Drawing in Perspective

8/2/2019 Drawing in Perspective

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/drawing-in-perspective 1/19

By Siah Tiong Hong

Photoshop Indepth

htt p:/ / www.ps-indepth.com/

http://www.ps-indepth.com/




Preface

Drawing to scale in Adobe Photoshop is not a topic that has been discussed in

the online community. However, I came across this idea of drawing

perspect ive images in Photoshop and devised a simplified method to do it.

What’s more, I am crazy enough to turn it into an e-book and distribute it.

That said, the method of drawing in perspective described in this e-book has

been greatly simpli fi ed. Perspect ive art is not, and should not be reduced to

such a crude and simple procedure. If you find perspective art interesting,

why not check around the Internet for more in-depth informat ion?

So please remember, the information found inside t his e-book is the workflow

I roughly work through when I want to draw something in perspective, to

make things “ look right” . Under no circumstances should this crude method

be deemed “ scient if icall y accurate” . I am only focusing on the visual appeal

part.

If you have finished reading this e-book and do find it interest ing, please takesome time to visit my website, ht tp:/ / www.ps-indepth.com/ . I write and

post my Photoshop tutorials there regularly, so don’ t forget to subscribe to

the newsletter here to be reminded for new tutorials.

Finally, enjoy the e-book! ☺

Thank you,

Siah Tiong Hong

[email protected]

ht tp:/ / www.ps-indepth.com/






















http://www.ps-indepth.com/lessons/

mailto:[email protected]



mailto:[email protected]





Chapter 1 – Introduction

Thank you for downloading this short e-book on perspective drawing. The

concept of perspect ive has been used in tradit ional art for centuries to create

the il lusion of depth.

In digit al art , perspect ive has been well emulated with the use of 3D soft ware

like 3D Studio Max and Lightwave 3D. However, we are going to make a

difference with this e-book by utilizing the idea of perspective in Adobe

Photoshop.

Before we continue, let me state that I have written this e-book based on

Adobe Photoshop 7.0. The lessons contained in this e-book can st il l be used

wit h other versions of Adobe Photoshop, as there will only be slight variations

in the program interface and commands.

Without further ado, let us continue to the lessons.





Chapter 3 – Two Point Perspect ive

Let’s examine the image above. The horizon is the horizontal line whichrepresents the eye level of the viewer , as explained above. Vanishing points

always fall on the horizon (in 2-point perspective) and converging lines are

extended from the points. By using two vanishing points and extending some

converging lines, a simple plane can be produced.

In the simple steps provided below, you’ ll be taught the basics of two-point

perspect ive drawing, as well as practicing it in Adobe Photoshop.



Step 1Draw the horizontal line

and vanishing points on

the horizon.

This can be done by using

the Single Row Marquee

Tool to select a fine

horizontal line and filling

it with a dark colour.

The vanishing points canbe simply marked with a

fine brush (using the Brush Tool). These are for guidance purposes only, and

need not be picture-perfect .

Step 2 Extend converging lines

from the vanishing pointson the horizon. You can

extend an unlimited

number of converging

lines from either of the

points, but that is not

necessary as our goal is to

map out a simple plane.

First, by using the Pen

Tool, left-click once on

the vanishing point and left -click once again on the spot where you want your

converging line to be extended. You should get a st raight path on your screen.

Then, select the Brush Tool and choose a sharp brush with a small radius,

somewhere around 1px. After that, press ENTER once on your keyboard and

the path should be traced with a fine line.

Repeat this procedure until all the converging lines have been created.



Step 3 Now, choose t he Pen Tool

again and click on the

points where the

converging lines cross.

These points have been

indicated with a red dot

in t he image here.

You should cl ick on the

points in a part icular order,

either clockwise orcounter-clockwise. In my

case, I have clicked on the points in a counter-clockwise manner, as indicated

by the digits above the point s. Clockwise works f ine t oo, j ust make sure you

do them in a consistent manner. After you have clicked on the fourth point,

click again on the first point to close the path. Now, you should have the

out line of the plane we are t rying to create.

Step 4 Now, go to the Layers

Palette and choose the

Paths Tab. Then, click on

the “ Load path as a

select ion” but ton as

indicated in the image.

