Category: In Process

Find places that can exaggerate different viewpoints. Focus on how you visualise depth and what strategies you use. Produce three drawings depicting a room in your house using:

• one-point
• two-point
• three-point perspective
• isometric projection
• the room’s own visual logic and deliberately breaking the rules 
• a flat drawing.

By definition these last three drawings will be less observed and more imagined, but try and use the room and objects as in your perspective drawings. You don’t need to produce finished illustrations for these pieces, though you can if you want to.

Analysis

Write around 200 words analysing how these different approaches affect the ‘meaning’ of the visual space being represented. When you choose to draw with or without perspective what is this saying?

I chose to do these drawings in my living room, looking through to the hall and dining room depending on the type of perspective.

Linear perspective appears to be ‘photographically accurate’ – it is what we are used to considering as ‘correct’ and ‘real’. However there is no one ‘true’ perspective for any scene. Different photographic lenses give very different effects. There are many variations on any one scene in the way that linear perspectives can be constructed. In practice in most views there are multiple vanishing points because many things in a scene are not parallel to each other.

Images based on, or dominated by, one point perspective with a single vanishing point gives a feeling of direction towards that vanishing point. But it is possible to experiment with:

• eye or horizon line: can be placed in different relationship to the ground plane to give the view of a child (low eye-level), or an adult and taller person (high eye level). It is also possible to have very high (bird’s eye) or very low viewpoints in relation to the vanishing point for very dramatic effects.
• position of the vanishing point along the horizon line and in relation to the image border: central or off central, hidden etc
• angle of view: steeper angles give a closer wide angle feel, narrower angles give a telephoto feel.
• realism means that beyond the 60 degree cone of view the image would be slightly curved and less sharp
• area of focus or sharpness in the image can be towards the front ie we see things closer to us more sharply, or sharpness may be greater in a particular focal point of interest – like focusing a camera which is the way we scan scenes with our eye. The difference in sharpness may also vary from sharpness throughout the image to extreme variations between one or more points.
• differences in interest and focus can be changed by tonal and/or colour contrasts.
• tension can be created, feelings of emptiness or chaos can be created by altering the relationship between these different elements.

Two point perspective with two vanishing points along the eyel line gives a sense of indecision – which way to look? Again the eye line, angles and position of the mid line can be altered to create different effects.

Three point perspective (not to be confused with one point perspective looking up or down) has all horizontals and verticals converging towards different vanishing points. This exaggerates the feeling of height or depth. It can also be used to create a profound sense of disorientation when the angles towards one or more of the vanishing points are very exaggerated and distort objects.

Isometric perspective is used by designers because parallel relationships and measurements are preserved. This gives a more technical or expansive feel – as in the Chinese long scrolls of townscapes.

But none of these are actually the way we see things. Our eyes change focus, make more distant things seem near and make connections that are then stored as memories in the brain. Drawing without perspective can explore these connections and meanings. This can be done from memory, mixing images in photomontage or from imagination. These images can be apparently ‘realistic’ at first view and then become surreal on further examination. Or their improbability can be immediately apparent through design.

In all these cases drawings can be be along a continuum from photorealism to abstraction. Some of the most striking images can be abstracted in black and white to reveal shapes and relationships between objects in linear perspective, isometric or flat perspective or with no perspective at all.

Experimenting with viewpoint and perspective is an area I want to explore much more – exploring how to get very different effects through altering the relationship between perspective, line, tone and colour.  My earlier art and photography courses had really only touched on linear perspectives – dynamic lines and diagonals and importance of viewpoint. The possibilities of isometric, flat and magical perspective are exciting.  I also enjoyed the abstract experimentation with the accidental images. I explore perspective in more detail in Parts 2, 3 and 4. But I have so far only scratched  the surface.

Review of earlier work

I had already done quite a lot of perspective drawing in different media for earlier OCA drawing and painting courses – mostly one point or multiple perspective. I started by reviewing these so that this exercise took my thinking further rather than just repeating what I had already done. See below.

