Italic Letters

All slanting or inclined letters are classified as Italics. Sometimes they are
referred to as either Roman Italics or Gothic Italics and the like. Like the Roman letters,
this is drawn with the use of styles C or D speedball pen.

Text Letters
These include all styles of old English, German text, Bradley text or other
various trade names. This is made with the use of style C speedball pen. This style is
often used on diplomas and certificates.

Figure 1.1. Parts of the Modern Roman letter A

LETTERING SECRETS

Beginners should practice their lettering with these secrets, as collected by

draftsmen who use Commercial Gothic lettering.

1. Guidelines - when lettering, professional draftsmen always use guidelines, to

serve as aid in forming uniformly sized letters. These lines are not erased since
they are not seen when held at an arm’s length but are visible when lettering.

The different parts of guidelines are:

Cap line – the uppermost line which serve as a reminder that uppercase letters and
ascenders should not be beyond this line.
Waist line – the guideline in between the cap and the base. This is the basis for the
x- height of normal letters.
Base line – this is the guideline that serves as the ground for all letters, whether
uppercase or lowercase.
Drop line – the guideline that indicates the extent which the stems of descender letters
should reach.
Uppercase - letters that are capitalized which are also known as majuscules in
lettering manuals.
Lowercase – letters that are not capitalized and are also known as minuscule in the
books.
Ascenders – are small letters with stems that reach the cap line (b, d, f, h, k, l, t).
Descenders – small letters with stems that fall down to the drop line (g, j, p, q, y).
Normal – letters confined in the x-height (a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z).
x-height – the height of small letters from the base line to the waist line.

Note: The distance of the drop line from the baseline is always 1/3 of the height of the
uppercase letters. This is also true with the distance from the waistline to the cap
line of the ascender letters. Inclined guide lines should be about 67.5° from the
horizontal. ANSI (American National Standards Institute) recommends a slope of 2
in 5 (or 68.2°) with the horizontal.

2. Form – the exact form of every Commercial Gothic letter is much simplified if
you notice that all capital letters (except S) are based upon straight and
circular lines. The numerals and the letter S are based upon straight and
elliptical lines.

Figure 1.2. Basic Strokes in Lettering

3. Stability – this means that the letters and numerals should be able to “stand
on their own two feet.” That is, letters and numerals should appear stable
whenever possible. Stable lettering must be observed.

Top-Heavy Letters

Correct Letters

Figure 1.3. Stability of Letters

4. Proportion – most important lettering secret which is done by making letters

much wider than they should be. Fat lettering should be considered for
proportion.

General Proportion of Letters:

Letters may be classified according to its proportion as follows:
a. Normal Letters – when the letters are drawn neither too narrow nor too
wide.

Proportion of Normal Letters:

I – the narrowest and is the foundation stroke of all letters.
W – the widest letter
O Q M – the second widest letters
A C D G K U X Y – the third widest letters while others are of average
 width.
b. Compressed/ Condensed Letters – these letters are narrow in width in
proportion to the height and are used when space is limited.
c. Extended Letters – these letters are wider than the normal letters and are
used when the space is very wide.

5. Density – black lines should be used for lettering in order to improve the
appearance of the lettering and to improve its readability and legibility so that
it will show up well when reproduced. If lettering is not that black, simply use
a softer pencil such as H or F. Black lettering should be considered
for readability of letters.

6. Spacing – proper spacing of letters to form words, and proper spacing of words
to form sentences, is essential. The spacing of letters is not measured
directly, but is done by the eye so that areas between letters are
visually equal. Consider close spacing of letters.

A general rule for optical spacing is that there is the most space between two straight
strokes, less between a straight stroke and a curved stroke, and the least space
between tow round ones.

In mechanical spacing, the spaces between letters are equally measured regardless
of shape.

Figure 1.4. Spacing of Letters

TIPS:
1. Establish ranking of lettering so that the eye is easily directed through the
various components of the drawing. This is done by varying the size and/ or
the style, and when drawing in ink, using varying sizes of pen.
a. Main titles. 6 mm roman uppercase, in size 0.8 pen
b. Subtitles. (plan, elevation): 4 mm roman, uppercase, 0.5/ 0.7 pen.
c. Other titles. (room names): 3 mm roman, uppercase, 0.4/ 0.5 pen.
d. Detailed notes: 3 mm (overall) roman lower case, or 3 mm italic, 0.35
pen.
2. Always use guidelines with the use of a light pencil, or can be the lines on
gridded paper (with varying square grid sizes) under the tracing paper.
3. Complete the line drawing before starting lettering.
4. If you are not comfortable writing at an angle presented by a drawing fixed
to a board, remove the drawing on completion and turn it to a comfortable angle.

