1. One – Point Perspective
Art 120 Drawing 1

2. Basic Vocabulary
Baseline: the imaginary line on which an object or group of objects sit
Converge/Laws of Convergence: come together, meet/orthogonal lines will appear to converge at a vanishing point
Diagonal Lines: straight lines that are at an angle
Forms VS Shapes in Perspective: square/cube; rectangle/box; circle/sphere; triangle/pyramid; oval/ellipse; cylinder
Foreshortening: a technique for producing the illusion of an object’s extension into space by contracting its form
Horizontal Lines: straight lines that extend to the left & right
Horizon Line/Eye Level: The apparent intersection of the sky and earth/The imaginary horizontal line parallel to the viewer’s eyes

3. Basic Vocabulary
Orthogonal Lines: Parallel lines that appear to converge at the horizon
Parallel Lines: lines that run together but never intersect
Perpendicular: are lines that intersect at right angles (90o) to each other
Proportion: comparative relationship between parts of a whole and between the parts and the whole
Scale: size and weight relationships between forms
Vanishing Point: the spot on the horizon line (or y-axis for 3pt) that orthogonal lines converge upon
Vertical Lines: straight lines that extend upward or downward

4. Linear Perspective Concepts
Geometric/Linear Perspective is a system for depicting three- dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface
1-point perspective: All orthogonal lines converge at one point on the horizon line
2-point perspective: All orthogonal lines converge at two points on the horizon line
3-point perspective: In addition to receding to two points on the horizon, lines parallel and vertical to the ground appear to converge to a third vertical vanishing point.
Laws of Convergence:
Every object observed appears to become smaller as it moves away from one’s view.
All parallel lines moving away from the viewer will appear to converge, and will eventually meet at an infinite point, a vanishing point.
As objects move back in space the objects themselves and the space between them will appear to get smaller and compress.

5. Overview
Perspective in art is used to provide the illusion of depth in a two dimensional (2D) work of art.
There are several ways in which the illusion of depth are created
Overlapping – Objects that are placed in front of each other provide the viewer information about which is closer.
Relative size – The closer an object is to the viewer, the closer it appears
Atmospheric Perspective - As an object gets farther from the viewer, it:
Becomes less in focus
Has less intense color
Has less of its original colors, and looks more blue (or in a polluted city a brownish orange)
Linear Perspective – A system of rules that uses lines to provide the artist with information about how an object should appear in space

6. Defining Perspective
First studies of linear perspective attributed to Leon Battista Aberti and sculptor Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century. They demonstrated that space could be articulated mathematically to express depth
Perspective mimics the way the eye sees space and objects in space.
Linear vs intuitive perspective; drawing perspective “by eye” without using geometric rules.
Aerial perspective: the effect produced by diffusion of light in the atmosphere whereby more distant objects have less clarity of outline and are lighter in tone.

7. Linear vs. Intuitive

8. What is Linear Perspective
What is Linear Perspective? A form of perspective in drawing and painting in which parallel lines are represented as converging so as to give the illusion of depth and distance
One Point Perspective: a single vanishing point
Two Point Perspective: two vanishing points
Three Point Perspective: three vanishing points
Multiple Point Perspective: multiple vanishing points

9. 1 Point Perspective

10. 1-Point Perspective

11. 1-Point Perspective

12. One Point Perspective

13. 1-Point Perspective
George Tooker

14. Intuitive 1-Pt PerspectivePC PL VP HL CL

15. Student Work

16. 1-Point Perspective

17. 2-Point Perspective

18. 3-Point Perspective