Plate 15:  Construction of a black setting for small displays, Part 3: the preliminary sketch has been "dimensioned"
(This plate added FEB 2004)

EFORE affixing pieces of black matting board to the three-cornered foundation shown in Plate 14, the photographer measured the height, depth, and width of the location for the proposed setting. He determined that three square pieces of matting board, each 24 inches on an edge, would perfectly fit the location.

In order to record these measurements, the photographer inserted double-ended measurement arrows in red ink into the original sketch (see Plate 12 for the original sketch without the red arrows). The double-ended arrows are known as dimensions. The act of inserting the arrows into the sketch is known as dimensioning the sketch. The sketch as shown here is called a dimensioned sketch. In this discussion, the word dimension appears as three different parts of speech: noun, verb, and adjective. As a transitive verb, the word dimension (as in the phrase dimension a sketch) is not a colloquialism. It is being correctly applied according to well-established English usage. In this case, to dimension a sketch is equivalent to the phrase to indicate the dimensions of an object, or objects, in a sketch.