Perspective: one, two and three point
Linear perspective — developed and written about in Renaissance Italy, notably by Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti — is a system for drawing parallel lines that appear to meet as they recede. It gives drawings convincing depth.
Step by step
- Draw the horizon line. It is always at the viewer's eye level, wherever that is.
- One-point perspective: put a single vanishing point on the horizon. Lines going straight away from you meet there; horizontals and verticals stay parallel to the page. Good for roads, corridors and rooms seen face-on.
- Two-point perspective: place two vanishing points far apart on the horizon. A box seen corner-on has its two sets of horizontal edges going to each point; verticals stay vertical.
- Three-point perspective: add a third vanishing point above or below the horizon for very tall subjects seen from below (worm's-eye) or above (bird's-eye).
- Draw boxes 'through' — sketch the hidden back edges too — to check they are correct.
- Remember atmospheric perspective as well: distant things get lighter, cooler, lower in contrast and less detailed.
Common mistakes
- Putting vanishing points too close together, which distorts boxes.
- Letting vertical lines lean in two-point perspective.
- Placing the horizon in different places for different objects in the same scene.
Practice exercise
Draw a street in one-point perspective, then ten floating boxes in two-point perspective, some above and some below the horizon.