K01 above, on and below the horizon line

In many everyday scenes, you see objects above your eye level (such as a tall building), straight ahead of you (such as a store window), and below your eye level (such as a sidewalk), all at the same time.

In this lesson, you use one point perspective to render nine boxes from three different perspectives, into a single drawing.

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Brenda Hoddinott

K-01 INTERMEDIATE: PERSPECTIVE TWO One point perspective occurs when the frontal face of an object (such as a cube) is closest to you, and its edges recede into distant space and converge at a single vanishing point. This lesson includes the following five sections:

INTRODUCTION: Basic perspective terms and three common perspectives, on, above, and below the horizon line, are explained and illustrated.

LOOKING STRAIGHT AHEAD AT BOXES: One point perspective is used to draw frontal views of three boxes on the horizon line. You begin by drawing a horizon line and vanishing point, and then use perspective lines to transform a square and two rectangular shapes into three-dimensional boxes.

BOXES ABOVE THE HORIZON LINE: You draw three more boxes above the horizon line, and their perspective lines converge at the same vanishing point as those in the last section.

CREATING BOXES BELOW THE HORIZON LINE: you draw three boxes below the horizon line with their perspective lines converging at the same vanishing point.

Suggested drawing supplies include drawing paper, pencils, erasers, and a ruler.

15 PAGES – 29 ILLUSTRATIONS This article is recommended for artists of all ages and abilities, as well as home schooling,

academic and recreational fine art educators. Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada – 2005 (Revised 2006)

Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott.

E-mail [email protected] Web sites: http://www.drawspace.com http://www.finearteducation.com

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INTRODUCTION Geometric perspective (sometimes called linear perspective) is a method of representing subjects in a drawing, in such a way that they seem to recede into distant space, and appear smaller the farther they are away from you. Many of Mother Nature’s creations, such as trees and flowers, are very forgiving of an artist’s minor mistakes in perspective. However, drawing subjects such as people, animals, and most human-made objects need to be drawn with proper perspective in order to appear believable and proportionately correct.

Check out E-04: One Point Perspective to discover how basic one point geometric perspective can transform a rectangle into a three-dimensional form.

One point perspective occurs when the frontal face of an object (such as a cube) is closest to you, and its edges recede into space and converge at a single vanishing point. Three key terms (refer to Illustration 01-01) are used throughout this lesson to describe the process of using one point perspective to draw various boxes on, above, and below the horizon line:

Horizon line: is a horizontal line (invisible in real life) sometimes referred to as eye level, which divides your line of vision when you look straight ahead. Your eye level and the horizon line are one and the same. Look straight ahead (rather than up or down), and the horizon line is directly in front of you. Wherever you go, from the top of the highest mountain, to the lowest valley, your eye level always stays with you.

Perspective lines: are lines (invisible in real life) that extend from the edges of objects and recede into distant space until they finally seem to vanish at a point on the horizon line known as the vanishing point.

Vanishing point (VP): is a point (invisible in real life) on the horizon line where the straight lines of an object(s) converge and the object(s) seems to disappear. Lines of objects, that are parallel or perpendicular (at a right angle) to the horizon line, don’t appear to go back in space and therefore rarely meet the vanishing point.

ILLUSTRATION 01-01



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The following illustrations show you different perspectives on three-dimensional boxes - on the horizon line, above the horizon line, and below the horizon line.

The three boxes in Illustration 01-02 are on the horizon line with sections above and below.

ILLUSTRATION 01-02

The frontal face of each box is touching the horizon line, and their tops and bottoms are out of view. The viewer is looking straight ahead.

The boxes in Illustration 01-03 are above the horizon line, and seem to be floating in the air.

ILLUSTRATION 01-03

The horizon line is below these three boxes, creating the illusion that you are looking upward. Observe that the bottom of each box is visible.

The boxes in Illustration 01-04 are drawn below the horizon line.

ILLUSTRATION 01-04

When boxes are drawn below the horizon line their tops are visible.

Hence, viewers feel as though they are looking downward.



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The perspective lines of objects at your eye level (on the horizon line), angle both downward and upward and meet at the vanishing point. Objects above you have perspective lines that angle downward to the vanishing point. The perspective lines of objects below you, angle upward toward the vanishing point. ILLUSTRATION 01-05

In this drawing, the cartoon figure’s eyes are aligned with the horizon line to help you understand the concept of eye level and horizon line being one and the same.

In this lesson, simple boxes take you through the basic process of incorporating all three perspectives into one drawing. And, by the way, these principles also apply to drawing people, animals, and scenes, and are especially helpful for drawing cityscapes.

LOOKING STRAIGHT AHEAD AT BOXES In this section, you use one point perspective to draw frontal views of three boxes on the horizon line. You begin by drawing a horizon line and vanishing point, and then use perspective lines to transform rectangular shapes into three-dimensional boxes.