D. Dimensioning
Dimensioning is one of the most important elements of a construction drawing.
Dimensions should be clearly and correctly presented, leaving no doubts about size
and position of the building and its components. Adopt a disciplined system of
dimensioning throughout a set of project drawings so that all parties recognize a
consistent pattern of presentation.
Dimension lines can take various forms:
a. The head of the arrow forms a right angle.
General use, particularly
coordinating dimensions

b. For speed and neatness, this has become a popular technique for
both overall and element dimensions; the oblique stroke should be
kept a consistent length (3 mm).
General use

c. This is normally used for dimensions of elements. Disadvantages

include: difficulty in
achieving consistency, slight variation in the size of the head tend to
show up, and is
time-consuming.
General use, particularly
element dimensions

d. This is recognized as an acceptable method for elements, but it is

 traditionally used
on engineering drawings and is not popular in construction drawing
as consistency is
difficult to achieve and hence may cause the appearance to become
rather untidy.

General use, particularly

elements

ARCHITECTURAL TECHNIQUE

The technique of line work on architectural drawings is of a nature completely

different from that used on other forms of mechanical drawing. In fact, the difference
is so great that it is difficult for a draftsman trained in another field, engineering drafting,
for example, to make the switch to architectural drafting, since doing so means
‘unlearning’ many accepted rules and practices. The reason for this dissimilarity is the
difference in the goals of the two fields.

Line Character
The first point to remember is that you are also an artist, and not just a mere
draftsman/ drafter. Do not be afraid to let your lines run past each other at their
intersections.
Use a soft pencil. It is impossible to obtain line quality in a drawing done with a
hard pencil. The two skills to be mastered with a soft pencil are the slight twisting to
keep the point sharp and the extra care required to keep the paper clean.
Recommended grades are shown below:

Line Type Recommended Pencil Grades

1. Cutting Plane Line F, H
2. Outline F, H, 2H
3. Invisible Line H, 2H, 3H
4. Section Line 2H, 3H, 4H
5. Dimension Line 2H, 3H, 4H
6. Center Line 2H, 3H, 4H
7. Construction Line 4H, 5H, 6H
8. Guide Line 4H, 5H, 6H
ALPHABET OF LINES

These are conventional lines, each with definite purpose, which must be
properly drawn or sketched in order not to be misinterpreted.

LINE
LINE SYMBOL USES/ DESCRIPTION
WIDTH
Border Lines Very Serve as boundary of the drawing.
thick Used in drawing templates.
To show the main outline or edges
or contours of an object. View
visible lines so that the views they
Object/ Visible
Thick outline stand out clearly on the
Lines
drawing with a definite contrast
between these lines and secondary
lines.
To show areas that are not visible
Hidden Lines Medium on the surface but which exist
behind the plane of projection.
To indicate symmetry about an axis
and location of centers. This line
Center Lines Thin
consists of alternating long and
short dashes.
Thin, solid ruled lines with freehand
zigzags which are used to reduce or
Long Break
Thin shorten the view of long uniform
Lines
sections or when only a partial view
is needed.
Short Break Thick Solid freehand lines used to
lines indicate a short break in a detail and
assembly drawing.
Phantom Lines Medium To show alternate positions of
related parts, adjacent positions of
related parts, and repeated detail.
They consist of long dashes
separated by pairs of short dashes.
The short dashes may vary in
length, depending on the size of the
drawing.
Stitch Lines Thin To show a sewing and stitching
or process. This is made of short thin
dashes and spaces of equal lengths
 of approximately 0.016, and the
second is made of dots spaced at
0.12 inch apart.
Extension Thin Thin unbroken lines used to indicate
Lines extent of dimensions
Dimension Thin To indicate distance measured
Lines
Leaders are used to connect a note
Leader Lines/
or dimension to part of an object; to
Reference Thin
indicate part, dimension or other
Lines
reference
To designate where an imaginary
cutting took place; to indicate
Cutting Plane or Thick direction of sight when a partial view
Lines
is used or to show the location of
cutting planes for sectional views.
Section Lines Thin Used to indicate the surface in the
section view imagined to have been
cut along the cutting-plane line.
Guide Lines Very Used as horizontal and vertical
Thin guides in lettering.
Construction Very Barely Visible to the eye which are
line thin used to lay out a view or to project
between views.

