Traveler's Urban Sketchbook 3: Drawing in Perspective

In this lecture I give you a visual introduction to One Point Perspective so that you understand the concept of how it works before we get into our assignments.  Its a good and quick overview of the main concepts, which is all we are really interested in as sketchers.

This lecture takes you through your first assignment, drawing simple shapes in one point perspective.  You follow along with me, drawing on simple paper like the stuff in your copy machine, to just get your feet wet and understand how perspective works by drawing your first simple shapes.

If you need more help, remember that the written directions for this assignment are in the RESOURCES section of Lecture One.

Now we really get going.  I will guide you through drawing an imaginary street scene in one point perspective, stopping at multiple times in the video so that you can follow along with me, drawing this complex street scene.  You will see how fun perspective can be, especially when just using the main concepts to express an imaginary scene.  You'll get your first test of how perspective is used by sketchers to bring a three dimensional life to their drawings.

Now we go outdoors and set ourselves up in front of a building, using one point perspective to draw an accurate representation of the scene in front of us.  You can follow along by printing the photo of the scene in RESOURCES, Lecture One or you can just watch the video as a demonstration of how to use one point perspective out in the field.  Then you can go out to find your own set up and create your own drawing!

Following the same format of how we explored one point perspective, now we will explore two point.  In this lecture, using photographs of buildings, I will show you the differences between the two different methods of perspective and why you would choose one over the other.  We will explore the concept behind the two vanishing points and how they make a big difference in how the drawing appears.

This lecture shows you how to draw simple shapes like cubes and block letters, using two point perspective.  It's meant to get your feet wet in this second type of perspective technique so that you can have a foundational understanding of two point perspective, giving you enough practice to jump into drawing a building.

Remember you can find written instructions for this exercise in RESOURCES Lecture One.

Now we are going to really have some fun as we draw a craftsman style imaginary house in two point perspective.  I guide you through this exercise one step at a time, going through a light, pencil drawing to lay down the structure of your house and landscape, and then we add ink to make a nice, finished drawing.  You can use your landscape knowledge from the Part Two course, exploring landscape material, to fill in around your final house drawing.

Here we go out onto the site, setting ourselves up at a regional part ranger station set in beautiful oak and sycamore trees.  Follow along, or just watch as I draw and explain how and why I do what I do, to create a lovely, two point perspective sketch of this building and the landscape that surrounds it.

Just like in one and two point, we will become familiar with the basics of three point perspective by drawing some simple objects.  We will draw some cubes and then a stacked  ziggurat shape so that you become familiar with the three point perspective method.