5/27/2019 Geometric Design: The Basics

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DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION > GEOMETRIC

Geometric Design: The

Basics
by Joumana Medlej 28 Nov 2014 Di culty: Beginner Length: Long Languages: English

Geometric Drawing Drawing Theory

This post is part of a series called Geometric Design for Beginners.

Geometric Design: Working With 4 and 8

What You'll Be Creating

In earlier civilizations, science (math in particular), religion, and art were not
separate. We don't even have a word for the broad and uid eld they formed
together, but we can get a feel for it by gazing at any of the many astounding
works of geometric art which have survived till now, and are usually part of a
sacred structure.

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The north rose window in the Notre Dame cathedral, Paris.

Geometry is nothing but numbers made visible. In fact it is the very rst
manifestation of numbers, well before shorthand symbols—1,2,3—were created
for them. Early geometers understood the relationships between numbers by
looking at the way geometric shapes related to each other, and as numbers
were deeply meaningful, so were the patterns emerging from them charged
with meaning. The two-dimensional, abstract nature of geometry was
understood as being one step closer to the zero-dimensional, unknowable
Divine than our physical world, and its beauty was quite literally out of this
world.

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Tessellated pattern in the Alhambra, Spain. Photo by Gruban.

The fascination with geometry and mathematical patterns is reemerging today:

we can see it in the growing popularity of fractal art. There is no need, however,
for special software to create highly complex geometric designs, and it is in
fact deeply satisfying, even meditative, to slowly draw them out of the white
nothingness of a sheet of paper, as we are going to do in these tutorials. 

We will start with the building blocks of geometry, mastering simple

constructions during the rst few lessons. Then we will move on to patterns
and more elaborate constructions, and the last few lessons will tackle truly
complex, but rewarding, works of geometry.

Terminology
To begin with, let us de ne a few terms that will come up regularly in these
lessons. You are probably already familiar with several of them.

A circle is the simplest geometric shape, a closed curve where all points
are the same distance from the center.
A diameter is any line that connects two points on a circle and passes
through the center.
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A radius is any line that connects the center of a circle to its

circumference (practically speaking, this is our compass opening when
drawing a circle).
A chord is any line that connects two points on a circle, without passing
through the center.
A semicircle is exactly half a circle.
An arc is any segment of circle that is not a semicircle.
A tangent is a line that just touches a circle in a single point.

An acute angle is smaller than 90º.

A right angle is exactly 90º, and the little square marked inside it is the
conventional way of indicating a right angle on a diagram.
An obtuse angle is bigger than 90º.
A triangle is any closed shape with three straight sides. A random
triangle, as opposed to the next three, is also called a scalene triangle.
The sum of the angles in any triangle is always 180º.
A right triangle has one right angle. The other two angles don't have to be
equal, and the sides vary.
An isosceles triangle has two equal sides (equal lengths are indicated by
dashes on a diagram).
An equilateral triangle has three equal sides, and its three angles are also
equal (60º).

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A quadrilateral is any closed shape with four straight sides. The sum of
angles in a quadrilateral is always 360º.
A rectangle is a quadrilateral with four right angles. By necessity, the two
sides opposite each other are parallel and the same length.
A square is a specialized rectangle where all four sides are equal.
A rhombus also has four equal sides, with the two opposite each other
parallel, but no right angles.
The next eight shapes are polygons (closed shapes with more than four
sides) with ve, six and up to 12 sides. All their sides and angles are
equal.

Tools
Geometry was originally practiced with nothing but a rope and pegs, so it really
doesn't require fancy tools, only accurate ones, when working on paper. You
only need three things: a pencil, a straight edge, and a compass.

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Pencils
A basic lead pencil is perfectly adequate for the job, but don't just grab the rst
one you nd: it needs to be the right hardness. In the picture below you'll notice
the label HB on the orange pencil, and 6H on the grey one. These are indicators
of hardness. B indicates a soft lead, and the higher the number (4B, 5B), the
softer. 

