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Art helps us to See in New Ways
Art helps us to See in New Ways
Students will understand that:
Perspectives help us to make sense of spatial relationships (application)
Artists often challenge the boundary and use their work to show people their own views (meaning)
Being able to see different views through art helps us broaden our own perspective and expand our understanding of the world (understanding)
What is Perspective?
What is Perspective?
Observe the images in the carousel. What do you notice is common about them?
Perspective is an art technique for creating
an illusion of three-dimension:
Through depth and space
On a two-dimensional (flat) surface
Perspective is what makes a painting seem to have form, distance, and look "real".
Linear perspective is a mathematical system for creating the illusion of space and distance on a flat surface. To use linear perspective an artist must first imagine the picture surface as an "open window" through which to see the painted world.
The horizon line runs across the canvas at the eye level of the viewer. The horizon line is where the sky appears to meet the ground.
The vanishing point should be located near the center of the horizon line. The vanishing point is where all parallel lines (orthogonals) that run towards the horizon line appear to come together like train tracks in the distance.
3. Vanishing/ Orthogonal lines are "visual rays" helping the viewer's eye to connect points around the edges of the canvas to the vanishing point. An artist uses them to align the edges of walls and paving stones.
Look around you! People and objects look larger when they are nearby and smaller when they are far away. But how can we realistically capture this on a canvas?
During the Renaissance in Italy, architects and artists investigated the question of how to draw three dimensional objects on flat surfaces. They began to think of a painting as an "open window" through which the viewer sees the painted world.
Shape to Form
Shape to Form
Do you remember the 3 key concepts of perspective drawing? This week, we will apply them to transform different shapes into 3-dimensional forms!
Activity 1: Cuboid, cylinder and prism
Activity 1: Cuboid, cylinder and prism
Watch the video tutorial to understand the relationship of shapes & forms above, on and below the horizon.
Step-by-step
Draw horizon line lightly in the middle of the page
Mark out a vanishing point
Draw a square to demarcate front-facing surface
Draw vanishing lines from corners to vanishing point
Draw parallel vertical and horizontal lines to mark back-facing surface
Join the corners and darken lines of cuboid
Repeat steps for circle & triangle
Challenge yourself!
Challenge yourself!
Activity 2: 3D Lettering
Activity 2: 3D Lettering
My Future House
My Future House
You are an architect and can build your future house anywhere in the world! What will it look like? Where will it be?
You are an architect and can build your future house anywhere in the world! What will it look like? Where will it be?
Lesson 1
Begin by drawing cuboids from 1 vanishing point on the horizon
Stack/Overlap a minimum of 4 cuboids to form the basic structure of your house
Self-Check: Have you erased all vanishing lines that are not supposed to be there?
Lesson 2
Add other building features (e.g. Roof, Windows, Door) to your house to customize it to your preferences
Self-Check: Are all the features in perspective & proportion?
Self-Check: Have you erased all vanishing lines that are not supposed to be there?
Lesson 3
Add surrounding features to create the landscape (e.g. Trees, Street Lamps, Road, Background Scene) around your house
Self-Check: Where is your house located?
Self-Check: Have you erased all vanishing lines that are not supposed to be there?
Lesson 4 [Bonus]
1. Add shading and texture to your landscape and building to create more depth and detail in your work.
Self-Check: What time of day is it? Where would the shadows fall?
Self-Check: What materials are the building made of? What are the shapes of the leaves on the trees and bushes?
How do you perform self-check?
Watch this video to correct any misconception you may have while drawing your future house!
Other examples of 1-point perspective houses
Other examples of 1-point perspective houses
Challenge yourself!
Add lines to texture your house/landscape
Perform tonal shading to your completed work
How does the horizon line affect our perspective?
How does the horizon line affect our perspective?
The following video tutorials demonstrate the differences in perspective when the horizon line is low, in the middle and high respectively.
Notice that the relative size of buildings is affected. When the horizon line is low, an illusion that objects are larger and closer is created. When the horizon line is high, objects often look smaller and further.
Low Horizon Line
Middle Horizon Line
High Horizon Line
Lesson 1
Begin by drawing cuboids from 1 vanishing point on the horizon
Stack/Overlap a minimum of 4 cuboids on each side to form the city street
Self-Check: Have you erased all vanishing lines that are not supposed to be there?
Lesson 2
Add other building features (e.g. Roof, Windows, Door) to your buildings to fit your imagination
Self-Check: Are all the features in perspective & proportion?
Self-Check: Have you erased all vanishing lines that are not supposed to be there?
Lesson 3
Add city features (e.g. Trees, Street Lamps, Bridges, Billboards) to create the cityscape. Remember that you are in a dream world, so unimaginable objects and sights must be part of your urban landscape (e.g. a Coke can as a skyscraper or a doughnut for a pedestrian).
Self-Check: Are all the features in perspective & proportion?
Self-Check: Have you erased all vanishing lines that are not supposed to be there?
Want to challenge yourself to try other perspectives?
Want to challenge yourself to try other perspectives?
Level 1 Bird's Eye View
Level 2Worm's Eye View
Level 32-point perspective
Level 4Multiple 1-point perspectives
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