Introduction to Linear Perspective / The Illusion of Depth
Many of you may have noticed that your drawings were not “quite right” but didn’t know why.
Any time you draw or paint an object you are creating an abstraction of reality. Perspective
is the method for creating the illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface, the picture
plane. The use of perspective enables you, the artist, to create “realistic” drawings and
paintings. Filippo Brunelleschi discovered formal perspective. He was an Italian artist,
architect, and a sculptor. Italian artists devised formal rules for creating depth in a painting
during what is known as the early or Proto Renaissance. Many of today’s artists rely less on
the formal rules, but use visual perspective in their artworks.
Words to Know:
Foreground: The part of a picture lowest on the picture plane. (closest to you)
Middleground: The part of a picture towards the center middle of the picture plane.
Background: The part of a picture located at the top of the picture plane. (farthest from
you)
1 pt. Perspective: Simple perspective. EX. Looking down a road.
2 pt. Perspective: More complex. EX. Drawing a cube.
Aerial Perspective: (aka Atmospheric Perspective) Objects farther away appear lighter and
more dull in color. Color is brighter and pattern more distinct as objects move closer to the
viewer. Shade and shadows may be used to indicate distance. This is
because the air around us is not empty. It is full of moisture and dust that create a haze.
The more air between you and an object the more the object seems to fade.
Foreshortening: most often applied to figure drawing. The portions of the body closest to
the artist will appear bigger.
Overlapping: It shows which objects are in front and indicates depth.
Bird’s Eye View: The horizon line is at the top of the picture plane.
Worm’s Eye View: The horizon line is at the bottom of the picture plane.
Size: Large object appear to be closer than small objects. The farther an object is from you
the smaller it appears.
Horizon Line is always at eye level. Regardless of where you’re looking the Horizon Line
always falls at eye level. Eye Level is the height at which your eyes observe an object.
Picture yourself at the beach and looking out to the water. You should notice that the water
meets the sky at your eye level. This never changes. Even if you are looking down from an
airplane high in the sky your eye level is where the ocean meets the sky, not down where
you are looking. If you lie down on the beach the ocean level drops down with you. It is an
invisible plane that cuts through everything and always exists at eye level.
Detail/Focus: Objects with clear, sharp edges and visible details seem to be close to you.
Objects that lack detail and have hazy outlines seem to be farther away. EX. When trees are
close, you can see the bark, leaves, etc…Trees in the distance seem to be fuzzy and shapes
seem to be lighter in color.
Placement: Objects that are placed high or low on the picture plane seem to be closer to
the view than objects placed closer to eye level. The most distance shapes are those that
seem to be exactly at eye level.
Vanishing Point is the imaginary point to which all lines parallel to the viewer converge on
the horizon. In other words think about standing in the middle of a straight road and
looking down the length of it. The edges of that road seem to move at an angle upward until
they meet at the Horizon Line (like forming a triangle). In one point perspective all vertical
and horizontal lines stay the same and only the lines that are moving away from or towards
you the viewer seem to recede on the horizon at the Vanishing Point. There are exceptions
to this. All planes must be perpendicular or parallel to you in order for this to work correctly.
If you are looking at the corner of an object that is not at a 90-degree angle to you this will
create distortions!
Convergence Lines or Orthagonals are lines that converge at the Vanishing Point. In
other words… any lines that are moving away from you – the viewer- at an angle to the
direction you are looking. An example would be, as you are looking down the road again the
edges of the road, the curbs, the sidewalks, and the buildings as they move forward into the
distance.
Some exercises to do:
1. Look around the room. Where is the Horizon Line? You should be seeing the top planes
of most objects.
2. Stand up and look around the room. Where is the Horizon Line? Again you should be
seeing the tops of most objects.
3. Now lie down on the floor. Where is the Horizon Line? Did you notice that you see the
bottom – not the top – of most objects?
4. Stand up on the table. Where is the Horizon Line? With this view you should see only
the tops of all objects.
5. Hold your pencil or ruler up in front of a corner of the room. Look at the corner by
looking at and through the pencil or ruler. This is called “sighting” the angle of a corner of a
room or a roofline. You can then transfer that angle to a piece of artwork.
6. Take your thumb and forefinger and make a circle. Look through the circle across the
room at the head of the person farthest away from you. Close your thumb and forefinger
down until you can see only the head. Now look at the person closest to you. You should
have to open up your thumb and forefinger until the head is the only thing you see. You can
transfer the size of an object to your artwork by sighting in this manner.
7. You can also take your thumb, pencil or ruler and hold it up in front of the object you
want to draw. As you look at the object through your tool, make a mental mark on the tool
to show the size of the object. You may then transfer the size to your artwork. This is yet
another method of sighting.