How to draw a microscope in pencil: the order of drawing and coloring

A complex optical device for magnifying the smallest particles of organics and other objects, called a microscope. For the first time every schoolchild gets acquainted with this device in science and biology classes.

Children look at the structure of the cells of plants and learn about the wonderful world of living organisms, invisible to the usual eyesight. Images of this uncomplicated device often decorate classrooms, the covers of biology notebooks, books, and advertising brochures.

The stylized drawing of a microscope can often be seen in public places and medical facilities, where posters are hung calling for hygiene and the fight against dangerous germs.

Drawing Preparation

All materials necessary for work should be prepared in advance, so as not to be distracted by searching for an eraser or a pencil of the right color. Plain pencils should be stocked with different degrees of softness, marked with the letter B, and hardness, which is marked with the letter H.

At first light lines, without pressure are made with the hardest slate so as not to stain drawing with too rich soft ones. In addition, light traces of hard pencils are much easier to remove with an eraser before coloring.

It is necessary to decide right away in what technique the final result of drawing should be. For this purpose it is necessary to have a set of colored pencils, felt-tip pens and a pair of gel pens with different thickness of the rod.

If it is necessary to draw a microscope in the technique of painting, then any paints with which the artist prefers to work will do, including:

• water-based watercolor;
• a set of colored gouache;
• tempera;
• oil paints;
• acrylic-based tints;
• pastel crayons and others.

To depict the learning equipment realistic enough, you need to put in front of a real microscope for sketching, but if you can not do it, you can see his device in science textbooks or photos on the Internet.

The order of drawing

Having placed in front of him a photo of a microscope, if there is no real one at hand, you need to visually divide it into several main parts.

An ordinary school optical device consists of a flat base standing on a table, a vertical stand, most often curved outward, and a tube with lenses through which one observes the world of microparticles.

Drawing begins with an approximate distribution or layout of the main parts of the device on a sheet of paper. It is important to establish the correct angle of drawing at once and to outline the microscope with a pencil strictly in profile or with such an inclination that the object of study is visible, that is, looking at the table slightly from above.

When the position of the tube is outlined, an eyepiece can be drawn as a slightly flattened oval. Inside it will be a smaller oval, representing the lens through which the eye looks at the objects being studied.

The tube comes down from the eyepiece and is depicted with two parallel segments that end with a convex rounding at the bottom.

On the stand of the microscope there is a prism, thanks to which the necessary inclination of the tube during the work with the device is provided. It is necessary to begin to draw the prism with a rectangular triangle, located directly under the bottom curve of the tube. The right angle should be visible from the lower left edge.

The volume image of the prism will be obtained if you draw parallels up and to the right diagonally and connect them under the drawn tube. The lens is a small cylinder that comes out of the prism holder.

If you look at the microscope from above, the stand will be visible as a square or an oval, partially invisible because of the details above. It remains to complete the drawing with a G-shaped bracket with a handle to adjust the height of the eyepiece.

There are microscopes with two tubes on one holder and with mirror illumination.

A simple master class for children

The degree of difficulty of drawing a microscope for children is determined by age and degree of artistic training, but the simplest image of a technical object can be done in a few steps:

1. The stand of the optical device can be drawn at the bottom of the sheet, giving it a perspective image using an isosceles trapezoid.
2. On the right side of the trapezoidal stand you must find the point where the vertical stand comes out of it.
3. The support for the tube in the children's drawing can be depicted in the simple form of a banana, the lower part of which is fixed to the stand, and the upper part holds the tube with lenses on its weight.
4. To the upper end of the rounded stand it is necessary to draw an elongated rectangle, which will represent the tube, and at the place of their connection you can add a round lever to adjust the angle of inclination.
5. The top of the tube ends with an eyepiece, which in a simplified version can be shown with two rectangles that are gradually reduced in size compared to the width of the tube.
6. The bottom of the tube ends with a strip that extends slightly beyond the tube borders, showing the ocular element.
7. Below the eyepiece, along a diagonal line, there is a small glass stand that is also attached to the stand and is designed to hold the biological material. It can be depicted as a narrow rectangle.

Coloring the drawn device

When all proportions are found step by step in the process of constructing the microscope and the drawing is satisfactorily similar to the original in the presence of all necessary details, the child can begin coloring.

Superfluous lines should be removed with an eraser, leaving only the outlines of the main components of the device. For younger children, it would be more interesting to use different colors for coloring individual elements.

For example, the stand could be blue, the stand could be red, the holder could be yellow, and the lens tube could be green. Children accustomed since childhood to construct with colored plastic figures, it will be much clearer how the microscope is going to the same principle, with different colored parts.

This way it is easier for younger students to remember the names of the parts of the device, by the associative perception of their color. In the process of joint work on the drawing adults can tell about the structure of the optical device and its usefulness for learning about the world.

A child can paint his or her work with pencils or felt-tip pens, making it bright and memorable, and outline each color with a felt-tip pen or black marker.

Expanding one's horizons by means of joint creativity of adults and children can reflect on the choice of future profession or simply interest in the study of school subjects related to the natural sciences.

Drawing a Real Microscope

If the artist sets out to easily and simply portray a microscope as close to the real thing as possible, then the laws of drawing in perspective should be applied. It is also necessary to observe the proportional ratios of all parts of the device:

• When no real device is at hand, one can find a photograph of it or a good, detailed drawing of it. To try to draw without nature, one must know the microscope, as they say, by feel, and transfer its image from memory.
• Starting the drawing and looking at the microscope a little from above, you must draw a stand that stands on the surface of the table. From it comes out vertically a small stand to which a rounded holder is attached. The uppermost detail is the eyepiece, which can be depicted as a pair of ovals, one inside the other.
• From the upper oval lens downward, there are lines, slightly converging in perspective, limiting the volume of the tube.
• At the two ends of the holder, bent in the opposite direction from the viewing tube, there are always round knobs with which to adjust the tilt and turn of the optical device for easy observation of the objects below, on a special glass.

Often notches are made on the bracket on which the tube holder moves to remove or bring closer to the observed object to measure the multiplicity of magnification. Such detailing immediately makes the drawing more similar to the real device and emphasizes its technical purpose.

If by inexperience it is difficult to draw straight lines by hand, you can use a ruler, compass or a template with various geometric figures to make the drawing clear. The main thing is a few vivid lines to give the drawing a natural feel.

Photo of a drawn modern microscope in pencil