One-Point Perspective

Yevgeny Shnaper

About One-Point Perspective• One-point perspective consists of ONE vanishing point on a horizon line.• Horizon: a horizontal line where the sky and ground meet and/or eye-level

line.• Vanishing Point: a point on the horizon where all the lines of an object

converge to give the illusion of distance/depth. The vanishing point is also necessary to transform a 1-D Shape into a 2-D Shape.

• In one-point perspective, you will almost always see the front side of an object and one or two of its sides.

• Drawing a shape above the horizon line will offer a worm’s eye view perspective.

• Drawing a shape below the horizon line will offer a bird’s eye view perspective.• Drawing a shape on the horizon line will offer a neutral/frontal perspective.• Drawing a shape off-center (to the left or right of the horizon line) will expose

one or two side(s) and front of the shape.• You may place your vanishing point anywhere on the horizon line. Keep in

mind, the placement you choose will change the angle of sight.

Start with Horizon Line

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Plot Vanishing Point Anywhere on Horizon

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Draw a Shape Anywhere on Page

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Connect Edges of Shape to Vanishing Point

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Draw Parallel Lines to your Shape on the Sides

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Erase Excess Lines Connected to Vanishing Point

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Try Placing Shapes Above & Below + Side-Side of the Horizon. What perspective will you get?

Drawing Room in One-Point Perspective

Drawing Room in One-Point Perspective

• Drawing rooms in one-point perspective requires that at least one wall is flat (not at an angle) and is facing you.

• The same horizon line and one vanishing point is used to construct the room and its contents.

***For beginners, we will create a simple space with windows, a door, tiled floor, ceiling, and three paintings on back wall.

LET’S BEGIN!!!!

Draw a Large Rectangle or Square

Connect Corners of Rectangle with Diagonal Lines

Draw Smaller Rectangle or Square Within Existing One

Your Vanishing Point is the Area Where Diagonal Lines Converge (red)

The Horizon Line Marks Your Eye Level (Green Line)

Walls = BlueCeiling/Floor = White

Extend Lines from Vanishing Point to the Floor End to Create Tiles.

Note: Objects receding into Space Get Smaller (width of tiles at center vs. wall sides)

Draw Horizontal Lines to Complete Tiled Floor (tiles “shrink” as they recede into space)

Extend Two Lines from Vanishing Point onto One Wall Side (creating window)

Draw Two Parallel Vertical Lines to Complete Window

Erase Excess Lines

To Create a Door, Extend One Line from Vanishing Point onto Opposite Wall

Draw Two Vertical Lines that are Parallel to Vertical Walls

You Can Draw Two Parallel Horizontal Lines to Offer an Illusion that the Door is Open

Now You Can Decorate the Space with Paintings and a Light Fixture

You May Have Noticed...• In One-Point Perspective, certain horizontal and vertical lines are

not connected to the vanishing point. Instead, these lines run parallel to one another (horizontal-horizontal & vertical-vertical). In reality, even the lines connected to the vanishing point are parallel, but since objects become smaller as they recede into space, the lines give the illusion that they meet instead of appearing parallel. Lines that are not connected to the vanishing point simply offer the viewer an understanding of an object’s 1-D shape(s). The lines that are connected to the vanishing point offer the viewer an understanding of direction, volume, and/or distance/depth of the object in space (perspective). Hence, when I drew the triangular prism, the first thing I did was draw a triangle (shape). To create volume, direction, and a sense of depth, I had to connect the three points/edges of the triangle back to the vanishing point, followed by drawing parallel lines to the triangle’s sides. Suddenly, the 1-dimensional triangle turned into a 2-dimensional triangular prism in space.

Drawing from Photographs

Drawing from Photographs• When drawing a room in one-point perspective using

photographic reference, you may run into a few problems. The common one is not being able to distinguish two-point perspective from one. If you do not see at least one wall that is facing straight at you (frontal view), then you are dealing with another linear perspective.

• The second problem is guessing where the vanishing point is located. To locate the vanishing point, simply extend wall, ceiling, and some furniture lines, that are not horizontal or vertical, to the furthest point in the image. Make sure you do not change the angle of each line when extending them. Where the lines converge is your vanishing point. If you do not find a vanishing point, you may be dealing with an image where the vanishing point is actually outside of the field of view.

Establishing Vanishing Point

Horizon Line

• In the previous image, the dotted yellow line is the horizon line. Unlike in most landscape and cityscape drawings, the horizon line within a room is considered to be an invisible line that marks the viewer’s eye level.

Establishing Main Walls

Establishing Main Walls

• It is not only crucial to find the vanishing point, but also the main walls of the room. Draw a wall too wide or too thin and it can throw-off the rest of the room’s proportion. The blue lines in the previous image represent the main walls based on the hinting red lines used to find the vanishing point. From here, all you have to do is repeat all the necessary steps to draw in one-point perspective in order to re-create the same room as seen in this randomly chosen photograph.

Kensington Market