Class 12 – Sketch Revisited
Take Two! Yvonne and I took classes with Guy St. Goddard Sept-Dec/2010 and stopped after my father passed away Christmas 2010 morning. But, in Sept/2011 I started to do these speed painting videos, and really started liking the extra time on weekends to paint something. So, Yvonne signed me up for another 10 classes in 2012 with Guy St. Goddard once again!
Because it is really class 1 once again .. we are back to the basics – sketching real objects sitting in front of us, from different points of view (see Class 1 – Sketch)
HART’s Sketches
Here is what I sketched. We have two beginners in our class, and two experienced people in our class, plus me .. so it’s a nice small class! While the two beginners were sketching this same object, I managed to sketch it twice from slightly different perspectives, in each portrait and landscape objective!
One Point Perspective
How would I describe “One Point Perspective” and its relevance to painting and drawing?? Imagine a single point anywhere in your view area and focus on that single point (aka your vanishing point). In your peripheral vision without looking at any object specifically, imagine that object would look as it stands “looking” towards your vanishing point. Does that make sense? I sketched a bunch of different boxes how they would look, while focusing on this central single vanishing point as an example.
Two Point Perspective
I would describe two point perspective this way … Instead of focusing on a single point and extrapolating an object towards the point – focus on the object, and imagine it extrapolating to two points with your peripheral vision. The two points (aka vanishing points) are on the extremes somewhere on the horizon line and do not necessarily have to be on the paper or canvas and can be way out to each side, even where your arms may stretch out! The horizon is usually a horizontal line at eye level where if you were to look straight out – it’s where your eyes seem to take you. The object between the vanishing points usually crosses the horizon line (as if your eyes go side to side from one point to the other and see the object in the middle) but, the object does not have to be ABOVE or ON the horizon line. And, given that this is the case with most objects we see (in 3D) .. we instinctively extrapolate each edge of the object to the vanishing points, if we focus on the horizon line (if that makes sense).
Two Point Perspective drawings is like a science, and our art teacher has come up with a very specific “X-Step” system how to accurately draw objects this way. For instance, a simple barn might be 23 steps, and so forth. Here’s my 3rd attempt to sketch something this way. I didn’t scan my other attempts or show order of each step at request of my art teacher. Although, here is how I would describe a way to sketch with a two point perspective in mind.
1) draw your horizontal line
2) make 2 vanishing points on opposite ends
3) make a vertical line where focus of object or building is
4) all points go to vanishing points
5) imagine where lines cross
6) vertical lines still vertical.
7) horizontal lines are the lines towards vanishing point
The two vanishing points on my drawing are approximately 4 inches to the left of each side of the paper.