With this project I wanted to really experiment with the effects of different parameters – eye line to create the feeling of being a child, how to appear looking down, how to create a feeling of voyeurism, how to create an expansive feel. I also wanted particularly to experiment with perspective grids in Illustrator, and using different types of brush to get different digital effects.

Inspiration

De Chirico – use of multiple vanishing points and shadows that do not follow linear perspective to give a menacing or uneasy feel.

Alessandro Gottardo – bending of perspective to create compositional effects.

Adam Simpson who uses flat and isometric perspective

Geoff Grandfield who uses flat or exaggerated perspective to create drama and narrative.

David Hockney – perspective collages

Eric Ravillious – watercolours of rooms with split perspectives

Grosvenor School – linocut artists who bend and exaggerate perspective to represent  speed and drama.

Patrick Caulfield who often flattens perspective to complement the flat colour

Will Scott flat abstraction

MC Escher (from recent exhibition in Dulwich Gallery)

Dave McKean : dramatic childs’ eye and bird’s eye views in some of his graphic novels

Persian miniatures (see printout in sketchbook)

Chinese scrolls and isometric perspective (see video on David Hockney post)

Egyptian and Greek Art (flat perspective)

One point perspective

In one point perspective all vertical lines remain parallel, usually at 90 degrees to the horizon line, while horizontal lines converge to one vanishing point on the horizon line. Alternatively in a bird’s eye view or view looking up, all vertical lines may converge to one point in the viewer’s line of view, while horizontal lines remain parallel.

Many of my earlier drawings were in one point perspective.

In order to take this further I decided I would do a rough charcoal drawing to scan and experiment with in Illustrator perspective grids – something that was new to me.

The view that I thought most exaggerated one-point perspective was the view through the door from the lounge into the hall – one I had done before. But I experimented with different viewpoints – sketching two versions – one for a tall person looking down, a close-up feel, and one for a small person with low eye level giving a more distanced spacious feel. Inspired by some of the drawings by Escher, I also quickly tried a curved version just to see what that might look like.

In Illustrator I then put the first image onto a perspective grid and manipulated this to explore different types of effect – varying the eye line, position of the vanishing point in relation to the rest of the image, angles of view and cropping. I did some further sketches and identified different interpretations and areas of focus or mystery that the image could lead the viewer to.

I then started to explore the effects of different tonal relationships.

With different types of line and brush – following up on possible differences in effect from different media from Project 1.1.

Finally with different colours, following up on Project 1.3.

One point perspective gives a feeling of direction. It is possible to experiment with:

• eye level: to give the view of a child (low eye-level), or an adult and taller person (high eye level). It is also possible to have very high (bird’s eye) or very low viewpoints onto the picture plane for very dramatic effects.
• position of the vanishing point: central or off central, hidden etc
• angle of view: steeper angles give a closer wide angle feel, narrower angles give a telephoto feel.
• realism means that beyond the 60 degree cone of view the image would be slightly curved and less sharp

I also made a number of discoveries through printing errors that pointed to other possible areas of experimentation.

Accidental aliens

I printing out all the Illustrator experiments, I got the print settings wrong so the whole of all the artboards printed – giving all the small squares arms, legs and noses. Different versions had different expressions – some were more Aztec, others angry. So rather than throwing the paper away, I experimented a bit with different scenarios.

Abstraction

I made another mistake on one printing of the linear perspective series above, accidentally printing out at very large size. Again rather than throw the paper away I made a series of collages to explore the different effects of different line dynamics. These create ideas that I could take forward either as flat illustrations, bringing altered perspective in or moving further towards magical realism. Some like the last two suggest entirely new images and interpretations – and can be turned around or upside down to suggest even more as a source of inspiration.

1 point perspective sketches

Two point perspective

In two point perspective all vertical lines remain parallel, usually at 90 degrees to the horizon line, while horizontal lines to left and right converge to separate vanishing points. Alternatively all horizontal lines may remain parallel while vertical lines to top and bottom converge towards separate vanishing points.

