PENCILS & LEADHOLDERS

 

Wood graphite pencils and mechanical pencil holders use leads that vary in diameter from 0.3mm to 0.9 mm. 
Leads are distinguished into various types ranging form the hardest (9H) to the softest (6B), where H is the code for hard and B is the code for soft.

 

                                                                LEAD GRADE CHART

 

9H       8H       7H       6H       5H       4H       3H       2H       H         F          HB      B         2B       3B       4B       5B       6B

 

            hard                                                                            medium                                                                      soft

 

 

The harder (9H – 4H) leads are used for drawings that require a high degree of accuracy such as charts, diagrams, graphical computations, and mechanical drawings.

 

The medium (3H-B) leads are commonly used for architectural plans, sketches and lettering.

 

The soft (2B-6B) leads are mainly used for freehand sketches and architectural renderings.

 

The quality of  the line weight you will achieve with each kind of lead may vary by brand and the kind of paper you use, and may also be affected by climatologically changes.

 

 

LETTERING

 

 

 

Projects in ARCH 1412 deal mostly with precision and presentation. To achieve a higher level of communication, lettering our projects neatly is paramount. A thing as simple as lettering will make your projects more professional.
When lettering your projects, please try to follow a few simple rules.   Use guidelines as follows:

 

1.                          Keep the height of your  lettering between 1.5 and 2 blocks (of the blue graph paper with 8 divisions per inch). In particular, for your title blocks. Do not take away from your design by making huge letters that draw too much attention. Making letters that are only one block high or less are simply too small.

 

2.                            Keep the width of your letters to no less than 1 block, and no more than 2. The only exception to this should be the letter “I”. Letters that are 1 wide include “F,” “N,” “A,” and so on. Letters that are 2 wide are pretty much only “W” and “M.” These widths should also go for your numbers.

 

 

3.                            Keep the spacing between letters to about a half  block between each letter. Anything less is simply too close together, and only seems to detract from a project. When you go above that you also have to be very careful. (S p r e a d I n g  y o u r  w o r d s  o u t  l I k e  t h I s  c a n m a k e  t h e m  s e e m  l I k e  t h e y  a r e j u s t  o n e  l o n g  w o r d.)

 

4.                            When spacing between lines, try and keep the spaces between 1 block and 1.5 blocks. If you choose to go below this, do not go to less than half a block. If you choose to go above this, do not go beyond 2 blocks. Really large line spaces should not be used because they give the effect that the project is being done by someone in grade school.

 

 

5.                            Keep your lettering consistent throughout your sheets. When a person is reading and the letters change size throughout the sentences, it looks completely and totally unprofessional. Draw yourself some guidelines lightly on the paper, and pay attention to the width and spacing of the letters. If you have to, use a ruler or your parallel bars to help you in your lettering.

 

6.                            Finally, remember that your numbers are a direct extension of your lettering. They are the same thing, and need to be the same height and width as your lettering.

 

In this class, we need to really pay close attention to details, and lettering is a detail that we as architecture students need to try and perfect. Eventually you will be able to letter without help of rulers and such, but until then you need to practice and if you have to use rulers. Work on style and don’t go too slow or you may end up with shaky lettering. Try practicing as fast as you can at times. Get a feel for what you are doing and make your lettering a natural thing for you to do.

 

(prepared  by D. Prutske)