• Home
  • About

ArtPlantae Today

Connecting artists, naturalists, and educators

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Nature Illustration at Freedom Park Interpretive Center
Picture This…Teaching & Learning You Can See »

Tips & Tools: Proportional or Academic Dividers?

March 13, 2013 by Tania Marien

Cesieco Deluxe Proportional Divider

Cesieco Deluxe Proportional Divider


A reader asks
:

What kind of dividers do you use? Proportional dividers or the academic dividers you can buy at the art supply store? If you own both kinds, do you use one more than the other? Which one is the wisest investment for someone new to botanical art? Thank you.

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in botanical art, drawing, Education, Learning Opportunities | 5 Comments

5 Responses

  1. on March 13, 2013 at 12:46 PM Rebecca

    I wouldn’t even mess with the academic dividers as the proportional ones are going to be so much more useful and will satisfy any measuring you will be doing. There will be a time (more than you think) when you will need to enlarge or reduce something and you will be very glad you got them. The biggest problem is the cost and availability…they are getting hard to find. Sometimes you can find some really nice antique ones if you have time to search them out.


    • on March 13, 2013 at 12:58 PM ArtPlantae Today

      I bought my proportional divider from Jerry’s Artarama many years ago. It was $75 back then. I just checked and they still sell a proportional divider. The current price is $99.99. (no affiliation, just checking to see if they still sold them).


  2. on March 13, 2013 at 1:47 PM Martin

    When I was starting in botanical art I used a pair of very cheap dividers that I had kept from my school days to measure the size of the plant material I was drawing. It was only when I got much better that I thought it was worth investing in a pair of proportional dividers.

    Whilst there is something very satisfying and exciting about being able to draw something accurately and twice the size with proportional dividers, beginners sometimes think that buying all the best equipment will make their art good instantly; at the start I think it’s practise that makes all the difference.

    If money is a consideration then I’d start with cheap equipment all round, with the exception of a brush with a decent point, until you are sure you really want to do a lot of botanical art. However, if you are sure that botanical art is for you then some good proportional dividers are the wisest investment and always a joy to use.


  3. on March 19, 2013 at 5:37 PM Sharon Nelson

    What is the actual difference between the proportional divider and the academic divider?


    • on March 19, 2013 at 8:21 PM ArtPlantae Today

      Proportional dividers allow you to reduce or enlarge the scale of an object (here is a video on YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9MS10cY734).

      The instructions that came with my divider also has instructions about how to use proportional dividers to:

        a) divide a given length into equal parts
        b) divide the circumference of a circle into equal parts
        c) construct an angle

      Here is a site about proportional dividers and mathematical instruments that is interesting – http://www.mathsinstruments.me.uk/page65.html



Comments are closed.

  • I’m curious about…

  • What Readers Are Reading Now

    • Earn a Professional Certificate in Natural Science Illustration at the University of Washington
    • Today's Botanical Artists On Using Photographs
    • California
    • Washington DC
    • How to Draw Plants for Documentation
  • Plants & You

  • Featured Guests

    Wendy Hollender (interview)

    Wendy Hollender

    Gilly Shaeffer

    Today’s Botanical Artists

    Society of Botanical Artists

    Billy Showell (interview)

    Billy Showell

    Sarah Simblet (webinar)

    Robin Brickman

    Mark Granlund

    Wendy Hollender (webinar)

    Diane Cardaci

    Katie Lee (webinar)

    Bruce L. Cunningham (webinar)

    Jane LaFazio (interview)

    Jane LaFazio

    Mally Francis (interview)

    Kandis Elliot

    Anne-Marie Evans

    Margaret Best

    Elaine Searle

    Mindy Lighthipe

    Niki Simpson

    Anna (Knights) Mason

    Helen Allen

    Birmingham Society of
    Botanical Artists

    Hazel West-Sherring

    John Muir Laws

    Martin J. Allen

    Institute for Analytical Plant Illustration

    Mairi Gillies

    Georgius Everhardus Rumphius

    Liz Leech

    Valerie Littlewood

    Heeyoung Kim

    Anna Laurent

    Linda Ann Vorobik

    Shawn Sheehy

    Gary Hoyle

    Katie Zimmerman

    Mariella Baldwin

    Anita Walsmit Sachs

    Ruth Ava Lyons

    Katie Zimmerman

    Kellie Cox-Brady

    Jennifer Landin

    Laurence Hill

    Gretchen Kai Halpert

    Susan Leopold

    Tina Scopa

  • Global Impact

    Botanists and illustrators strive to document conifers around the world.

  • Nature Near You

    Global Directory of Botanical Gardens
    Botanic Gardens Conservation International
    Search for a Garden

    National Park Service
    Search for national parks at the National Park Service website.www.nps.gov

    National Environmental Education Foundation's Nature Center Guide.
    Find Your Nature Center

    Rails-to-Trails
    Find a trail for hiking, walking, cycling or inline skating. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and its volunteers work to convert unused railroads into trails for healthful outdoor activities.
    Search their national TrailLink database to locate a trail near you.

    Sierra Club Trails
    Locate trails for hiking, cycling, climbing, and many other outdoor activities.
    Search Sierra Club Trails

  • © 2007-2022 by Tania Marien. All rights reserved.
    Contact Tania

    Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Artists retain the copyright to their work.

    The ArtPlantae® logo is a registered trademark.

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • ArtPlantae Today
    • Join 1,788 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • ArtPlantae Today
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: