Perspective

Perspective is one of the most important principles of drawing. It gives authenticity, depth and dimension to a composition. The concept of perspective is simple: Objects of the same size appear larger when they are closer to the viewer and progressively smaller as they recede farther in space. Perspective is most easily seen in rectangular forms such as cubes, houses and buildings. Repetitive forms that advance or recede, such as rows of windows, poles, automobiles, cups or cans, all show perspective, their sizes diminishing as they go back in space. As elements recede into the distance, they converge toward what is referred to as the vanishing point on the horizon line. The horizon line is usually placed at eye level, which will vary depending on the height and location of the viewer.

Perspective in drawing is classified into three basic types: one-point perspective, two-point perspective and three-point perspective. Artists must check and double-check the accuracy of their rendering. Since all elements in a composition must relate to each other accurately in perspective, the more elements a drawing contains, the more challenging it will be to achieve convincing perspective.

Much about perspective is geometric in concept and mechanical in plotting, but used aesthetically as well as accurately, it gives a wonderful and necessary authenticity to any scene.

An Ellipse in Perspective

A circle becomes an ellipse when viewed in perspective. Notice how the ellipse appears to recede into the distance when viewed at an angle.