How to Draw a Compass Rose

8/12/2019 How to Draw a Compass Rose

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How to Draw a Compass RoseEdited by Ben Rubenstein, Andy Zhang, Flickety, Maluniu and 26 others

The compass rose has a long and colorful history dating back to ancient Greece. It's a

valuable tool for cartographers and navigators around the world, and there are many

beautiful renderings of this simple, effective device. Below, we will show you how draw

a 16-point compass rose of your own.

Steps

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1On a sheet of sturdy art paper, draw a cross in the center.
http://www.wikihow.com/Draw-a-Compass-Rosehttp://www.wikihow.com/Image:Draw-a-Compass-Rose-Step-1.jpghttp://www.wikihow.com/Draw-a-Compass-Rose


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Make two marks equidistant from the top of the paper, and with a pencil, lightly draw ahorizontal line from left to right between them.

Mark the center point of the paper a couple inches above and below the horizontal line,then lightly draw a vertical line from top to bottom. It should look like this:

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2Draw a large circle using your drafting compass.For this example, wellassume a

circle with a 3 radius. This circle will mark the outer edge of your finished compass

rose.
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3.

3Using a protractor, mark the outer circle at 45, 135, 225, and 315, and with

your pencil, lightly draw connecting lines from the 45 mark to the 225 mark, and

from the 315 mark to the 135 mark.


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4.

4Using a protractor again, make marks around the outer circle at the following

points:

22.5 67.5 112.5 157.5 202.5 247.5 292.5 337.5


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5.

5Connect the following points:

22.5 and 202.5 67.5 and 247.5 112.5 and 292.5 157.5 and 337.5


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6.

6Draw a second circle with a 2 radius.


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7.

7Adjust your compass for 1 radius, and lightly draw a third circle in the center.


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8.

8Lightly draw the arrows for the main cardinal points.Start at the 0 point (N) on the

outer circle, and draw to the intersection of the 45 mark and the innermost circle.

Do the same from the 0 mark to the intersection of the 315 mark and the innermostcircle.

]Repeat this process at the 90 point (E), drawing lines to intersect the innermost circleand the 45 and 135 points; at the 180 point (S), drawing lines to intersect the

innermost circle and the 135 and 225 points; and from the 270 point (W), drawing

lines to intersect the innermost circle and the 225 and 315 points. Your compass rose

should look something like this:


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9.

9Lightly draw the secondary points.Start at the 45 point (NE) on the outer circle, and

draw to the intersection of the 22.5 mark and the right side of the N cardinal point.

Do the same from the 45 mark to the intersection of the 67.5 mark and the top side ofthe E cardinal point.

Repeat this process at the 135 point (SE), drawing lines to intersect the bottom of the Ecardinal point and right of the S cardinal point; at the 225 point (SW), drawing lines to

intersect the left side of the S cardinal point and the bottom of the W cardinal point; and

from the 315 point (NW), drawing lines to intersect the top of the W cardinal point and

the left side of the N cardinal point. Your compass rose should now look something like

this:


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10.

10Add in the final points, starting with the NNE point. Start at the intersection of the

outer circle and the 22.5 mark, and draw a line from the outer circle to the intersection

of the middle circle and the right side of the N cardinal point. Do the same from the

22.5 mark to the intersection of the middle circle and the top side of the NE cardinal

point.

Repeat this process at the 67.5 point (ENE), drawing connecting lines to intersect themiddle circle and the bottom of the NE cardinal point and top of the E cardinal point.

From the 112.5 point (ESE) to the bottom of the E cardinal point and the top of the SEcardinal point.


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From the 157.5 point (SSE) to the bottom of the SE cardinal point and the right side ofthe S cardinal point.

From the 202.5 point (SSW) to the left side of the S cardinal point and the bottom ofthe SW cardinal point

From the 247.5 point (WSW) to the top of the SW cardinal point and the bottom of theW cardinal point

From the 292.5 point (WNW) to the top of the W cardinal point and the bottom of theNW cardinal point

And from the 337.5 point (NNW) to the top of the NW cardinal point and the left side ofthe N cardinal point;. Your compass rose should now look something like this:

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Add the names of the compass points as shown:

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12Add color to suit your final environment, and happy navigating!

Documents

How to Draw a Compass Rose