When buying matboard or cardboard, choose a neutral color rather than a bright one. A brightly-colored frame will distract from the view inside.

Tip!

Resource: 4.1.R1 How to Use a Viewfinder Frame

Supplies: acid-free matboard or cardboard of any size, utility knife, ruler, two large paper clips

1. Use a ruler and a utility knife to cut two identical L-shaped pieces of matboard (or cardboard).

Each L-shaped piece of matboard needs to be cut perfectly square (Figure 1).

Keep in mind that the wider your frame, the easier it will be to block unwanted objects from your view.

Figure 1

Make a Viewfinder Frame

Construct a viewfinder frame to help you choose ideal compositions for your drawings

Level: Beginner Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 7.7Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease: 67.6Drawspace Curriculum 4.1.A1 2 Pages and 2 Illustrations

ISBN 978-0-9878229-2-5Copyright 2015 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including

electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

Tip!

Consider making three or four viewfinders in different sizes:

Small ones are great for planning compositions from photos.

Large ones are ideal for planning compositions from your studio or in the great outdoors.

2. Use two large paper clips to join the two pieces together to form a frame (Figure 2).

Simply loosen the paper clips and adjust the L-shaped pieces to the shape and size you want.

You can turn your viewfinder to either a vertical (portrait) drawing format as shown in Figure 2, or a horizontal (landscape) drawing format

Figure 2

ISBN 978-0-9878229-2-5Copyright 2015 Drawspace Publishing and Brenda Hoddinott. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transferred, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including

electronic, digital, mechanical, recording, photographing, photocopying, or otherwise, without the purchase of a licence from drawspace.com or the prior written consent of Brenda Hoddinott and Drawspace Publishing.

2 Drawspace Curriculum 4.1.A1:Make a Viewfinder Frame