Now, you should get a

selection of the plane we

are creating. Just fill it

with a colour that you

want and we’ re done.

Note: t he horizon, converging l ines and vanishing point s should al l be

created on separate layers t han the act ual obj ect (t he plane) i t self . This is

t o make it easy to erase them af t er f inishing t he obj ect .



Step 5

Finally, remove all the

converging lines, vanishing

points and horizontal line.

After that, add a simple

shadow below the plane

and you’re done!

To enhance the realism, you

may want to use the Colour

Dodge tool to lighten a

portion of the plane – seeimage.



Chapter 4 – Three Point Perspect ive

Now that we have explored the two-point perspective concept, let us

understand the idea of adding another axis and vanishing point.

The other axis we are going to add is of course, the vert ical axis. The vert ical

axis is used as a guideline to determine from which angle (horizontally) the

object is viewed.

For example, a surface facing the left side of the image can only be seen if it

is to the right of the vertical axis. The concept is similar to that of the

horizon’s, try to ponder upon it and fully understand it before you continue.

After f inishing this chapter, you should be able t o achieve something like this:



Step 1Make a two-point perspective

image (and a plane), or

continue from the image that

we made in the last chapter.

As we can see in t he image,

there is an additional vertical

red line and blue vanishing

point on the vertical axis. We

shall make use of them in this

chapter.

Step 2Now, extend three converging

lines from the ext ra vanishing

point to the three corners ofthe plane.

Note that the dashed

converging line in t he image is

not necessary because it will

appear behind the object and

will not be visible.

Hence, only extend the three

solid blue converging lines to the left, right and front corners of your plane.



Step 3Next, determine the height

that you want your object to

be. Then, extend two

converging lines (orange

line in image) from the

vanishing points on the

horizon to the base of your

obj ect . Refer t o the image if

you are not sure where to

extend the lines.

If you are observant , you wil l

see that two new planes are formed in t he image. You wil l also see that there

is a very three-dimensional feel to the object. That i s because the object

conforms to the perspective.

Step 4

Now, whip out the Pen Tool and begin to click on the

intersections (red dots in

the image) to select the

extra faces/ planes formed.

Simi lar to the example in

Chapter 3, the dots must be

clicked in the correct order

(clockwise or counter

-clockwise) to get a correct

plane.



After you have selected

one of the planes, load

the shape into a

selection and fill it with a

different shade of green.

Then, select the

remaining plane using the

same method, and fill it

with another shade of

green.

Step 5

Your f inished image should

look something like this

image.

The different (darker)

shades of green used create

the illusion of depth, as

shadows form when light is

cast on the object from a

certain direction. The

darker shades are used in

order to simulate shadows.

As in the previous chapter, delete all the converging lines, vanishing points

and axes to f inalize the image. You may also add a soft shadow under the

object to increase realism, but paint it on your own (as opposed to using the

Drop Shadow layer style in Photoshop).

This is because, as shown in the image below, painted shadows are more

realistic than the drop shadow layer style in Photoshop.



My final image

Creat ing A Shadow

As shown in the image, creat ing a shadow is simply

a matter of selecting the region required, turning

it into a selection and filling it black.

Then, j ust apply a Gaussian blur fi lt er to soft en it

a bit .

As an alternative, you can also hand-paint the

shadow with the Brush Tool. Just paint the shown

region with a fuzzy brush.



Chapter 5 – Enough with Boxes!

Up t il l now, we have only created “ boxes” as objects. In this chapter, we are

going to explore the possibi lit ies of creating oddly shaped objects with the

help of some extra methodology.

By the way, from now on we

are going to use the

three-point perspective for

the rest of this e-book.

I’m fed up wit h drawing axes

and vanishing points andconverging lines, so I’ l l

recycle this image for the

uti li zat ion of this chapter.

OK, let’s say we want to

create a simple cylinder wi th the perspect ive method that I int roduced. At a

first glance, that would appear rather impossible because an ell ipse doesn’ t

have corners, hence we cannot extend any converging lines from thevanishing points.

