Perspective Drawing Examples
Understanding linear perspective is important for all artists, beginners included, regardless of their medium or subject matter, as the concept of linear perspective has revolutionized the way artists perceive and incorporate spatial depth in their work. Established in solid, mathematical terms in the 15th century, linear perspective creates the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface, such as a piece of paper or canvas. Linear perspective is also based on the illusion that when parallel lines recede into the distance, they appear to get closer together. To create effective linear perspective, artists establish a horizon line, a vanishing point on that line, and multiple orthogonal, or vanishing, lines. The horizon line is a horizontal line that runs across the paper or canvas to represent the viewerâs eye level and delineate where the sky meets the ground. The orthogonal lines, which distort objects by foreshortening them, create the optical illusion that objects grow smaller and closer together as they get farther away. These imaginary lines recede on the paper to meet at one point on the horizon called the vanishing point.Â