The Golden Ratio

Intro
Ever since it's discovery the golden ratio has been subject to debate and pondering amongst many who stumbled across this unique proportional phenomena. The golden rule of proportion seems to supply us with an almost perfect balance in both a practical and aestethic sense. We will not deal with the technical or mathematical matters of the rule in this art tutorial, but just for the sake of it we can describe it by the formula given below:



A+B is to A as A is to B (same deal with B related to C)



The golden ratio can be found in the construction of many buildings such as the great pyramids, in geometrical shapes, in music, fine art, various places in nature and even the human DNA seems to have been constructed with this rule in mind. It is quite a mystery really, and if you feel like digging deeper into this enigma, a link is provided at the end of this tutorial. But lets move on.

An Example
Take a look at the arm below divided into three parts; the upper arm, lower arm and the hand. Notice how the upper arm is a bit longer than the lower arm, and the lower arm is a bit longer than the stretched hand. Now, take a close look at the little finger on the hand. As you can see the three parts of the finger are divided in the same manner as the arm. The same rule also applies to the human head, the legs and in many other features of the human body.



It is not neccesary for you, in relation to drawing and painting, to understand the details of the underlying math or formulas of the golden ratio, as long as you just get the 'idea' behind it. If you do wish to dive into the details of this phenomena, simply click the link at the end of this tutorial.

How can I use it in my art?
Just make sure you have the rule of the golden ratio in the back of your mind whenever the task is to get the right proportions drawn. Think of it as yet another trick in the bag of creative tricks, to aid you in your creative endeavors. Soon it will become second hand nature to you. That's pretty much it for this tutorial, but there is one last thing. To get really aquainted with the golden ratio, I suggest you check out the wiki at: Wikipedia.org.

Enjoy!