Some notes from the introduction to this project
Linear perspective
- First principle: receding parallel lines meet at a point when extended.
- Second principle: the meeting point changes with the height of the viewer’s eyes
Basic terms of linear perspective
- Horizon line: The eye level height of the viewer, divides the viewing plane in upper and lower halves
- Vanishing point: imaginary point on the horizon line where all lines meet. Lines from above the horizon angle downwards, those from below the horizon line angle upwards.
- One-point or parallel perspective: with objects facing the viewer flat on. All lines converge to a single vanishing point
- Two-point or angular perspective: with objects that don’t have a straight edge facing the viewer, all lines seem to converge t0wards two separate vanishing points.
Aerial or atmospheric perspective
- Colour intensity fades to blue-grey as objects are increasingly further away from the viewer (in landscapes)
Exercise: Parallel perspective – an interior view
I chose the view from bedroom into the bathroom. It was not ideal but had some lines which receded towards a single vanishing point in front of me. I was quite confident finding the eyelevel after I had made the drawing, but it was not easy determining the actual vanishing point, because my lines seemed to have several different points. The one vanishing point I chose worked well for those lines further above and below the horizon line, but less well for those elements closer to the horizon. These were the upper edges of the built-in closets, which I had drawn at an angle that was too flat, likewise the lines in the bathroom tiles. I think the upper closet edges were better using the perspective lines, but the tile lines appear much too steep. There may have been a depth or distance error in my drawing in this area, because here the correct perspective line appear very distorted and misplaced, compare to my naïvely drawn lines.
Exercise: Angular perspective
I chose a view from my terrace onto the road. It was very hot and humid outside which made it hard to keep drawing. Finally I had to stop because I couldn’t stand being in the sun any longer. But I think the main elements of the building on the corner are present. With more pleasant weather conditions, I would have liked to take more time for the trees and the balconies appearing on the left side, maybe add some colour.
I did not like drawing eye level and receding lines into the drawing with a ruler. I think the straight lines have destroyed the appeal of the drawing. On the other hand, I did in fact use imaginary or very light perspective lines to aid this drawing. I acquired the habit when I was much younger. For the future, I might use that tool more deliberately to improve my drawings, but only very lightly in the background so as not to destroy the drawing.
I also noticed that my drawings might benefit from using a really black line tool instead of a pencil. I tend to draw very lightly which makes for a certain delicacy but then again, there’s not much contrast in the drawings. With a darker pen, the drawing might get more strength. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to draw perspective lines with the darker pen. Maybe a combination of the two would work best.