One Point �Perspective

By Paula Sadler

what are we learning?

• A brief history of one point perspective
• Vocabulary
• Horizon line
• Vanishing point
• Vertical, horizontal, and orthogonal lines
• How to start creating a drawing with one point perspective
• Final project – Futuristic Cityscape

The first signs of One Point Perspective

• Florentine sculptor and architect,

Fillipo Brunelleschi, was

the first architect to

use mathematical

perspective in creating

designs for buildings during

the early Renaissance.

History (cont.)

• Before one point perspective, artists

had to guess where the lines of

buildings would go in their

drawings. These drawings

tended to look skewed

and awkward.

Examples

Before

After

Vocabulary

• Horizon line: where the sky meets the ground, a horizontal line
• Vanishing point: the place where all lines meet or “vanish,” it is located on the horizon line

Vocabulary (cont.)

• Horizontal line: a line that goes left to right, it is parallel to the horizon line
• Vertical line: a line that goes up and down, it is perpendicular to the horizon line
• Orthogonal line: lines that create the sides of an object in one point perspective, these lines are drawn to the vanishing point

LET’S GET STARTED!

Draw a horizon line across your paper

Put the vanishing point on the horizon line

Draw a square or rectangle on the left side of your paper below the horizon line

Create the orthogonal lines by connecting three corners of your square or rectangle to the vanishing point

Draw a horizontal line to create the top of your form

Draw a vertical line to create the side of your form

Erase your remaining orthogonal lines

Now for windows and doors!

• The windows and doors on the front of the building are made with horizontal and vertical lines
• The windows and doors on the side of the building will be made with vertical and orthogonal lines

Draw a window and door on the front of your building by using only vertical and horizontal lines.

Draw a door on the side of your building by first drawing a vertical line and connecting the top of it to the vanishing point.

End the door with another vertical line and erase the remaining orthogonal line.

Add a window the same way. Start with a vertical line and now connect the top AND bottom to the vanishing point.

End it with a vertical line and erase the remaining orthogonal lines.

Start drawing more buildings down the side of your street!

Begin the right side of your street!

EXPERIMENT!�HAVE FUN BEING CREATIVE!