The following are some suggestions in order to keep your drawing clean and smudge-
free:
1. All drafting equipment should be cleaned frequently.
2. Wash hands, and try to keep the hands off the face of the drawing.
3. Do not sharpen the pencil over the desk top.
4. Cover the portion of the drawing (un-worked-on) with a clear paper shield so
that it is not smudged and dirty before starting to draw.
5. Do not slide the triangles and t-square across the drawing; lift them slightly.
6. Keep all lines (especially construction lines) sharp and accurate to reduce the
amount of erasing to a minimum.
7. Either blow or brush off any excess graphite from your drawing after drawing
each line.
8. If possible, use a special cleaning powder (known under various trade names
such as Dry-Clean Pad, Draft-Clean Powder, Dust-it Scumex) that will aid to
keep drawings smudge-free.
9. Change pencil grades. A harder pencil grade will not smudge as readily as a
soft pencil grade.
Line Technique
Line work consists of a combination of light and dark lines. That is, to avoid
lines of all one, monotonous weight. Some of the used styles of line techniques are as
follows:
1. Cutting-plane technique. This technique is used for section views. The lines
formed by the cutting plane are darkened.
2. Distance technique. This is to show depth in an architectural drawing by
emphasizing the lines closest to the observer.
3. Silhouette technique. This technique is emphasized by darkening the outline.
One of the oldest techniques but is still used at present.
4. Shadow technique. Recessions and extensions can be shown by darkening
the edges away from the light source. The light is usually assumed to be coming
from the upper left.
5. Major-feature technique. The commonly used technique where the major
elements are outlined, and the elements of lesser importance are drawn with
finer lines.

SKETCHING
It should be noted that we control our hand, and not the other way. All that is
needed in sketching is an understanding of what is required and what is not to produce
an excellent sketch.

Lines
A freehand sketch should not look like an instrument drawing with perfectly
straight and accurate lines. The unevenness of a properly sketched line is more
attractive and interesting than a mechanically perfect line. The weight, direction, and
proportions of sketched lines are important, and the following rules should help. But
one should remember to concentrate on the desired results rather than on the rules.
1. A soft pencil (such as an F grade) is best for sketching, where the point is
slightly rounded rather than needle-sharp. After sketching each line, twist the
pencil slightly to avoid developing a flat portion, which will also reduce the
number of necessary sharpening.
2. A right-handed person sketches short horizontal lines from left to right and a
left-handed person sketches from right to left. Short vertical and inclined lines
are sketched from top to bottom.
3. To sketch a line, rest the hand on the drawing surface and pivot only your
fingers. Sketch lines longer than 1” in short intervals, with a small gap left
between each interval. Do not omit these gaps because they add a professional
touch to a sketch.
4. The correct direction of a sketched line is very important. Horizontal lines should
be horizontal and not inclined while vertical lines should be vertical and not
leaning. This is done by placing the tracing paper over the graph paper.
 5. When graph is not used, sketches are blocked by using very light construction
lines.
6. Good proportion is important to all design and immediately distinguishes an
excellent sketch from a mediocre one. Proportion is simply a matter of relating
one length or area to another.

Symbols and Abbreviations

Architectural Abbreviations:
Here are the list of architectural term and their abbreviations commonly used in
technical drafting preparations. You are going to come across these terms so
familiarize each.

Architectural Symbols

Familiarizing all the architectural symbols is a prerequisite for all students in

architecture and drafting technology programs considering that their future works will
be on the architectural activity. It would be difficult for them to interpret drawing or
blueprint unless they have familiarized all the architectural symbols.
The following illustrations are the architectural symbols:
a. Doors and windows symbols that are shown in the floor plan.

b. Doors and windows symbols that used to represent doors on floor plans and
elevation drawings
c. Door, window and staircase symbols that are shown in the elevation plans.
Other Electrical Symbols
SELF- CHECK NO. 1

Check your mastery in Alphabet of lines by completing the tasks below.

1. Identify the alphabet of lines by writing your answer on the space

provided.
A B
1.

2.
A B

A B

3.
B A