1) Use your ruler to draw a horizon line that is parallel to the top and bottom of a square or rectangular drawing space (press very lightly with your HB pencil). Leave lots of room on your drawing paper above and below the horizon line. In addition to the three boxes on the horizon line, a second set of three boxes has to fit above them, and a third set below.

2) Add a small dot on the horizon line (the vanishing point) and mark it VP.

ILLUSTRATION 01-06



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When using geometric perspective to draw a straight-on view of a square or rectangular shape, the horizontal lines need to be parallel to the horizon line and the vertical sides need to be perpendicular (at a right angle).

3) Use an HB pencil and a ruler to draw a square on the horizon line.

ILLUSTRATION 01-07

This square shape represents the flat frontal face of a box and is closer to the viewer than any of its other sides.

4) Draw a vertical (portrait format) rectangle to the left of the vanishing point, and a horizontal (landscape format) rectangle to the right of the vanishing point.

ILLUSTRATION 01-08

5) Connect the upper and lower right corners of the square to the vanishing point with straight lines (perspective lines).

ILLUSTRATION 01-09



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6) Connect an upper and lower corner, of the vertical and horizontal rectangles, to the vanishing point (as in Illustrations 01-10 and 01-11).

ILLUSTRATION 01-10

ILLUSTRATION 01-11

7) Using the perspective lines as guidelines, draw vertical lines to complete each box. The distant edge of each box can be drawn as a vertical line at any point in between the two perspective lines.

ILLUSTRATION 01-12

The distant edges of the boxes are parallel to the sides of the rectangle, and perpendicular to the horizon line.



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8) Use a vinyl eraser to erase the perspective lines that are not sides of the boxes. You now have three properly drawn, three dimensional boxes.

9) Outline the boxes with a freshly sharpened HB pencil and a ruler.

ILLUSTRATION 01-13

One point perspective can help you draw numerous objects, including buildings.

BOXES ABOVE THE HORIZON LINE In this section you draw three boxes above the horizon line, and their perspective lines converge at the same vanishing point as those in the last section.

ILLUSTRATION 01-14

10) Draw a vertical rectangle that is above the horizon line, and toward the far left of your drawing space.



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11) Add a small square and a horizontal rectangle to the right of the vertical rectangle.

ILLUSTRATION 01-15

12) Draw three perspective lines from three corners of the vertical rectangle down to the vanishing point (keep these lines very light).

ILLUSTRATION 01-16



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13) Connect the small square to the vanishing point with three perspective lines.

ILLUSTRATION 01-17

14) Connect three corners of the horizontal rectangle to the vanishing point.

ILLUSTRATION 01-18



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15) Draw a vertical and horizontal line to complete the outline of each of the three boxes. Take note that small sections of two of the boxes above the horizon line, appear to be behind boxes that are on the horizon line.

ILLUSTRATION 01-19

16) Use a vinyl eraser to erase the perspective lines and then outline the boxes with a freshly sharpened HB pencil and a ruler.

ILLUSTRATION 01-20



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CREATING BOXES BELOW THE HORIZON LINE In this section you draw three boxes below the horizon line. Their perspective lines converge at the same vanishing point as those above and on the horizon line, in the previous sections.

17) Draw a horizontal rectangle, a vertical rectangle, and a square below the horizon line.

ILLUSTRATION 01-21

Eat your vegetables! They’re good for you! Or, in this case, learn perspective! You need it!

Very few artists actually enjoy drawing perspective exercises. However, if your goal is to draw well, you absolutely need to know everything you possibly can about all aspects of perspective.



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18) Connect three corners of each box to the vanishing point with lightly drawn straight lines.

ILLUSTRATION 01-22

19) Draw a vertical and horizontal line to complete the outline of each of the three boxes.

ILLUSTRATION 01-23



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20) Erase the perspective lines, and outline the boxes with an HB pencil as in Illustration 01-24.

21) Check over your drawing carefully, especially the outlines of the boxes, and confirm that everything is drawn correctly.

ILLUSTRATION 01-24

Even though the technical aspect of this drawing is complete, consider having some fun by adding some shading, or additional details to transform the boxes into cartoon characters or buildings.

Illustrations 01-25 to 01-29 may offer some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Then sign your name, write today’s date on the back of your drawing, and put a smile on your face!



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ILLUSTRATION 01-25 ILLUSTRATION 01-26

ILLUSTRATION 01-27 ILLUSTRATION 01-28

ILLUSTRATION 01-29



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Check out Lesson E-01: Basic Perspective for Beginners for a well illustrated overview of the secrets of various aspects of perspective and how they help create the illusion of three-dimensional spaces in drawings.

BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, conté crayon, and oil paints.

My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter,

the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable. >Brenda Hoddinott<

Born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted “Learn to Draw” books. During Brenda’s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda’s skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from “Forensic Artists International”.

Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her community’s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children’s art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites.

Fine Art Education http://www.finearteducation.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world.

ART PUBLICATIONS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT Drawing for Dummies (2003): Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book

is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Drawing People (2004): Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education – Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.