Overlay the tracing to get the approximate position of the rainbow.

[shootingstar]

"Make the drawing on tracing paper because there should be no pencil lines in the sky. Overlay the tracing to get the apprroximate position of the rainbow. Even so, you will make some changes, or they will creep in."
(Source: The Landscape Painter's Essentiail Handbook by Joe Francis Dowden)

It's about watercolour painting. What does "Overlay" and what does "tracing" mean in this context. What does "overlay" mean generally? I'm missing an object in the sentence "Overlay the tracing to get the apprroximate position of the rainbow." "Tracing" seems to be the transitive object of "overlay", but there isn't any 'prepositional' object that I am to overlay the tracing over. Obviously, I must mentally add this prepositional object, right?

 

[emsr2d2]

Have you failed to find any definition of the verb "overlay" in the multiple online dictionaries that are available to you?

 

[shootingstar]

Unfortunately, you don't understand my question. I'm missing the prepositional object there. For this reason I doubt the meaning of both "overlay" and "tracing" in the sentence "Overlay the tracing to get the apprroximate position of the rainbow". Do you get it now?

 

[jutfrank]

When you speak of a missing prepositional object, are you thinking about the thing that the tracing is overlaid onto?

 

[emsr2d2]

Unfortunately, you don't understand my question.

This is the question from post #1 that I was answering:
"What does "overlay" mean generally?"
If you didn't need anyone to answer that question, you shouldn't have asked it.

This is the question I hadn't yet answered:
"I'm missing an object in the sentence "Overlay the tracing to get the apprroximate position of the rainbow." "Tracing" seems to be the transitive object of "overlay", but there isn't any 'prepositional' object, that I am to overlay the tracing over. Obviously, I must mentally add this prepositional object, right?"

 

[shootingstar]

When you speak of a missing prepositional object, are you thinking about the thing that the tracing is overlaid onto?

Yes, indeed. That's why I am entertaining some doubt about the meaning of "overlay" and "tracing" in this context. I'm getting confused about their meanings there. The author simply says "Overlay the tracing to get . . .". What thing am I to overlay the tracing over ? / (you are saying "onto") What thing am I to overlay the tracing onto?

 

[shootingstar]

This is the question from post #1 that I was answering:

This is the question I hadn't yet answered:

I actually thought you were referring to the whole question . . .

Have you failed to find any definition of the verb "overlay" in the multiple online dictionaries that are available to you?

. . . and your diction seemed to be somewhat reproachful, didn't it?

 

[SoothingDave]

What exactly is happening in this book? Is it talking about copying some or all of an existing drawing/painting? That's what I would understand as "tracing." You overlay the tracing paper onto the original artwork.

 

[jutfrank]

It should be obvious from context what exactly you lay the tracing over. It's going to mention that in the previous passage, or in the accompanying picture. If you give us the context we can comment more precisely.

 

[emsr2d2]

I actually thought you were referring to the whole question space here ...

Leave a space before an emoji. Don't put spaces between the dots that make up an ellipsis.
There was more than one question in your post.

... and your diction seemed to be somewhat reproachful, didn't it? space here

It absolutely did, and that's exactly how I meant it to sound. You've been on the forum a long time so I'm sure you know by now that we expect users to do as much research as possible before asking for help here. We get quite frustrated when people ask for definitions of words that can easily be found in a dictionary. As I said before, if you didn't need anyone to answer "What does overlay mean generally?", there was no need to ask it.

I entirely understand your point and I can only reiterate what jutfrank said in the previous post. The contents of the preceding text would make it clear what was being overlaid over what.

 

[shootingstar]

It should be obvious from context what exactly you lay the tracing over. It's going to mention that in the previous passage, or in the accompanying picture.

I think this answers the question. I must mentally supplement the prepositional object using the context, the previous or following passages and accompanying pictures. In actual fact, the prepositional object is missing in the sentence "Overlay the tracing to get the approximate position of the rainbow". That was one part of the question and it also answers the question, whether "overlay" and "tracing" do have their general meaning or an uncommon one.

 

[shootingstar]

It absolutely did, and that's exactly how I meant it to sound. You've been on the forum a long time so I'm sure you know by now that we expect users to do as much research as possible before asking for help here. We get quite frustrated when people ask for definitions of words that can easily be found in a dictionary. As I said before, if you didn't need anyone to answer "What does overlay mean generally?", there was no need to ask it.

Sadly, you don't really get the point.

I entirely understand your point and I can only reiterate what jutfrank said in the previous post.

Now you understand my point. I'm glad to hear it.