Page 153 - Mediapedia Mobile

PART I1 THE PAGE
04_MP_132-171.indd 144-145
6/19/08
8:12:36 AM
illusion of depth
Linear perspective includes a set
of specific rules for making drawings appear to project or recede into three-dimensional space.
Techniques that give two-dimensional drawings the illusion of three-dimensional depth.
One-point perspective is a drawing approach that uses a single vanishing point. It took artists hundreds of years to perfect the rules that govern how to draw in perspective and create the illusion of depth. Most of Western codification about perspective was achieved during the Renaissance.
[ 144 ]
CHAPTER 4: ILLUSTRATION [ 145 ]
Here are some of the techniques that illustrators and paint- ers have long used to make their drawings on flat sheets of paper look 3D.
Many good artists have difficulty understanding the technique of drawing with linear perspective. The fundamental goal is to place objects in relationship to each other and to the plane of the earth. There are two concepts you need for an operational understanding of perspective drawing:
overlapping plane: A closer object overlaps the object behind it.
Objects above the horizon appear to be floating “in air,” while those below the horizon line are perceived as being at- tached to the ground. Artists often begin a perspective draw- ing by sketching a light line to establish the horizon line.
relative size/familiar size: With two or more similar ob- jects, viewers assume the larger one is closer.
modeling: This technique is used to smooth transitions between values of color to create the illusion of light falling on a rounded surface. Another name is for it is chiaroscu- ro—the interplay of light and shadow as if on a surface.
All lines that are not parallel to the horizon line will converge at a vanishing point. There can be more than one vanishing point in a work of art. If drawn according to the rules of linear perspective, lines or surfaces that may in fact be parallel within an object will still recede toward one single point on the drawing.
Two-point perspective is an approach that uses two vanishing points on the horizon line. Here a techni- cal definition for perspective: As a plane moves into three-dimensional space, it gains depth and maps out volume.
atmospheric blur: Colors farther away appear less satu- rated.
relative height: The higher an object is on a plane, the farther away it appears.
texture grades: Recurring patterns reduce in scale as they extend toward the background.
converging lines: Seemingly parallel lines converge as they move into the far distance.
These three pencil drawings show how the illusion of depth is created by overlapping shapes of diminishing size, by converging lines, and by lighter tones and less detail with progressively more distant elements. Drawings from Keys to Drawing
by Bert Dodson.
Three-point perspective is an approach that uses two vanishing points on the horizon line and one above or below the horizon line.
linear perspective