Magicians have their secrets but they won’t tell. It’s a sworn oath for magicians not to tell the audience how a trick is done. There are 3 secrets though that they’ve shared all throughout the years. Here are their 3 secrets.

The first secret is that some tricks are done through sleight of hand. These are ways with which they skillfully hide an object and make it reappear on another hand. New magicians hide things up their sleeves. Those are old tricks and very few used them now.

Sleights of hand require a lot of practice to master. Beginners of magic use specially created gimmicks to create the illusion. Professional magicians make use of their impressive sleight of hand. It requires a lot of time, patience and hand coordination to fully understand and do.

Another secret is the art of misdirection. See this blank paper? And as audience looks at the blank paper, he is carefully getting another piece with his other hand. This is misdirection. Another type of misdirection is the kind that doesn’t let the audience see what’s really causing the tricks. You might have seen that a magician has a lot of assistants who also do incredible stuff, but what you didn’t know is that they are helping the magician perform the magic just with their presence.

Another kind of misdirection is the appropriate use of words. For example, a magician will tell you to look at the ‘empty’ box. We tend to look at the box as empty just because he said it. This causes our mind to wonder when the magician gets a rabbit out of it.

Misdirection takes a lot of practice and lots of time in planning. It requires body coordination (one body doing something while the other is doing another thing) and quick thinking. Misdirection is an art and magicians are proud of it.

Another secret is their patter or a magician’s constant talk. Misdirection is achieved mostly because of patter. The magician will ask you to look at his right hand and as you are looking, you won’t notice what his left hand is doing. This is a really clever way to achieve the illusion that what happens next becomes so magical with the wink of an eye.

Patter usually takes the form of a story, where a magician will tell you of something that happened to him someday. Sometimes it’s so funny that we actually forget to look at what their hands are doing or what their assistants are giving them.

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Copyright 2006 Todd Harris

Proportion is a word often associated with another word for artists, stress. But I’m here to share with you that it doesn’t have to be a stressful word. Can this really be true? A simple way to warp speed techniques when measuring proportion? Yes, I'm here to say that it is true.

Proportion…How big should the head be? How long should the legs? How long should I draw this line? These are questions, we as artists, face everyday. It doesn't matter what kind of artist you are...getting the most out of figure drawing with accurate proportions will explode your art to new levels. There are several tools and methods to help artists with proportions. Without correct proportions, your figure will be inaccurate and lacking at best.

There are certain proportion formulas, such as the figure being a certain many heads tall, or the head of the figure being so many eyes wide.

I like to know these formulas and use them as a guide. The human form being so individual you can never go strictly off of these formulas alone. As an artist, it’s important to know these formulas to be able to recognize the deviations from the formulas in the model/subject you are drawing.

Measuring

Measuring is a little bit different for every artist. It is a tool for proportions not to overlook. Just as someone aiming a poolstick or firing a gun does it differently than the next person, so goes it for the artist. Some artists, while measuring, will shut the left eye and some the right, while others will keep both eyes open (just never keep both shut LOL). You’ll need to see what’s right for you. Then, hold your pencil between your thumb and fingers with your fingers wrapped around the pencil. Measure from the top of your thumb to the end of your pencil. You can hold your pencil vertical or horizontal for this technique, keeping it at shoulder high.

Your measurement from your thumb to the end of your pencil may only be ½ inch, but on your drawing it could be an inch or more. All of your measurements are comparative. For example, if an artist wants to know how long a leg is, he can compare it’s length with the length of the subjects head. Using the measurement method we discussed with the pencil, it’s easy to compare.

These simple methods, once applied, will soar your drawings, paintings or whatever you are working on. The advice practice, practice, practice, coupled with masterful technique will help you advance your art quickly and masterfully more than anything else.

This is a brief overview on proportions and measuring. For more information on proportions, measurements, drawing people or faces, and much more…Please email us at info@learning2draw.com.

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Stop for just a second, take a look around you and ask yourself if this is the quality of life you were hoping for. If you answered “No”, then my question to you is “why not?” “What are you doing to change your life?” Most people who have been asked what they’ve done to change their lives say “it’s no use because…..” and so it goes…. excuses.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The first step in getting out of the rut is to stop making excuses and assume responsibility for the quality of your life. You can change your life situation today. How do I know? I know because others have done it. There will always be obstacles, but none that can’t be overcome. The only requirement is the desire to change. Mark Twain once said “It's not the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog.” If your “want to” is strong enough, you can achieve almost anything you set your mind to.

The second step to getting out of the rut is step out in faith and, as the Nike commercial says, “Just do it”. There is no time like the present to change course. You might not succeed the first time, but you must keep trying. Success will come with persistence. Remember the old saying “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Don’t worry about making a mistake. Albert Einstein once said “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

So step out. Take a chance, and as William Durant, the founder of General Motors said “Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you're going to do now and do it.”

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