Use simple one-point and two-point perspective and basic proportion, including the horizon line, vanishing points and converging lines, to draw objects and scenes with believable depth

What this dot point is asking

SEAB wants you to use simple perspective and basic proportion to draw objects and scenes that look like they go back into space. Perspective is the set of rules that explain why a road seems to narrow in the distance and why a far-off building looks smaller than a near one. Learning the basics, the horizon line and vanishing points, lets you draw boxes, rooms and streets with believable depth instead of a flat, tilted look.

The answer

Why we need perspective

In real life, things that are further away look smaller, and the parallel edges of roads, buildings and tables seem to come together as they recede. Perspective is the simple system that lets you put this onto flat paper convincingly. Without it, a drawn box can look bent or tilted; with it, the same box sits solidly in space.

The horizon line and vanishing point

Two ideas do most of the work:

• The horizon line is a horizontal line at the viewer's eye level. It is where the ground appears to meet the sky.
• A vanishing point is a point on the horizon line where lines that are really parallel appear to meet as they travel away from us.

One-point perspective

In one-point perspective there is a single vanishing point. You use it when an object or scene faces you straight on. The front face stays flat, with truly vertical and horizontal edges, while the edges that run away from you all angle toward the one vanishing point and shrink as they go. A corridor or a straight road seen head-on is the classic case: the walls or kerbs seem to meet at a single point in the distance.

Two-point perspective

In two-point perspective there are two vanishing points, both on the horizon line. You use it when you see an object from a corner, like a building viewed from its edge. The vertical edges stay vertical, but the two sets of horizontal edges run off to two different vanishing points. This gives a more natural, three-dimensional view of boxes and buildings.

Keeping proportion as things recede

Perspective also keeps sizes believable: objects of the same real size must be drawn smaller the further back they are. A row of identical lamp posts should shrink steadily toward the vanishing point. Checking that distant things are smaller in the right amount keeps the depth convincing.

Examples in context

Example 1. A view down a corridor. A photograph or drawing looking straight down a school corridor is one-point perspective in its purest form: the floor, ceiling and rows of doors all appear to rush toward a single point at the far end. It makes the horizon line and vanishing point easy to see in a real scene.

Example 2. A building seen from the corner. A shophouse drawn from its corner shows two-point perspective: one wall recedes to a vanishing point on the left, the other to a point on the right, while the vertical edges stay upright. It shows why a corner view needs two points and gives a solid, three-dimensional feel.

Try this

Q1. Explain what the horizon line and a vanishing point are. [2 marks]

• Cue. The horizon line is a horizontal line at the viewer's eye level; a vanishing point is a point on it where lines that are really parallel appear to meet as they recede.

Q2. Explain the difference between one-point and two-point perspective. [2 marks]

• Cue. One-point has a single vanishing point and suits an object facing you head-on; two-point has two vanishing points and suits an object seen from its corner.

Q3. Why must objects of the same size be drawn smaller the further away they are? [2 marks]

• Cue. In real life distant things look smaller, so drawing them smaller is what creates the sense of depth; identical objects drawn the same size would look flat.