Perspective drawing is the best form for representing real—not abstract or ideal—objects, features, or structures due to the pictorial illustration it provides in the most realistic way by giving representations of objects as they appear smaller the further away they are from any observer’s eye. The perspective projection lines (i.e., lines of sight from the observer’s eye) are parallel to the principal orthographic planes and come together, meet, or converge at a point called the “vanishing point”.
Perspective projection is sometimes called perspective view or perspective drawing, or simply “perspective”: the lines of sight in perspective projection start at a single point (the observer’s eye) and move towards an object or converge at a single point away from an object.
Definition of perspective drawing
Perspective projection is the type of projection in which the projectors or lines of sight originate from the same point (called point of convergence or vanishing point) and diverge away from each other the more they approach an object’s plane of projection, thereby resulting in illustrations or drawings of objects that appear smaller the more their distance increases away from the vanishing point, eyes of the observer, or eyes of the projector.
Types of perspective drawing
There are three types of perspective drawing or drawing techniques which are named according to the number of vanishing points used in each type.
- One-point or parallel perspective drawing: This type of perspective drawing has only one vanishing point and is mostly used to illustrate the interior parts or features of rooms in buildings.
- Two-point or angular perspective drawing: This type of perspective drawing has two vanishing points. It is the most popular type of perspective drawing and mostly used to illustrate the exterior parts of houses, small buildings, construction projects, and sometimes, machine components as well.
- Three-point perspective drawing: This type of perspective drawing has three vanishing points and is usually employed in illustrating objects that are tall or have great vertical measurements; for example, skyscrapers and tall or multi-story buildings.
Perspective drawing basic concepts & principal components
The two principal components of any type of perspective drawing are: 1. the observer’s eye (i.e., the eye of the person who is viewing an object) and 2. the position of the person in relation to the position of the object.
The observer’s eye level is called the horizon line (HL) which is a line that is established in the front or elevation view as shown in the figure below.
Figure: Principal components of perspective drawings
The position of the observer in relation to the position of the object is called the station point (SP) which is a location or position that is established in relation to the top view or plan of the object.
The position or location of the station point dictates the proximity or closeness of the observer in relation to the object and the angle at which the observer is making a projection or viewing the object.
The line on which the object is stationed or rests is called the ground line (GL), while the plane of projection or picture plane (PP) is the surface, media, drawing sheet, or computer on which the object is being projected. The picture plane can be positioned anywhere between the observer and the object; it can also be positioned or located beyond the object.
The three vanishing points mentioned in the three different types of perspective projection are respectively called:
- vanishing point right (VPR)
- vanishing point left (VPL), and
- vanishing point vertical (VPV)
The vanishing point right (VPR) is the point at which projection or parallel lines that are receding from an observer appear to converge to the right. The vanishing point left (VPL) is the point at which the projection or parallel lines that are receding from an observer appear to converge to the right. The vanishing point vertical (VPV) is the point used in three-point perspective to illustrate the vertical orientation and show how the parallel lines that are receding from an observer appear to converge above or below the object.
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