What is Perspective? What are the Types and Basic Terms Used?

Perspective is the name given to the transfer of an object or space to a two-dimensional surface in a way that gives it a three-dimensional appearance. Drawing, which can be done with various techniques, can be expressed as a projection technique.

In perspective drawing, the distance and position of the observer to the object or space is taken into account. As the observer changes his position, different perspectives, and therefore different perspectives, emerge. As the distance to the object or place increases, objects become smaller, and as the distance decreases, objects become larger.

Perspective drawings are widely used by architects, engineers, industrial designers, photographers and other professions that focus on painting. The purpose of drawing may be to express a design in three dimensions, to reflect a point of view, or as required by the field of interest.

What are the Types of Perspective?

They are basically examined under two headings.

1. Line Perspective: It is a perspective drawing formed by the convergence of parallel lines at infinity, that is, their shrinkage.
2. Color Perspective: It is a perspective drawing created by the change of light and the colors of objects changing as they move away from us.

What are the Terms Used in Perspective?

Three Dimensions: Objects with width, length and height are called three-dimensional. While a rectangle is two-dimensional, a rectangular prism is three-dimensional. The aim of perspective is to make objects appear three-dimensional.

Projection: It is the image of the object projected onto a plane. Front view projection, top view projection, side view projection etc. It is conveyed as follows..

Viewpoint: It is the fixed point from which the observer looks at the space or object to be drawn in perspective.

Observer View Distance: It is the distance between the observer’s point of view and the object whose perspective will be drawn.

Gazing Height: The height of the viewing point from the ground plane to eye level. It gives the horizon line height.

All these terms are the main terms that make up the drawing. Now let’s examine the terms we will use in perspective drawing.

Ground Line: It is the intersection line between the vertical picture plane and the horizontal ground plane. Objects in front of the ground line appear larger than they are, and objects behind the ground line appear smaller than they are.

Horizon Line: The line where the earth and sky planes meet is called the horizon line. In perspective drawing, the horizon line is the horizontal section line where the horizontal plane, which is assumed to pass through the eye level of the observer, intersects the vertical picture plane. This height between the ground line and eye level is approximately 160 cm on human scale.

Vanishing Point: The common intersection point of lines that move away from the point of view towards infinity, which are actually parallel to each other, but appear to close and merge because they are not parallel to the picture plane, is called the vanishing point. In perspective, all horizontal lines reach here.

Picture Plane: It is the vertical plane on which the perspective projection will be painted and transferred.

What Should Be the Order of Drawing in Perspective?

1. Before starting perspective drawing, a ground line must be created.
2. The horizon plane on which the center will be located must be determined.
3. One or more vanishing points (centers) must be located.
4. In the drawing, external boundaries must first be created. If an interior is to be drawn, large surfaces such as walls, ceilings and floors should be drawn first. If an outdoor space is to be drawn, surfaces such as mass boundaries should be drawn first.
5. After the outlines are created, small details should be moved on. If an interior is to be drawn, details such as furniture, shelves, carpet and decoration elements should be processed. If an exterior is to be drawn, areas such as doors, windows and balconies should be drawn.

In this article, we talked about concepts related to perspective and topics about perspective drawing. Good drawings!