A Castle Fit for Rapunzel

I was reminded of something I hadn't thought of in years today. Way back in the 7th grade (waaaay back LOL!), I had a drafting and drawing class. I loved it, definitely my favorite class. We learned about floor plans and architecture, perspective and depth. During one part of the class we learned how to draw castles. Castles are great for drawing because they have angles and curves and straight lines all together and can be made as elaborate or simple as you like. I hadn't even realized until today how much that class had affected my drawing skills.
There was a video tape we would watch of a man who would teach the lesson for the day. I think he had a show on PBS or something. One of the first things I remember was the "transparent box". We had to draw the box so that it was at an angle and then draw all the sides of the box as if it was clear, so you could see all the corners. After that, we moved to stairs, climbing straight up and then later at an angle and then a curving staircase. Then we made turrets, a curved shape with a triangle on top. Next we learned how to draw windows like a castle would have, curved on top with a windowsill. Finally to top off all those turrets, waving flags, curved so that they appeared to blow in the wind! Can't you just picture Rapunzel at the top? :)
I bet that I have at least one of my castle drawings in my keepsake box, I must have drawn a hundred of them!
Here is a picture of my little artist's work. I think I'll have to show him the castle-technique soon! This drawing was made earlier this year. It's a space man about to be eaten by something with lots of teeth. The crosses are stars and there is a line-up of aliens at the bottom, such a happy bunch!