Quick Draw Part Three: Perspective

Congratulations, you are drawing in perspective! As the slideshow demonstrates, it’s complicated stuff, unless you are a rocket engineer, and even then it’s complicated. One little miscalculation and it can throw the drawing way off course. It’s good to know a little about one, two and three point perspective, but the fastest way to learn and reproduce perspective is by observation.

Please remember that if things go strange it’s usually because of a very few reasons that come up again and again for most creatives. First, let’s consider these two quotes:

LUKE Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different!
YODA (irritated) No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.
LUKE (focusing, quietly) All right, I’ll give it a try.
YODA Do or do not. There is no try.

  • PMA- Positive Mental Attitude, It’s all explained in the above two quotes.
  • Subvocalizing the name of the thing you are drawing
  • Someone within earshot vocalizing words that conjure up latent images
  • Changing the position or angle of observation
  • Not closing the same eye consistently
  • Not holding your plexiglass or your head at a consistent  distance.
  • Subvocalizing the name of the thing you are drawing- it’s worth repeating.

Homework

  • Draw what is outside your window using the technique we used in class
  • Or if you have a piece of plexiglass draw a part of your house, interior or exterior, in two point perspective
  • Bonus- Draw a still life. If you feel you have the hang of observation, then go straight into a freehand drawing of a few simple items.
  • Also, don’t neglect your drawings from last week if you have the time.

Next week we will work on the 4th step in this process, but rest assured, the 5th class we will have time to go back and try previous techniques, and progress on any unfinished work.