It was more difficult to find an interesting view with two point perspective in the same rooms. The images above are still not really 2-point perspective except on the door, though the image is split.

The view I chose was the angle of the arch going one way into the lounge and on the right to the dining room, giving a split view. This was inspired by some of the interiors by Eric Ravillious.

I first sketched this in charcoal.

I then wanted to see how far I could warp and distort the view using the perspective warp in Photoshop. The digital sumi-e image I flattened the right hand side of the image and stretched the left side. Squashing things on the right makes me wonder much more what is happening outside the frame – the light from the window is intensified. Though the distortion on the left no longer has a vanishing point.

Two point perspective gives a sense of indecision – which way to look? Again the eye line, angles and position of the mid line can be altered to create different effects.

I look in more detail at 2 point perspective in Part 2.

Three point perspective

In three point perspective all vertical and horizontal lines will have their own vanishing points. (NOTE there is also four point perspective where left, right and top, down all have their vanishing points).

There are a lot of the examples of dramatic 3 point perspective cityscapes (See Architectural illustration) . But many examples of ‘3 point perspective’ on the web  are really one point perspective or multiple vanishing points on a horizon line. The linocut mineshaft below is just 1 point looking down.

It was difficult to find a view with 3 point perspective in the same room because there is not enough height. The views of my bedroom above (from earlier art courses) are not really it. Even if I went to the stairway, this would also have been one point perspective looking up or down.

This nearest I could find was looking down at an angle on the table and carpet. But I need to rethink this – put my paper on a large board and mark on the vanishing points. And redraw.

The resulting drawing provided some interesting possibilities for abstraction using Procreate that could be explored further – even with a less than perfect perspective drawing.

But I need to think carefully about the eyeline – is this in the direction of my view, but my actual eyeline? That is where I was getting confused.

I look in more detail at 3 point perspective in Part 2.

Isometric perspective

In isometric perspective all parallel lines follow the same fixed path.

Chinese perspective was more or less isometric, though it often had multiple vanishing points. This was because many drawing were done on long scrolls that made linear perspective impossible. One effect of this that has been noted is that it gives an ‘imperial view’ a vista over a wide landscape to emphasis imperial power.

Isometric drawing is particularly used in technical and architectural drawing where people want to know which distances are equivalent, and illusions of depth is not important. Illustrations using isometric perspective often have a childlike ‘lego-brick’ feel as in Adam Simpson‘s ‘boundaries’ and ‘loveth well’ images.

Some of my earlier paintings had sort of used isometric perspective in the sense that it is approximated in Cezanne’s still lifes.

Isometric perspective was new to me. I found it difficult even using isometric paper – whether things should go up or down around the horizon line – the door here was particularly problematic as part of it is above and part below. Possibly logically as all lines go up, the lightshade should also go up. It looks odd.

But the effect of the painting over life drawing, coupled with different colouring experiments in procreate can produce some quite interesting images.

This is a type of perspective I could explore further. Some of my earlier images of interiors like the pen drawing of the bathroom and the still lifes could have been made more definitely isometric and that might have made them more interesting.

 Flat perspective

Here the lack of visual depth makes the whole surface area equally important. It has a different visual dynamic, placing more emphasis on abstract line, colour and shape. This approach is often used by illustrators involved in pattern-making, fabric design, textiles and other surface-based media. It is also common in film animations.

 See overview of flat perspective

Some of my earlier work in drawing and painting courses had almost been flat – and could have been more interesting if they had been intentionally flattened – though that was not the aim of the course. Some of the isometric images above could also be flattened and made more interesting. Some of the colour images in Project 1.3 are also flat, and the flatness could have been further exaggerated along with different colour and size combinations to produce more interesting abstract images.

I did two images moving round the room and joined them together into one long image in my sketchbook. I like this flat deadpan effect.