A soft lead will leave a darker mark that does not score the paper, but smudges
easily. H indicates a hard lead, similarly graded, that will only leave a light mark,
and not smudge, but will score the paper if pressed too hard. HB, obviously, is a
happy middle.

When constructing geometric patterns, you don't want soft pencils! The reason
is that dark construction lines quickly get confusing, and smudging is

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inevitable. Soft leads also lose sharpness very quickly, resulting in either
constant sharpening, or loss of accuracy when drawing. 

What we want, instead, is to build up the drawing with light construction lines,
and use a softer pencil to pick out the nal lines of the patterns. This is what
these two pencils are for: the 6H remains sharp a long time and makes a very
light line, over which nal lines made by the HB really stand out. 

For very complicated patterns, an intermediate darkness of line can be added

in‑between, for instance a 3H or 2H. It is important, however, to learn to draw
lightly with H pencils, because they do score the paper and that's a mark that
can't be rubbed out. When penciling is complete, the pattern can either be
inked, and the pencil then rubbed out, or painted, which will cover the pencil, or
transferred to a completely clean sheet of paper using tracing paper if so
desired.

The advantage of traditional lead pencils is their affordability, but the downside
is how frequently they need sharpening, and their impact on the environment.
An alternative which I personally prefer is a good 2mm mechanical pencil (aka
clutch pencil or leadholder), such as the one pictured below, with a special
sharpener and boxes of leads. You can have just one such pencil and
interchange leads as needed. Avoid those with thinner leads, such as 0.5 mm,
because they can't be sharpened to a real point (0.5 mm is pretty blunt for our
purposes!) and because you won't have a choice of hardness or softness.

Straight Edge or Ruler

Strictly speaking, measurements are never used in geometry as they are not as
accurate as proper constructions, and we are never going to use them in this
course. We would have to go out of our way, though, to nd a straight edge
without measurement markings, so we might as well pick a good ruler. 

For precision tools, you can't go wrong with brands that cater to architects, and
every art shop will have at least one of those. You might wonder, wouldn't any
ruler be good enough? Well, no: markings may not matter so much, but
straightness is very important!

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Here is how to test a ruler's straight edge: draw a line along the edge of the
ruler, then turn the ruler around and draw a line on top of the rst one along the
same edge. I have tested this below with a trusty ruler I have been using since
1997:

Let's have a close-up look: see how the line is still de nitely a single line? This
means the edge is perfectly straight.

Next I tested it with a metal edge, and you'll see why such edges are okay for
cutting but should never be used for precision work.

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In the close-up above, see how the line splits towards the right? If the whole
image could t on this screen, you would see that even though the two lines
are drawn along the same edge, they enclose a narrow space, indicating that
the edge is slightly curved. Just what we want to avoid!

Compass
Our most interesting and most important tool is also the most costly one, but a
good compass is worth its weight in gold and will last a lifetime. It's always
ne to use a cheaper school-type compass for learning, of course, and upgrade
when moving on to serious work (or when you get too frustrated with the lack
of precision).

A compass basically has two legs connected by a hinge: one leg ends in a
needle point, the other in a pencil point. The pencil leg can be adjusted to
obtain different openings, and turned while the needle point is held steady on
the paper, which creates a circle. It is entirely possible to create complex
geometric gures with nothing but a compass, replicating the rope-and-pegs
methods used in architecture a long time ago.

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What to Look for in a Compass

1. A screw mechanism to change the compass opening (or at least a screw

to tighten the hinge so that it stays put once you've set the desired
opening). You do not want a compass that opens and closes easily,
because the opening will inevitably change while you work.
2. An interchangeable pencil end. The end of the right arm of the compass
above can be taken off and replaced with the little gadget on the right, in
which any drawing tool can be inserted: pencil, pen, ruling pen, or even
brush. This is incredibly useful, as the alternative would be to ink or color
the lines freehand, endangering the perfection of the curve.
3. An extension arm: This is the longer accessory at the bottom. It makes it
possible to draw much larger circles. For instance, this compass can
manage a circle with a radius of around 25 cm, but the extension arm
stretches this to 35 cm.

