Perspective & Architecture
Draw space that holds together.
Buildings are the clearest way to learn perspective: straight edges that all obey the same rules. Work from simple boxes through one-, two- and three-point perspective to full street scenes.
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Boxes in space Done
Every building is a box first. Find the horizon line (your eye level) and note which way the edges slope toward it. Draw the whole box, including the edges you can't see.
+4 more
One-point perspective Done
Looking straight down a corridor or a street, every receding line meets at a single point on the horizon. Find that point first, then rule every depth line back to it.
+2 more
Two-point perspective Done
Seen from a corner, a building has two vanishing points, both on the horizon and usually off the page. Verticals stay vertical. Get the nearest corner right and the rest follows.
+2 more
Three-point perspective Done
Look up at a tower and the verticals converge too, toward a third point high above. The steeper the view, the stronger the convergence. Push it: timid three-point looks like a mistake.
+2 more
Interiors Done
An interior is a box you stand inside. Find the back wall first, then the floor and ceiling lines running back to the vanishing point. Furniture is just smaller boxes on the same grid.
+1 more
Curves in perspective Done
Arches and circles become ellipses in perspective. Draw the box that contains the arch first, then fit the curve inside it. The ellipse's long axis is always at right angles to its axle.
+2 more
The street scene Done
Ten minutes per scene. Put in the horizon, the vanishing points and the biggest masses before anything else. Detail goes last, and only where you want the eye to land.
+1 more