Perspective

Whether you are concepting a figure, object or an environment, perspective is essential to realism. It is the consideration of distance and scale between relative objects and forms, and when it is ignore, it completely destroys an art piece. Following perspective is to study the laws of how we perceive depth in environments. And while some believe that perspective lines and guides is the realm of the architect or designer, artists must also obey these laws if they wish to create believable subjects.

There are 3 main versions of perspective in artwork, and while all are useful in certain circumstances, they represent an increase in complexity. The first, is one-point perspective.

This involves drawing all objects in relation to one dimension of depth. There is a 'vanishing point', which is a point on a horizon where all depth lines would eventually converge. This method of perspective is very simple, and is usually the first to be taught to art students. It is usually ideal for depicting environments containing relatively simple objects.

The second type of perspective is two-point perspective.

It adds considerably more complexity to environments depicted this way, but they also appear more believable. There are more faces that are scaled according to depth, and depending on the position of the faces, the lines point towards one of two vanishing points.

The third type is three-point perspective.

Three point perspective adds depth to all three geometric dimensions. The third vanishing point is usually towards the top or bottom of the environment, and most vertical lines converge there. While this is the most complex perspective method to plot, it is great for depicting dramatic scenes that greatly emphasise sheer scale and depth.