Perspective Systems

Maggie Ma
5 min readMar 30, 2020

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Exploring spaces and environments as a perspective systems using one and two-point perspective.

Example sketches by Prof. Eric Anderson

Constructing a Space with Cubes

3.29.2020

Placing 10 cubes in perspective to each other.

Constructing Rooms/Environments

3.29.20

I constructed my living room using two-point perspective. I chose to draw in the point-of-view of outside of the room. Drawing in perspective was a lot more difficult than I anticipated. I first tried to freehand the lines, but after checking with a ruler, I realized I got many wrong (as evident in the coffee table)!

Next, I decided to tackle the living room by drawing from the point-of-view of being inside the room. This was a lot more difficult to construct than the first drawing because I didn’t have the two endpoints to refer to. I also tried to freehand the lines, as well as include a figure as reference to the size of the space.

Construction with Floor Plans

3.31.20

In class, we learned how to create orthographic views of 3D environments and spaces, and how these “maps” can help capture more accurate proportions and measurements.

Example floor plan by Prof. Matt Zywica

Returning back to my living room, I measured each piece of furniture, the windows, and walls to create my floor plan, and then created a new 2-point perspective sketch of the room from a different perspective. The floor plan was extremely helpful in understanding the proportions and sizes of furniture, and I realized I didn’t need to continuously reference the physical room—I could simply construct the room from memory based off the floor plan.

I then explored a little with the elevation view that Matt introduced to us in class, and included a figure transitioning from standing to lying on the couch in my living room.

I then wanted to tackle a more complex room—my bedroom! I created another floor plan and 2-point perspective sketch.

Meeting with Matt & Eric

4.2.20

In my meeting with Eric and Matt, we talked about using more construction lines; they not only help capture more accurate proportions but also serve as a visual communicator. We also discussed using more line weight, and showing more confidence and energy in my line work (similar to my feet anatomy studies). In the bedroom perspective drawing above, Matt also pointed out many inaccuracies and proportion issues (the chair in the back is toooo big!!!) that could benefit from using more of the grid method.

Using these tips, I decided to tackle drawing the rooms again. To prevent distortion, I also located my perspective points off the page. I constructed the furniture first from rectangles and boxes and found that using lines to indicate relationships between the furniture helped me better understand the proportions and size differences as the furniture moved back into space.

I then tackled drawing the bedroom again. I first created a grid along the floor and then constructed the furniture from cubes.

In class, we were also introduced to one-point perspective.

Meeting with Eric

4.3.20

In the open hours session on Friday, I was able to receive some feedback from Eric to see if my two-point and one-point perspective were improving and going in the right direction.

Feedback on Two-Point Perspective

  1. Work lighter to vary more line weight—construction lines need to be lighter, or the objects darker.
  2. Add thicknesses to the furniture (like TV and fireplace) so they’re not just floating planes!
  3. Construction is improving!

Feedback on One-Point Perspective

  1. REMEASURE THE HEIGHTS OF YOUR FURNITURE!!!! -_-
  2. Couch seems to be lifting off into the air, may be resolved if added thickness to the back cushions and more height to front area.
  3. Couch also looks to be more forward than the bookcase, but in reality, they are all located along back wall.
Eric’s Annotations

4.5.20

With Eric’s advice in mind, I remeasured all of the furniture and drew a new one-point perspective of the room from a different angle.

Isometric Perspective

4.7.20

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