Some compasses don't have a lead like this one does, but are designed to be
tted with a pencil. That's ne: it is then a matter of personal preference,
subject to the same pros as cons as I have explained when comparing
traditional pencils to mechanical pencils.

Tips for Using a Compass

Cover your work surface with a large piece of card or mount board (at
least the size of your paper), both to protect it from the needle point, and
also so that the point can penetrate enough to stay in its place. Otherwise
it can get very frustrating, as it'll keep slipping out. 
Place the needle or dry point, with great precision, where you want it to be,
and then hold the handle (at the top) between thumb and fore nger to
rotate it and create a circle. Getting a nice, even circle this way may take
some practice at rst—that's normal. Try to keep the compass reasonably
upright while you draw. Never hold the compass with one leg in each
hand, as that alters the opening.
I must stress this: take great care to place the needle point accurately, and
to keep the pencil end sharp. The reason some people are good at
geometry and some aren't is all down to precision.

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Basic Constructions
That's enough theory, let's start drawing! Gather your tools and some cartridge
paper, and let's get started.

Diagrams Legend
In the construction diagrams throughout the course, I use the following types
and colours of lines. Here is what they mean:

Triangle (on a Given Side)

This is how to proceed if you're starting from a line segment, which means you
already have one of the sides of the triangle.

Step 1

Dry point on A, draw an arc from B.

Step 2 

Dry point on B, draw an arc from A to nd the third point C.

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Step 3

Join. If your compass opening is larger or smaller than AB, the triangle is
isosceles.

Triangle (in a Circle) 

If you have a given circle and you need to inscribe an equilateral triangle in it
(meaning its three points will be on the circle), follow these steps:

Step 1 

Draw a line through the center, cutting the circle at A and B.

Step 2

With the same compass opening, draw an arc that cuts the circle at points C
and D.

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Step 3 

Join BCD.

Perpendicular Bisector
This technical-sounding term refers to a line that does two things: it divides a
segment (or an angle) in two equal lengths (or angles), and it is at a right angle
to the segment it divides. This is a rather important device and is frequently
used in the process of constructing other gures.

Step 1

With the point on A and the compass opening equal to AB, draw an arc.

Step 2

Repeat with the point on B. The two arcs intersect above and below.

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Step 3 

Join the two intersection points. The segment is now bisected and O is the
mid-point between A and B.

Tangent Through a Point on a Circle

If you have a given point (P) on a circle and need to draw the tangent through
this particular point:

Step 1 

Start by drawing the diameter that passes through P and the center O, and cuts
the circle at another point A.

Step 2

Set your compass opening to the distance AP, place the point on O and draw a
large arc, almost a semicircle. It cuts the line AP at B.

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Step 3 

Without changing the compass opening, place the point on B and cut the arc at
C and D.

Step 4

The line CD is your tangent at P.

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Tangent to a Circle From an Outside Point

Suppose now that P is a point outside the circle and you need to draw the
tangent that passes through it:

Step 1

Join the segment PO.

Step 2

Bisect PO at point A.

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Step 3 

With the dry point on A and the opening set to AO, cut the circle at points B and
C.

Step 4

PB and PC are the two possible tangents from point P.

Parallel (Through a Given Point)

Parallel lines are lines that never touch, so they travel in exactly the same
direction. If your schooling was anything like mine, you were taught a vague
shortcut to drawing them, but always ended up just relying on the grid printed
inside your copybook. This, however, is the right and proper way of getting true
parallels!

Let us start with a given line and suppose we have an outside point P through
which the parallel needs to pass.

