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Triangulation in art is a technique for how to draw, that is the single most important drawing technique you will ever learn. If you master this drawing technique you will be able to draw anything you want.
The contour drawing technique however, as taught in many popular books on how to draw, can actually hinder your ability to draw well. This is because it trains you to narrow your attention to a specific point on a curve and follow that curve and its changes of direction. This is training you to do the exact opposite of what you should be doing. If you want to learn how to draw accurately, you must always focus on seeing the big picture and the large relationships even while you are drawing a specific part. You start with these big relationships and first get them accurate. Then you progressively move to smaller and smaller relationships.
I have taught students how to draw using this method who had absolutely no drawing practice before and who were starting from ground zero. In two hours they learned the basic procedure for how to use this method. After one hour a day practice for one week they all learned to draw quite well, even though at the beginning of the week they could only draw simple stick figures and always drew with the proportions way off!
Using triangulation in art in portraits
Using triangulation in art, you can even draw the difficult drawing subjects such as heads and figures. However, if you want to draw figures and portraits really well (including animals) then you must also study structural anatomy. This is a much longer course of study and requires a lot more knowledge. Having said that though, if you master this triangulation technique, your figure drawings will be at least 95% accurate.
How to do triangulation in art
In triangulation, you compare the angles of the sides of a triangle formed by three points on your drawing with the same triangle on the subject. This results in accurate proportions. It is the single most important drawing technique to learn.
It is rather tedious to start with, but becomes very fast once you are proficient at it. Eventually you will be able to do it by eye without holding up a straight edge to compare angles.
You will practice the key skills in triangulation in the Virtual Art Academy Apprentice Program. Here are some examples of student submissions.
Here are more articles on drawing –
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you find it useful. If you would like to get free painting tips by email, please sign up for my free tips newsletter.
If you are interested in a structured approach for learning how to paint, take a look at my online painting classes.
Happy painting!
Barry John Raybould
Virtual Art Academy
What The Students Are Saying
A great learning platform
I have been working my way through the Virtual Art Academy for almost a year now, and cannot recommend it highly enough. The Workshops are thorough, structured and substantive. There is a logical and step by step progression that makes the learning process so much easier, with new concepts being introduced and then practiced along… Read more “A great learning platform”
It is wild to see how much I am learning in this course!
Five star rating from me for Virtual Art Academy (VAA)! I retired last year, and decided I wanted to spend my time in retirement learning how to oil paint. But having never painted before, I wasn’t even sure what to look for in an online painting course. However, I did some searches for “Best Online… Read more “It is wild to see how much I am learning in this course!”
comprehensive art education
I wanted to get a comprehensive art education with the freedom to work at my own pace. I’m several years into the curriculum and I feel like my work has drastically improved. I’ve found holes in my knowledge that I didn’t know I had. Critiquing other students posts and reading their feedback to mine has… Read more “comprehensive art education”
Only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice
Before repurposing my vocation into avocation, I spent 20 years in the corporate world as an instructional designer and performance consultant creating training curricula for diverse clientele from NASA to General Motors. I know curriculum development and how to guide a learner from beginning to certification. VAA is the only online learning program I have… Read more “Only online learning program I have ever discovered using a training industry best practice”
The small steps are easy to do
I am extremely impressed with the process that Barry has developed for VAA. Learning to paint can be intimidating, but when broken into many small projects it is very do-able. I just did my first live model painting session- a 5 hour, one day session. Thanks to VAA, I was able to break the painting… Read more “The small steps are easy to do”
An excellent foundation on so many aspects of painting
I never had formal training in painting and my style has always been very realistic, slow and not at all artistic, just a copy of a photograph. When I got word of the course available through Virtual Art Academy, I was very excited for the opportunity to learn what I never knew about painting. VAA… Read more “An excellent foundation on so many aspects of painting”
Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish
After weeks and even months of searching YouTube, “googling” and spending a fortune on art instructional books I finally came across the Virtual Art Academy®. When it comes to purchasing online I am always very careful how I spend my money. Especially when I already spent a small fortune on art books. They always seemed… Read more “Barry gave me a fishing rod so I can catch my own fish”
No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it
I finished the VAA course a few years ago, but always refer to the notes, rereading the course many times. This is not a course the day you are finished, you are done. No, you keep practising the assignments getting better and better over time. When I look back at my work when I had just… Read more “No need to buy expensive art books…. Just do the VAA 4 year course. I still refer to it”
The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost
This is a great course for anyone who is serious about improving their painting. I have been a student here for several years. When I am finished, I will have the equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost. I can do the lessons anywhere and at my own pace.… Read more “The equivalent of a 4 year art education at a fraction of the cost”