The Perspective Course
Understanding Perspective(81 Lessons )
Intro to Perspective
Materials to Spare You Pain
Depth Tricks and Old Masters
Intro to Forms
Orthos and One Point
Orthos and No Point
XYZ
Grids
Eye Level
The Picture Plane
Bonus Lessons
Mastering the Skills(0 Lesson )
Course In Progress
Course In Progress
Learn how to draw objects that don't touch the picture plane, whether they're placed behind or in front of it.
Newest
Frank Engelhaupt
2d
I have a question. When I look at a model at my life drawing class and that model ist standing right in front of me. In order to look at her legs, I would have to roll my eyes or tilt my head downwards. I always assumed, that in this case, the legs would appear foreshortened hence I look down on them. So I did a little diagram and a little measuring and it seems, that there is NO foreshortening going on in the vertical axes. Am I correct or is there an error in my reasoning? I guess it has also to do with proximity - if I would stay closer to the model there would be a distortion even on the y-axis. Or does the distortion only start to happen when the canvas and the y-axes are not parallel anymore? Thank you for clarification.
•
12h
Frank,
You anticipate our next set of lessons.
Indeed, Y is "going away" from us in one way — from our eye. But it is not (yet) going away from the picture plane.
And when it does, it introduces a new set of problems.
One is easy. When the picture plane tilts, Y Lines go away. Hence three point.
Another takes more explaining but it has to do with exactly the error I made in the demo of the front corner extended through the picture plane. Briefly, the principle goes like this:
In Perspective Drawing, we see, not the world in front of us, but the picture plane in front of us that "captures" the lines out there (or in the case of the demo error, "up here"). Therefore, we look to how those lines appear ON the picture plane.
And when we want to see any lines, whether Y, X, or Z, extended beyond our normal vision, we must CURVE the plane to see them, which leads to Curvilinear Perspective.
Understanding that takes some time.
I'm working on it for you!
Soon....
Marshall
Speff
2d
The concept of the picture plane cleared up how I should be thinking about when parallel lines converging. I had the idea that lines going away from the viewer should converge - but after watching the picture plane videos, I was wondering why the vertical lines weren't coming together if they were going up/down away from the horizon line. My understanding of convergence was incomplete and I wasn't considering the paper as a window to the world on the other side.
After a good bit of thinking while holding a napkin (as a window) with a vertical/horizontal pencil up in front of me, I think I got it. Thank you for the insight you're sharing with these videos.
•
12h
Speff,
You're making my job easy, thanks.
In my response to Frank, I tried to preview the next (and perhaps final) problem we'll face with the picture plane, but you seem to have taken the window metaphor seriously enough to discover the insight on your own.
I considered a project where you mount a piece of plexiglass in front of you to tip around and see what happens, and then discover the value of mounting it to your head at right angles, but it was asking students to pay too high a price, socially, if they were seen.
Apparently, you got the idea with a napkin. Good thinking.
Marsh
@lieseldraws
3d
Thanks for the demo, Marshall! I’m still not quite seeing why we can’t just extend the height from the red dot like in the first video. I get that the front corner doesn’t touch the picture plane this time, but I’m not sure how that changes things. I guess what I’m asking is: why does being behind the picture plane make the projected height from the red dot foreshortened — while in demo 1, where the object touches the picture plane, the same line gives us the true height? Is it because we assume that the lines directly on the picture plane are assumed to be of true size without any rorshortening?
I’m also struggling with the second example — how can an object ever stick out in front of the picture plane (or, going back to demo 1, actually touch it)? I thought the picture plane was always between the viewer and the object. Are we just imagining hypothetical scenarios that wouldn’t actually happen in real life?
Also, in the second example, similar to my first question, I don’t understand why the unforeshortened true height should be projected from the blue dot.
Sorry if I’m overloading with questions! I’m just trying to make sense of everythihg. If anyone else could help me with these questions too, I'd appreciate it! Thanks.
•
12h
Liesel,
Good question. Here's the best I can do:
It's not the "true" height, but the PROJECTED height we care about, whether the height is projected from behind or in front.
Regarding imagining hypothetical scenarios - these are hypothetical to us because we are not training as engineers. But to architects, this is necessary. It is the classic method for precise proportion.
You can take comfort in the fact that the confusion caused by my error will affect your long-term drawing skills at a percentage close to zero, but we will get it right. I'm working on a revision.
Marshall
M C
3d
I can see that when the corner is coming out if the picture plane the resulting image feels different than images where the object touches the picture plane. But when and why would be choose to draw an object coming out of the picture plane? for effect? when we want the object to feel enormous or threatening? when we want the object to look super close to us? I dont get the use of this or if there are situation in outdoor drawing when we'll see a house stick out of the picture plane??? but when would that happen? i've never seen a house "stick out" at me! Marshall please any info is most welcome! I get the formulas, the math you show us (and this is a first for me as I'm allergic to math, so bravo to you, Sensei)but when would I use that "object out of the picture plane" trick? Marshall you make me love perspective! I'm going to engrave your name next to a heart on my straight ruler! (is sounded cuter in my head)🤪
•
3d
Dear M C,
Let me put your anxiety to rest with a reminder that artists seldom (and many never) use this to make a picture. I include it because in a course this long, I think it's worth knowing how perspective works, scientifically; and also to settle a common concern of anxious beginners who eager to know "how do you know a square, or anything else, is exactly right!?"
This is how!
Apart from that error corrected by sharp students below, if this lesson group helped you understand the idea, then we got through one of the classic stonewalls of this craft, and I hope it felt mind-expanding.
Next we will learn how projections make close things look enormous or threatening... but only half a lesson on using picture planes for that. I will then put you onto a much more important skill: eyeballing it, but with helpful tips on how to eyeball it.
I hope this calms your heart, and gives you hope for the coming month or three,
Marshall
Pär
4d
I can't figure out the last example, crossing the picture plane, how it would work. Shouldn't it be at the crossing point instead or am I missing something? In 'behind the plane' we create a sort of ghost box from extruding out the box to touch the picture plane and that I can see how it works out.
But when the box is crossing the plane like in image below. If I would cut the box in two and having the cut (blue line) making a corner at the picture plane like that, then the smaller box not crossing the image plane would just be the first case from previous lesson.
M C
3d
can you explain further? I'm all confused!🤔
•
3d
You are correct! I'm not sure how to get the correction into the video, but thank you for getting it here to begin. We'll see what we can do with the video, and I'll address it in the critique, but again, thank you for bearing with the complexity to find the mistake.
Vera Robson
3d
I agree, this is how I also thought this should be done. Since the heights on the picture plane aren't distorted, the points you highlighted should be used to measure heights on the perspective drawing, not the corner that's outside of the picture plane.
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