Step 1

With P as the center, draw any arc to cut the line at A.

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Step 2

With the same compass opening, put the point on A and mark point B.

Step 3 

Now place the point on B to draw an arc that passes through A and cuts the
rst arc at C.

Step 4

The line PC is your parallel.

Parallels (at a Given Distance)

Slightly more tricky is to draw a parallel at a speci c distance from the original
line.

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Step 1

Start by marking two pairs of points on the line. Distances are not speci c, but
the further the pairs are from each other, the more accurate the result.

Step 2

Find the bisector for each pair of points.

Step 3

Open your compass to the desired distance and mark that distance on each of
the two bisectors.

Step 4

Join.

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Dividing a Segment
We'll nish this rst lesson with a very nifty method to divide a segment into a
number of equal parts. This is useful of course if you don't have a ruler with
markings at hand, but even a ruler is no help if you have a segment measuring
5.63 cm which you need to divide into seven sections. This method is
completely accurate and will spare you awkward calculations.

In the following example, we want to cut a segment AB into seven.

Step 1

Draw two arcs with the point on A and B respectively. Their radius doesn't
matter as long as they intersect.

Step 2

Join A with one of the intersections and B with the other. This results in two
parallel lines.

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Step 3

What we're going to do now is mark evenly-spaced points on each parallel,

using the compass. The opening doesn't matter but keep it small so all the
points t on the line. Their number is [number of segment portions minus 1],
which in the case of our example, is 7–1 = 6 points. Here the rst point is
marked from A.

Step 4

Move the compass point to the point just marked, and mark another, then
repeat till six points are marked, then do the same starting from B.

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Step 5

Connect the points, and the lines cut the segment into seven equal parts.

So, we have taken our rst steps into geometry as an art, with basic operations
that will come in handy in future lessons or in your own explorations. Next time
we will be jumping right into actual shapes and patterns, working with the
numbers 4 and 8...

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Joumana Medlej
London, UK

Joumana Medlej is a Lebanese calligraphy artist, trained by a master in

Beirut and now living in England. Her body of work encompasses
drawing tutorials, graphic design, illustration, comic books, digital
games and children's literature.

joumajnouna

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mintcake • 4 years ago

I love this series of tutorials Thank you very much!
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Joumana Medlej > mintcake • 4 years ago

My pleasure!
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This comment was deleted.

Joumana Medlej > Guest • 4 years ago

That's great to hear! The lessons are posted monthly, so you can expect the
next towards the end of this month. It's already written and in our editors'
hands.
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Andrew • 4 years ago

What Compass is that in the picture? Could you recommend some good brands?
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Joumana Medlej > Andrew • 4 years ago

This is a Linex, a Danish brand, and I also use an Ecobra. It's hard to know
what's available in different parts of the world, but Rötring and Faber-Castell
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what s available in different parts of the world, but Rötring and Faber Castell
would also be reliable brands.
△ ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Andrew > Joumana Medlej • 4 years ago

Thanks for you response. I own a Rotring mechanical pencil so maybe
I'll go that route since I am familiar with them.
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noel • 4 years ago

I enjoy this. I love maths and science, and learning about them, its a strong tool for
learning drawing, painting, and art in general.
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Joumana Medlej > noel • 4 years ago

I agree!
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Samantha Zinn Sáenz • 4 years ago

I am studying this in my high school, we call it technical drawing :)
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Joumana Medlej > Samantha Zinn Sáenz • 4 years ago

While this can be a basis for technical drawing (i.e architectural and
engineering diagrams), the term doesn't apply to where we're heading :)
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alicia_hermelibus • 4 years ago

Great!
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Joumana Medlej > alicia_hermelibus • 4 years ago

Yay!
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Leandro Rossa • 4 years ago

Wow! Awesome! I feel like start drawing in order to learn these concepts.
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Joumana Medlej > Leandro Rossa • 4 years ago

Go for it!

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