However, I have devised a very simple method that can be used to create

round shapes. Read on to find out.



Step 1First, let us load up this

image so that we can skip

the tedious process of

drawing new axes, vanishing

point s and converging lines.

Step 2

On a new layer, draw a

perfect ellipse (a circle) by

using the Ell ipt ical Marquee

Tool and dragging a circlewhile holding the SHIFT key

on your keyboard. Then, go

to Edit > Stroke…and apply

a 1px stroke.



Step 3Now, while selecting the ellipse layer, press CTRL + T (Transform) on your

keyboard. A square with eight vertices on it will appear. Now right-click

within t he box and choose Distort .

You can now drag the

vertices freely to deform

the image. This is the most

important part – make sure

you pay attention.

Now, drag the four verticesin the corners (circled in

blue) to match the posit ions

of the four intersections

(red dots) of t he top plane.

You should have a circle that matches the perspective view.

Extend the converging lines

from the vanishing points onthe horizon to form the

bottom plane of the box.

Then, repeat the procedure

of creating an ellipse and

distorting it, only conform it

to the bounds of the bottom

plane.

Note : In a real-l if e pract ical

situation, you would do this

in a really high-resolution image so t hat you can always scale down the

image af t er dist ort ing it . This is because dist ort ing an image wil l drop the

qual it y dramat ically.

After t hose agonisingly complicated steps, you should get an image similar to

the one above.



Step 4After that, extend two

converging lines from the

vert ical axis to the limit s of

the upper cir cle.

Now, select the Pen Tool

again and outline the lines

in red in the image with it.

We must reconstruct the

shape of our obj ect because

the distorted circles onlyserve as a guide and cannot

be used in the final image due to it’s reduced quality.

I’ m sure you know what is coming next; select ing the shapes and t ransforming

them to selections, and finally filling them with a colour. Also, add a soft

shadow and remove all the axes, vanishing point s and converging lines.

The final result :



Chapter 6 – Conclusion

And there you have it, drawing in perspective in Adobe Photoshop.

One may ask why do you go to such great lengths to create a “ perspect ive”

image? One can j ust est imate the way objects would appear in a cert ain

perspect ive, and yet achieve similar result s.

The fact is, the examples shown in this e-book are very simple in nature t o

make it easier for you to understand. Once you have grasped the concept of it,

you can create far more sophisticated images with this method. Only then

wil l you be able to realise the power this method holds.

Good luck in learning and utilizing this method in the future!

Siah Tiong Hong,Photoshop Indepth

http:/ / www.ps-indepth.com/

P/ S:

If you are interested in the topics discussed in this e-book, you will li ke the tut orials on my

websit e too! Just visit www.ps-indepth.com/ lessons/ right now t o check out my current

tutorials.

I also add new tutorials regularly, so don’ t forget to subscribe t o the newslet ter!







Appendix: Perspect ive Art Resources

Here, I have listed some nice resources regarding perspective art. Please

check them out if you are interested!

Introduction to Perspective

htt p:/ / drawsketch.about.com/ library/ weekly/ aa021603a.htm

Mathemat ics of Perspect ive Art

htt p:/ / www.math.utah.edu/ ~t reiberg/ Perspect/ Perspect. htm

Drawing in One-Point -Perspect ive

ht tp:/ / www.olejarz.com/ art ed/ perspective/

Perspective Drawing

htt p:/ / www.mpsaz.org/ art s/ online_lessons/ persp/

You can also f ind tons of other perspect ive resources by searching at major

search engines, such as www.google.com

Good luck wit h perspective drawing!

http://drawsketch.about.com/library/weekly/aa021603a.htm

http://www.math.utah.edu/~treiberg/Perspect/Perspect.htm

http://www.olejarz.com/arted/perspective/

http://www.mpsaz.org/arts/online_lessons/persp/

http://www.google.com/

http://www.google.com/

http://www.mpsaz.org/arts/online_lessons/persp/

http://www.olejarz.com/arted/perspective/

http://www.math.utah.edu/~treiberg/Perspect/Perspect.htm

http://drawsketch.about.com/library/weekly/aa021603a.htm

Documents

Drawing in Perspective