Perspective Basics: One-Point and Two-Point

What perspective does

Perspective is a set of conventions for transferring three-dimensional space onto flat paper. It rests on two observations. Objects of the same size look smaller the further away they are, and lines that are parallel in reality appear to converge on a single point as they recede. Picture a straight railway track or a long corridor. The two sides stay the same distance apart all the way, yet to the eye they seem to meet far away. That point is called the vanishing point. Once you understand perspective, you can draw anything from a single box to a room or a whole street using the same principle. Still, perspective is only a tool that organises what the eye sees; it does not replace observation. When drawing a real space, the most accurate approach is to build the framework with perspective rules and then correct it against the angles in front of you. Using a ruler while practising is perfectly fine.

The horizon is your eye level

The first thing to decide in a perspective drawing is the horizon line, also called the eye level. It is an imaginary horizontal line at the height of the artist's eyes, and it sits at the same height as a real horizon over sea or open fields. Objects below the eye level show their tops, objects above it show their undersides, and objects crossing it show almost neither. Sitting down lowers the eye level; looking down from somewhere high raises it. It also helps to remember that if the people in a scene stand on the same ground and are of similar height, their heads gather near the eye level whatever their distance.

Drawing a box in one-point perspective

One-point perspective is used when you face the subject directly: a corridor, a straight road, a room seen from the front. The face toward you is drawn in its true shape, and only the lines going into the distance head for the vanishing point.

• Draw a horizontal eye level across the page and mark one vanishing point on it
• Draw the front rectangle with horizontal and vertical sides
• Lightly draw lines from each corner of the rectangle to the vanishing point
• Close the back with a rectangle parallel to the front at the depth you want

Drawing a corner in two-point perspective

Two-point perspective is used when you view the subject at an angle, toward a corner: a building on a street corner or a box turned sideways. Place two vanishing points on the same eye level, one on each side, and send the box's horizontal edges to the left and right points respectively. Vertical edges stay vertical.

• Draw the eye level and mark two vanishing points near its ends
• Draw the nearest vertical edge straight up and down
• From the top and bottom of that edge, draw lines to both vanishing points
• Set the side edges vertically to fix the faces, then close the back by joining to the vanishing points

Vanishing point spacing and distortion

In two-point perspective, if the two vanishing points are too close together, the front corner of the box becomes too sharp and the form distorts like a photo taken with a wide-angle lens. For a natural look, keep the vanishing points well apart, even off the page if necessary. A common approach is to tape extra paper beside the sheet or mark points on the desk. When vertical lines also converge, as when looking up at or down on a tall building, you are in three-point perspective; it is easier to tackle once you are comfortable with one- and two-point.

Depth beyond lines

A sense of space does not come from linear perspective alone. Distant mountains and buildings lose contrast, soften at the edges and fade toward blue because of dust and moisture in the air. This is called atmospheric perspective. In a drawing you get the same effect by making near things dark and crisp and far things pale and soft. Overlapping, where a nearer object hides part of one behind it, and placing near things larger and lower in the frame are other simple ways to create depth. Even if your perspective lines are slightly off, a drawing looks convincingly deep when these cues agree.

Common mistakes

Problems that often appear in early perspective drawings, and how to check for them.

• Drawing without an eye level: always draw one line before you start
• Verticals that lean: in one- and two-point, check them with a ruler
• A different eye level for each object: one scene has one eye level
• Vanishing points too close: move them well apart, off the page if needed
• Construction lines drawn too dark: keep guides light and only final lines firm