Seeing
Line + MassPlumb and level
Drop a true vertical and a true horizontal through the scene and read what lines up with what. Alignments are free accuracy.
Hold the pencil truly vertical at arm's length (let it hang if you need to) and look at what it crosses. The corner of the tower is directly above the gate post. The edge of the barn is just left of the chimney. Now hold it truly horizontal: the far hill meets the tower at the top of the second window; the barn eave is level with the church door. Each of these is a fact you can put on the paper without judgement.
Find three alignments before you draw any detail. Then as you draw, keep checking: does my tower corner still sit over my gate post? Alignments catch drift before it becomes a mistake. The masters did this instinctively; you will do it deliberately for a year and then instinctively forever.
On the paper, draw the plumb and level lines faintly with a 2H when you need them, and erase them later. On a complex architectural subject, a light grid of two verticals and two horizontals across the whole page will keep every element honest.
From your kit
The whole kit →- 1Grafwood 2H or H, long point sighting and measuring want a pale line you can draw through twenty times.
- 2Grafwood HB to commit the line once the measurement agrees.
- 3Alpha sketchbook and the pencil itself as the sighting stick, held at arm's length.
Visuals
Pitfalls
What
Trusting that the pencil is vertical because it feels vertical.
Why
Hands lean. Half a degree of lean at arm's length moves the alignment a long way.
Fix
Check the pencil against a door frame or window edge in your room before you read it.