How do you measure with a pencil/mechanical pencil?

Hey guys I have a question. How do you measure in your paper inside a drawing .( I am measuring using heads)

I don't want to depend on a ruler so I am curious to the way you guys measure.

Eyeness. I rarely works.

For humans, frameworking anatomy (with a stick figure or a ball-joint diagram) is the standard to make sure the body has all its bits in the right amount. As for how to get the proportions right, you just have to memorise it. Eventually you'll be able to tell at a glance if your person's head is too big or too small.

Not very helpful, I'm afraid, but that's what drawing is like.

For environments, don't worry about exact measurements unless you're doing tech drawings, but do use a ruler for your lines even if you're going for a sketchy look. Getting the lines straight and the perspective angles right is the most important thing.

If I want to check that, for example, an arm is the right length, I'll put my pencil or my thumb beside it to see how long it is, and then use that to see where it would reach if the person had it by their side. As long as the fingertips are mid-thigh I'm usually satisfied. Sometimes I use the 7.5 heads rule, but these days I'm getting better at judging that by eye.

But mainly, I try and make the pose myself and look at how big things are.

I use my pencil for approximating gradients, and my fingers for lengths.