I later experimented with the image in Procreate – first digitally joining the two pages – a little tricky as they did not quite fit in tone. I experimented with different blend modes to get different moods in the room. But in general I found there was too much detail for this.

I then started to crop – first just using a single image. I found that very fine differences in cropping elements like the door could give very different meanings – either a very small dark area something that is not noticed, an annoying white area that has no meaning, or a slightly larger area that indicates another place of interest that is hidden from view. Cropping out altogether was not so interesting.

I also experimented with different crops on the joined image, experimenting again with different tones and blend modes. This produced the two images I like best – exaggerating the patterns and strangeness of the flatness.

This type of perspective would be interesting for a panorama – something I have become increasingly interested in in photography although here one gets interesting perspective distortions. I could also have exaggerated my earlier images of my bedroom and the bathroom also in this way in ink.

Magical realism

Storytelling does not have to fully use the rules of perspective. They can use them partially, or reinvent the world along new visual lines, distorting and bending perspective and playing with scale and other cues to visual depth. In this way they can construct new symbolism or narrative meanings and connections and new ways of looking at the world. Surrealism often distorts perspective as well as using unusual juxtapositions.

See for example de Chirico and MC Escher for surreal effects. Geoff Grandfield significantly alters the relative scale of different elements in his images to create mystery and hidden meanings that only become apparent when the eye follows his dynamic perspective lines. David Hockney‘s ‘joiner’ photomontages also play with the idea of perspective, as does cubism. In some of my own earlier paintings I was also very interested in distorting perspectives, as in the final image inspired by the Fitzwilliam Museum lobby stairs above.

For this exercise I started by doing a somewhat random photomontage from my memories and impressions of the room. I made things like the arch bigger, opposite the window – all ways to light and the outside. I made the doors narrower with just a slit to the light in the hall. Then the lamp in the middle larger – it hits tall guests on the head if they don’t look where they are going but is also a key feature of the room. I then printed this image out on art photo paper and made a brush pen version in black ink over the top.

Later I brought this into Procreate and experimented with different versions and colours – making the room light or dark, and leading the eye through into gardens with different weather. I also printed different layered versions – with just line, and with just the shading. The abstracted shading I find very interesting and something to explore further.

Finally I put all that away and just did a drawing with a large clutch pencil – different from the photo as I realised there were important elements in the room like the crayon picture of the dog on the wall done by my daughter as a Christmas present when she was about 7.

I found the pencil sketch from memory interesting to do – liberating in many ways and something I would want to do more of in other contexts also.

What is flat perspective?

In its pure form flat perspective there are no line, no shadow or converging lines to represent depth. There are differences between illustrators and images however eg  two or more sides of objects may be shown with different tones and or slightly converging lines to show some form. Some illustrators do add shadows.

The process of flattening can create interesting distortions of the form. The lack of visual depth makes the whole surface area equally important. It has a different visual dynamic, placing more emphasis on abstract line, colour and shape. This approach is often used by illustrators involved in pattern-making, fabric design, textiles and other surface-based media. It is also common in film animations.

Historical precedents

This type of perspective is common for example in:

Egyptian wall painting

Classical Greek vases

Western Art

Art Nouveau, Art Deco and some paintings by Picasso which reduce 3D representations to 2D images.

Will Scott‘s Still Life flattens perspective into abstract shapes, often with symbolic and emotional meaning created partly by textures and subtle layering in the paint.

Gary Hume’s paintings simplify images into flat shapes.

Michael Craig-Martin’s line paintings of everyday objects are very obviously 2D renderings of 3D objects, but not strictly flat perspective as they generally have perspective drawn in.

Contemporary ‘flat illustration’

‘Flat illustration’ has become very fashionable with digital software like Illustrator. This takes flat perspective even further and uses solid blocks of colour/tone to represent objects, reducing details to very simple shapes. Flat illustration is often used in information graphics, cartoons and Flash animation.

Adam Simpson‘s Moby architecture illustrations

Geoff Grandfield’s narrative and other work