Introducing Visual Communication: Perspective Practice

Perspective has always been something I have struggled with in my artwork; technical measures and spatial positioning have always confused me. I was apprehensive to have a go at these activities, but on the other hand I was eager to learn how perspective really works in order to better my work.

Even learning the basic concepts (eg. oblique projection vs. realistic convergence) and getting to grips with the three dimensions was a useful starting point.

1 Point Perspective and 2 Point Perspective Practice

We started off with 1 point perspective, which only distorts depth by using one vanishing point. We had a go at ​drawing some cubes, cylinders and pyramids using this technique. Out of these, I found the cylinders and ellipses the most challenging. After many failed attempts, I eventually felt a little more comfortable constructing a cylinder by using what I like to refer to as "the phantom box".

2 point perspective was relatively straightforward - using two vanishing points to construct shapes angled towards the viewer, distorting depth and width this time. You can see some of my notes and attempts above and below.

Freehand Perspective Sketches

In another 1PP exercise, we constructed "railroads" and "chessboards". I found this extremely useful when drawing an object that extends into the distance - the "zigzag" technique, points of distance, and the use of aerial perspective really helped me develop my proportional accuracy. You can see some of my attempts below.

"Railroads" and "Chessboards"

Something I was very keen to learn was how to better the anatomy of my sketches using perspective. Again, proportion is something I struggle with - especially when it comes to facial structure, limb length, placement of a figure on the page, and so on. I found the techniques we learned in these activities very useful, and have since noticed a visible improvement in my figure sketching.

Below you can see some practice and development sketches of figures and busts. I took pictures of my fiancé (who grudgingly agreed) and used them as references to develop my understanding of facial proportions. To practice full body figures and movement, I used screenshots from a video of myself during martial training. I particularly learned a lot about drawing figures that aren't all at the same distance from the viewer - the bent knees in the first stance and the torso bending backwards in the second were useful challenges.

Practicing Perspective with Figures