I am having trouble laying out large ovals on site signs. Have seen nails and string used to lay out but don't know the formula. Anyone have any suggestions or instructions? Thank you.
Posted by Terry Whynott (Member # 1622) on :
Bill Biggs put together a step by step of the panel he made for the Letterville Panel Swap. Included was the formula for laying out ovals.
Hope this helps! Posted by Jeff Ogden (Member # 3184) on :
Don't know if I can explain something that's done better with a picture, but here goes .
Put a center point in the middle of where you want the oval. Draw a horizontal line through it , and measure how far to each side you want the oval. Then draw a vertical line through the center, as high wide as you want the oval. Now take string and using your thumbs and forefingers, hold one end on the center point, and the other at the right side where you want the oval to be. On this end you should have a pencil pinched along with the string. Then, maintaining your hold on the string, move your left hand from the center to where you want the top of the oval. Hold the string up there, and swing the right hand so it intersects the hor. line. Now do the same on the left side. You should now have 2 points marked about a couple of inches in from each end of the Hor. line Now put a small nail in each point. Take the string and tie a loop in one end, and put it on the lefthand nail. Now wrap the string around the right hand nail loosely. Then go to the center point, and using a pencil, pull the string up until the pencil point is at the top of the oval. Now tie a knot on the string at the right hand nail. Now all you do is stick your pencil inside the string, and move it up the the top again, then slowly move pencil around the string, keeping an even pressure on the string in an outward direction. When you have gone in a complete cicle, you have just drawn an oval.The main variable is the string itself. It can stretch, so when you come around to the starting point, it may not meet exactly. This is why its best to find string or light cord that won't stretch. I have used heavy fishing line with success. Also light guage wire. But many times, when needing an oval, all I had was a snap line, so I just doubled or tripled it, to keep it from stretching. Also after doing this a couple of times, you get the hang of keeping an even outward pressure on the string as you go along
Whew, that was hard to describe. It's much easier to do than to say. Oh well, "hope this helped you, not confused you! Posted by John Lennig (Member # 2455) on :
FAR OUT!!!
1. I've used the "string oval" method for many years... but never knew the "formula" for it.Just keep pushin' the pjins here and there until I get something close!!!
2. Pictures are worth a 1000 words, but pictures AND WORDS are The Best!! ' 3. I was the recipient of Bill Biggs Panel, it hangs right above my lettering bench in my Basement Studio. THANKS BILL! Those words are So True!!!
4. Bill, your step by step is really complete, I've just quickly looked it over, as I'm starvin and got to go and make some late supper.
4. Letterville, there's no Town like it!!
John / SignRider
Posted by Mike Pulskamp (Member # 3475) on :
OK, Do I remember it wrong or is it an ellipse that you are talking about? Isn't an oval a rectangle that has convex semicircular short sides?
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
If you do a search on this site, there was at one time some very well done drawings showing this method.
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
The is in the Tips & Tricks section on the BB index page.
Oval Layouts Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
..............Tho' I have oft used that string method for big circles, I've never seen that for ovals, or ellipses....Man, I love this place!! I'm almost embarassed t' tell ya how I been doin' ovals...but I said "almost".....I have an ellipse template, it's about 5'x7' or so....(they do come larger and with more variations)...mine has about 10 or so oval shapes on it, (or I use the actual artwork)...I put it in my opaque projector (which distorts very little) and project the oval I want onto pattern paper or directly onto the sign panel....the minor distortion, if any, is easily corrected with that great sign painter/artist's eye, heh,heh. I too have used the method of drawing 1/4th of the arc and folding the pattern an' tracing to complete the line, but I like usin' that projector best, especially, when I already have artwork in the oval.
Posted by Sheila Ferrell (Member # 3741) on :
.....oh, by the way, ex.: an oval, say, 3"x5", at a distance of about 15' from the artboard, would project an oval up to 4' tall an' ever-how wide that works out to...if I needed it larger I could back up with the projector, or project in quarters..........too bad there's no "I dream of Jeanie" way to do this, huh?
Posted by Bill Cosharek (Member # 1274) on :
Or, you could just use a straight edge & pencil to draw your oval. I know that seems stupid, but it does work. I remember seeing it in an old SignCraft (I think) & there used to be a company that made a big plastic thing which served the same purpose. But all you really need is what I mentioned first. I'll try to explain as uncomplicated as possible.
If you have Bill Stewart's "Signwork", look on page 57 for the "Trammel Method". I've used this method many times & it works well if you can't puncture the surface using the string method. I'll try to explain without the help of pictures.
Begin by drawing a horizontal line the full distance you think the oval will cover. The lines should extend beyond the oval. Then draw a vertical line which dissects the other line at its center. Now place two marks (one at the top & one at the left) where you want the oval to go. These designate 1/2 of either axis. Using your straight edge, mark the long axis' outer edge & center locations. Now place the straight edge along the short axis with the long axis' outer edge mark placed on the short axis' outer mark. Now carefully mark the center line. Those three marks are all you need to construct the oval.
The long axis mark on the straight edge will be used as the guide for marking off the oval. The other two marks remain as close as possible to the horizontal & vertical lines. What you should end up with is a complete oval made up of dotted lines, which you'll connect later. There's no limit to how many dashes you need, but make sure you can draw from one to the next & maintain accuracy. Start by moving the guide a little bit & place a mark. Continue around until the oval is complete. Its quite simple, actually. You'll figure it out as you go - if any of this makes sense.
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