How to draw in perspective? 3/4

The guide by our comic book/Manga drawing teachers

How to draw in perspective?

This week, we'll continue with this step-by-step process to get the basics of perspective drawing. If you want to go further, don't hesitate to ask Apolline's drawing teachers, who are highly qualified and invested.
Last week, we proposed to deepen the idea of the vanishing point (read: How to draw in perspective towards a single vanishing point?). This week, we will talk about the image plane and the different vanishing points.

Let's start with the plane. What is the plane of a drawing?

If we place two pictures on the same wall, they will be on the same plane. However, if we place an object in front of the same wall, the object and the wall will be on two different planes, whether the object is parallel to the wall, at an angle or perpendicular.
To draw a perspective drawing to a single vanishing point, consider placing an easel parallel to the elements you want to draw. This is because on a parallel plane, the proportions and angles remain the same as in reality.

Imagine a square, by varying the distance, it will appear more or less large but as long as it is on a plane parallel to that of the image, it will remain a square.

In this image, the character observes two parallel planes. The plane drawn in blue is placed further away, so it will appear smaller, and yet its size and angles are identical.
You have deduced that there are two planes when drawing in perspective:

The picture plane. Concretely, your sheet of paper or your screen where you observe only what is visible
the observer's plane: That is, the horizon line we talked about last week.

What are the other vanishing points and vanishing lines?

A vanishing line is a line that is not parallel to the plane of the image. When it is not parallel, it moves away. Our eye will perceive it closer and closer to our horizon line until these lines meet at a point, the famous vanishing point.

Let's look at this image: we imagine that on the left, the angle of view is above the drawing and on the right the drawing is in perspective. The five lines parallel to each other meet in perspective at a central vanishing point, while the two other lines parallel to each other, but not parallel to the other five, meet at another vanishing point. It is therefore possible to deduce that all the lines parallel to each other will meet at the same vanishing point and to make a rule out of it.

With all these elements, we are more and more ready to draw in perspective.

After analyzing your elements, you probably know where you would like to place them. Sketch their locations on your paper or screen.

By doing this sketch work, you will be able to better realize what you want to emphasize or bring to the forefront and from there, you can start to respect the angles and proportions.

Proportions, this is where the big questions arise, at what size to draw our elements? How to respect the proportions?

Well, it's a mathematical calculation: in the image below, the viewpoint is at a height of 1.60 meters. By measuring the distance between the ground and the horizon line at a specific point, we get 6.5 cm, which means that by remaining parallel to the plane of the image, everything that measures 6.5 cm will measure 1.60 m in reality.

You can have fun measuring what you want to draw, knowing their size in reality will help you visualize and respect proportions in your drawings.

Next week, we'll wrap up this theme of perspective drawing by focusing on distances and depth of the image. In the meantime, if you wish to deepen your drawing skills, Apolline offers drawing classes in Lausanne, Montreux and Morges, but also online Manga drawing classes.

Develop your artistic fiber and quench your thirst for knowledge through the Apolline art school!

To learn more, check out our other articles:

Crédits images : mangakoaching.com & Francesca Sarac