Chapter 3 | DRAWINGS OF STUDENTS 1

I once asked my students in a graduating class to take pictures of views with a strong linear perspective and then copy those pictures. The trick was to find the horizon, a vanishing point and perspective lines in their photos. If they managed, they could copy their own photos fairly easily. They could also come up with their own view with depth. I’ll show you some results.

This student stood in the middle of an empty classroom and took a picture from that spot. She found the horizon and the vanishing point by extending flight lines from the tables, ceiling and walls. In this case, the vanishing point was just above the back center chest of drawers. Thanks to this perspective construction, she was able to copy the complicated photo.

The second example is a view of buildings in the city of Rotterdam. All lines from near to far come together again at one point on the horizon. The horizon (the height from which we look) is approximately on the second floor of the buildings. So this student probably took the photo from the window of another building.

In the following example, a student has stood in an underground pedestrian and bicycle tunnel to take the photo. Here the vanishing point is to the right of center at the end of the runway.

The horizon is always in the direction we are looking, so in the next drawing high in the sky. Here we stand or lie in the middle of skyscrapers and look straight up. You can still see very vaguely in the sky the guide lines that have been used by this student. All the lines of the skyscrapers converge in one point high in the sky.

A vanishing point on the horizon can also be more to the left or to the right as in the next two fantasized views.

Here a bare prison cell drawn is drawn with a vanishing point in the center (exactly where we can see the sun). For a bit of view and fresh air, an opening has been made in the back wall through which we can look outside, where the sun shines over the water. Maybe the prisoner has escaped through the opening…

Finally, a drawing in which two hands have opened an oval window with a view. On the other side we see two skyscrapers against a night sky. Is this person trying to escape or inviting us into the night?

EXTRA: take a picture of a view in your area (inside or outside) with a clear linear perspective. Try to find the horizon and a vanishing point in your photo. You can first trace or copy the bare construction and then make a new drawing with it, for example by filling in details and/or coloring areas. The drawing does not have to look exactly like your photo, you can always omit, add or change things.

Make sure that the frame in which you are going to draw has the same length-width ratio as your photo.