasis (Grade 4 principle): the brightest colour is a red toque on the child at the top of the fort, making a focal point.
  5. Explain it: "I used realistic proportions for the people so they look real, but I exaggerated the snowbanks to show how huge the storm felt. The red toque is the focal point."

Combining realistic proportion, exaggerated proportion and emphasis helps the picture tell its story.

Just for fun

What if you measured a snowman in "heads"? Most snowmen are only about 3 heads tall: a big ball, a medium ball and a head. Not quite 8, but very cool! ⛄

Hands-on activity

Proportion detectives

You need: a pencil, paper, a ruler or measuring tape, a piece of string or yarn, scissors (with a grown-up's help), and a family member.

Part 1: Measure in heads. Have someone measure your head height (top of head to chin) with a ruler. Cut a piece of string that length. How many "string heads" tall are you? How many heads tall is a grown-up in your family? Write the results. (Most kids your age measure fewer heads tall than adults.)

Part 2: Check the guidelines. Stand with your arms relaxed. Where do your fingertips reach? Where are your elbows? Are your eyes about halfway down your head? (Use a mirror!)

Part 3: Sighting. Use the pencil-sighting method to measure a family member sitting in a chair. How many heads tall are they when sitting?

Part 4: Narrative drawing. Draw a story scene from your life (a family celebration, a winter day, a trip). Draw people in proportion, then exaggerate one thing on purpose to show a feeling. Write: "I exaggerated ___ to show ___."

Your turn

1

What is proportion?

2

About how many heads tall is a standing adult?

3

Where are the eyes on a face seen from the front?

4

Where do the elbows line up?

5

Why do young children's heads look big in drawings?

6

What is sighting?

7

Give one reason an artist might exaggerate proportion on purpose.

More practice: warm-up

1

What body part do artists often use as a measuring unit?

2

True or false: Proportion guidelines are exact laws that fit every person.

3

Where are the hips on an adult figure?

4

Where do the fingertips reach when the arms hang down?

5

What is this year's principle of design?

More practice: on your own

1

A classmate drew a face with the eyes near the top of the head. What would you tell them?

2

An adult figure is drawn 16 cm tall. About how tall should the head be, if the figure is 8 heads tall?

3

In a picture, a cat is drawn bigger than the house behind it, but the cat is far away in the yard. Is that a proportion problem? Explain.

4

Why is it important to keep your arm straight every time you use sighting?

5

Explain how a cartoonist uses proportion differently from a realistic portrait artist.

Challenge

1

A figure is 7½ heads tall and its head is 4 cm. How tall is the whole figure? Where should the hips be?

2

Plan a narrative art work about feeling nervous on the first day of school, using exaggerated proportion. Explain your choices.

3

Explain how proportion and emphasis can work together in one art work.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Proportion is about ___.

2.

About how many heads tall is a standing adult, as an artist's guideline?

3.

On a face seen from the front, the eyes are about ___.

4.

A young child's head is ___ compared with their body than an adult's.

5.

To use sighting, you hold your pencil ___.

6.

An artist draws a tiny person next to a gigantic tree to show feeling small. This is ___.

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Proportion is the Grade 5 principle of design, described in the curriculum as the relationship of the size and shape of the parts of a figure to the whole figure. Students demonstrate an understanding of composition, using selected principles of design to create narrative art works or art works on a theme (D1.2), communicate ideas with the elements of design (D1.3), use a variety of materials, tools and techniques to solve design challenges (D1.4), and explain how elements and principles create meaning (D2.2).

How to help:

  • Be the model for measuring "in heads." Kids love discovering how many heads tall each family member is.
  • Look at cartoons and realistic portraits side by side and talk about how proportion changes the feeling.
  • Encourage light guidelines first; details come last.

Safety: help with scissors when cutting string.

Common difficulties:

  • Eyes too high on the face. Have your child feel their own face: the eyes are about halfway down.
  • Very short arms. Stand together with arms relaxed and notice where fingertips reach.
  • Sighting confusion. Practise on easy objects first (a door, a window) and remind them to keep the arm straight and one eye closed.
  • Feeling discouraged. Remind them that guidelines are just tools; exaggeration on purpose is a skill too.