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Perspective is an art technique for creating an illusion of three-dimensions (depth and space) on a two-dimensional (flat) surface. Perspective is what makes a painting seem to have form, distance, and look "real." The same rules of perspective apply to all subjects, whether it's a landscape, seascape, still life, interior scene, portrait, or figure painting.
Viewpoint is the spot (point) from which you, the artist, is looking at (viewing) the scene. Linear perspective is worked out according to this viewpoint. There's no right or wrong choice of viewpoint, it's simply the first decision you make when beginning to plan your composition and figure out the perspective.
Normal viewpoint is how an adult sees the world when standing up. When painting in a realistic style, this is the viewpoint you'll probably use because it's what we're accustomed to seeing. It's what looks most real.
A low viewpoint is when you're looking at a scene from much lower than you would standing up. For instance, if you were sitting on a chair, had crouched down onto your heels or, even lower down, sitting on the grass. Of course, it's also the level from which small children see the world.
A high viewpoint is when you're looking down on a scene. You might be on a ladder, up a hill, on the balcony of a tall building.
The rules of perspective don't change between a normal, low, or high viewpoint. The same rules apply in all cases. What changes is what you see in a scene. The rules of perspective help us interpret and understand what we're seeing, and enable us to "get it right" in a painting.
Mini Lesson:
Using a pencil or pen in your sketchbook, do at least two thumbnail sketches of two different scenes from both a standing and a low viewpoint. Start by drawing an outline of the shape of your canvas, say a rectangle that's 2x1, then put down the main lines and shapes of the scene. Label the thumbnails "viewpoint," so you'll remember why you did them at a later date.
Horizon line is a confusing perspective term because when you hear it, you tend to immediately think of "the horizon" we see in nature. That is the horizon as in the line where the land or sea meets the sky in the distance. In a painting, the horizon line might be this if you're painting a landscape, but it's best to disconnect the two. Rather, when you hear "horizon line," you want to be thinking "eye-level line."
If you draw an imaginary line across the scene at the level of your eyes, that's the horizon line. As you change position, for instance, walk up a hill, the horizon line moves up with you. When you glance down or up, the horizon line doesn't move because the level of your head hasn't moved.
The horizon line is an imaginary line used to create accurate perspective in a painting. Anything above the horizon line slopes down towards it, and anything below the horizon line slopes up towards it. Depending on what it is and how it is positioned, this may be very obvious or it may be very slight. Something that straddles the horizon line will slope both up and down. The horizon line is important because the painting's perspective is constructed from this.
Mini Lesson: The Horizon Line (Eye Level)
Big Idea:
The horizon line shows your eye level.
The horizon line is not the sky. It represents where your eyes are when you look at the world. If you sit down, the horizon line lowers. If you stand higher, it rises.
Key Ideas
Horizon line = your eye level
Everything in perspective relates to this line
You see the tops of objects below the horizon
You see the bottoms of objects above the horizon
Think About It:
If you were lying on the ground, where would your horizon line be?
Vanishing lines are imaginary lines used to create accurate perspective in a painting. They are drawn on the top and bottom horizontal edges of an object, along the object and then extended to the horizon line. For instance, on a building, there would be a vanishing line along the top of the roof and the bottom of the wall(s). For a window, the top and bottom of the frame.
If the object is below the horizon line, its vanishing lines angle up to the horizon line. If the object is above, they slope down. All vanishing lines end at the horizon line. And vanishing lines from parallel edges on the same object meet at a point on the horizon line.
Whether or not an object has vanishing lines depends on how it's positioned to the horizon line. Edges of objects parallel to the horizon line don't have vanishing lines. (Why? Because they don't recede into the distance and never intersect the horizon line.) For example, if you're looking straight onto a house (so you're seeing one side only), the front face of the building is positioned parallel to the horizon line (and so are its edges). You can easily check if it's parallel by holding a finger along the bottom of the house and another at the horizon line (eye height).
Don't stress if it all seems complicated and confusing. Reading about perspective is harder than seeing it and doing it. "Horizon line" and "vanishing line" is all the terminology you need to implement a one-point perspective, two-point perspective and more. You already know what one-point perspective is; while you may not know that's what it's called, you'll recognize it when you see it...
Mini Lesson: Vanishing Points
Big Idea:
Vanishing points organize depth.
In real life, parallel lines appear to come together in the distance. This meeting point is called a vanishing point. Artists use vanishing points to make space feel believable.
Key Ideas
Receding lines move toward a vanishing point
Roads, hallways, and train tracks use this idea
One vanishing point = straight-on view
Remember:
All depth lines move toward the vanishing point.
Try This:
Draw a horizon line.
Add one dot on the line.
Draw lines moving toward that dot to create a road or hallway.
Things that are farther away from us look smaller. This is something we notice every day. In the photos shown, the man on the escalator does not actually change height as he moves up the stairs. He only appears smaller because he is farther away from where the photo was taken.
Correct relative scale is an important part of creating the illusion of depth in perspective. We create distance by making background objects smaller than objects in the foreground. It is easy to forget this, and when that happens, a drawing or painting can start to feel off or unrealistic.
When working from imagination, compare objects to what is near them. For example, a tree will usually be much taller than a person, and an adult person will usually be taller than a car. Using these comparisons helps your artwork feel believable and visually successful
Mini Lesson: What Is Perspective
Big Idea:
Perspective is how artists create depth on a flat page.
In real life, things change depending on how far away they are. Perspective is the system artists use to organize that illusion so drawings do not look flat.
Key Ideas
Objects look bigger when they are closer
Objects look smaller when they are farther away
Overlapping objects creates depth
Objects placed higher on the page feel farther away
Try This:
Draw three squares:
One large square at the bottom of your page
One medium square above it
One small square near the top
Ask yourself: Which square feels closest? Why?
You're looking at the one-point perspective when you're standing on a station staring down the railway track which narrows and then disappears at a spot in the distance. The same with an avenue of trees, or a long straight road.
In the photo, it's very clear how the tar road narrows and narrows as it gets further and further away. If you look carefully, you'll see how the verges on the sides of the road do the same. As do the electricity poles to the left and the white lines painted in the center of the road.
If you draw vanishing lines along the edges of the road, these meet on the horizon line, as shown in red in the top photo. These are both one-point perspective.
Mini Lesson: Turning Shapes Into 3D Forms
Big Idea:
Perspective turns flat shapes into 3D objects.
Artists build objects by starting with a flat shape and adding depth using perspective lines.
Steps
Draw a horizon line
Add one vanishing point
Draw a square (this is the front face)
Connect the corners of the square to the vanishing point
Add a vertical line to close the back of the box
Key Ideas
The front face shows the true shape
Depth lines go to the vanishing point
You control how deep the object appears
Check Yourself:
Does your box feel shallow or deep? What makes it feel that way?
1-point Perspective
Let's give these a try Together. You'll need your sketchbook, a pencil, and a ruler
Still unsure? Below are a few tutorial videos to explain some of these perspective points further. We may all have varying understandings of perspective coming into class today. If you are looking to better understand these concepts I recommend you check out the videos below.
1 point perspective
2 point perspective
3 point perspective (low view/low perspective)
3 point perspective (high view/birds eye view/high perspective)
5 point perspective (curvilinear perspective - fish eye view)
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