Back to basics - perspective

I’m going back to basics and learning how to sketch properly as my education failed in teaching those core skills.

I’ve been using Scott Robertson’s DVD’s on perspective which is excellent. However I am now at the stage where I want to move past the use of a grid with the vanishing point on my page.

How do you make that jump where the VP is far off in the distance and off the page?

In my perspective class we offset where we were sketching on a table, either to the left or the right and made the corners of the table vanishing points. We had long, skinny tables so it worked really well, but if you’re just trying to get used to sketching with far vanishing points I suggest doing something similar and set up some sort of markings that represent vanishing points, of course keeping in mind that the edge of a table works best because it serves as a perfectly straight horizon line.

I used to tape the paper down and then put the vanishing points on apiece of tape well off the paper. After 6 months or so of doing this you just get the feel for it.

After 6 months or so of doing this you just get the feel for it.

I always referred to this as “fake perspective”, and as yo says, after a period of time one does develop a feel for it. Take any quick sketch and extend the various lines to the horizon and I doubt that too many of them would actually intersect. The overall balance is what makes it work.

How do you make that jump where the VP is far off in the distance and off the page?

I found that working with large format paper (18" x 24 newsprint) helped me break loose. I developed that habit as a result of watching an old TV show hosted by Jon Gnagy when I was a kid; You are an Artist. My grandpa gave me one of his “Learn to Draw” sets and it was no looking back.

Some of his stuff is on YouTube

You had paper back then? I always imagined you working on stone.



















Kidding, kidding.

<<I found that working with large format paper (18" x 24 newsprint) helped me break loose. I developed that habit as a result of watching an old TV show hosted by Jon Gnagy when I was a kid; You are an Artist. My grandpa gave me one of his “Learn to Draw” sets and it was no looking back.

Some of his stuff is on YouTube >>

Funny – same here.

You had paper back then?

It was new technology at the time, and I’ll admit to a certain amount of luddite-ism about its introduction. I liken it to CAD and draftsmen; I was sure it was going to put lot of people out of work. :wink:

agree on the large format. When I was in school (iron age, not the stone age) or instructors made us sketch on 24’x36’ pads that they would have us cut down to 12"x36"… great for cars and it forced your proportions to be low and wide. Also helped you to sketch from you your shoulder, not the wrist or elbow, which starts to give you natural long arcs and convergent lines. At the time, this was before digital sketches, so if you wanted a big sketch on the wall to impress the instructors, you had to draw it that scale. People would literally do 1/2 scale airbrush drawings just to get the attention of the instructors. Good times :wink:

You’ll have to get them to do it like that again! The Design Principles class for sure has the same large scale sharpie drawing in the first semester but then there isn’t much focus on sketching or learning more about it – although one of the newer teachers has the students draw 100 quick sketches in the beginning and then refine in the next week. Definitely not a new idea, but one I think that has been skipped over in the school.

That is a shame. Visually fluency is such a powerful and persuasive tool to use as a professional designer.

Visually fluency is such a powerful and persuasive tool to use as a professional designer.

And even more so when you can “stand and deliver”. There’s nothing quite so notable during a meeting as a designer capturing attendees thoughts and what-ifs on the fly .

Agreed. It works every time.