Lesson video

Hi, I'm Miss Blue and I'm really excited to be learning with you today.

I hope you find our lesson as interesting as I do.

Let's get started.

This lesson is all about drawing buildings using simple perspective.

We have two lesson cycles today.

Our first lesson cycle is an introduction to perspective.

We will then move on to using simple perspective in drawing.

Let's get started.

Let's go over our keywords.

Our first keyword is perspective, a drawing technique that shows how objects appear smaller as they get further away.

Vanishing point, the spot on the horizon where parallel lines seem to meet.

Horizon line, the level where the sky meets the ground in a drawing.

Depth, the sense of space or distance in a picture.

To start with, we're going to have an introduction to perspective.

Have you ever noticed how some buildings might look flat while others look like they go back into the distance? Think about this picture.

The blue building we look at face on.

It seems really close up, Whereas the side street, the buildings look a lot smaller and slanted.

Why do you think it is that some buildings look flat while others look like they go back into the distance? Pauses the video here while you come up with your answer.

Perspective, is a drawing technique that makes objects look like they're getting smaller as they move away.

Think about this architectural drawing on the left.

The further away it gets, the smaller the angle gets.

Perspective helps us create depth and space in our drawings.

Can you guess when the concept of perspective came about? It was actually invented in 15th Century Florence and was heavily influenced by Renaissance architecture.

In previous ancient cultures like the Egyptians and Greeks, perspective was used, but not with the mathematical precision of the Renaissance.

Architects and artists use perspective so their work can look more realistic.

Think about this drawing on the left.

The perspective of the building seems accurate compared to the surrounding landscape of the trees and the ground.

It tricks the eye into thinking a flat picture has space, depth and distance.

Another reason why architects might choose to utilise perspective as a tool is so that they can create a specific atmosphere and mood.

Sometimes they want their drawings to convey the feeling of space.

They might want to make it look cosy like in this picture.

Or maybe in contrast, dramatic and grand.

In these ways, perspective is really crucial for storytelling and architectural design.

This seems to be an image of a quieter part of the inner city.

On closer inspection, the bus tells me it might be London.

Have you ever walked down a street like this? In one-point's perspective, all lines that go back in space meet at one vanishing point.

You can see in the picture how all lines lead to one vanishing point.

One-point perspective is perfect for drawing streets or the sides of buildings.

Let's test your knowledge.

What does perspective help us show in drawings? Is it A, the colour of buildings, B, the depth and distance, C, the height of windows, or D, where to put people.

Pause the video here while you decide on your answer.

If you chose B, you would be correct.

Perspective helps us to show depth and distance in a drawing.

When you look at a landscape or scene with lots of distance and depth, you might be able to see the horizon line.

Let's have a look at where the horizon line would be in this picture.

The horizon line is a straight line where the sky meets the land, which can be drawn onto your paper.

It helps you to decide where your vanishing point will go.

Do you think you've ever seen the horizon line in person? Or can you think of any other examples of where the horizon line is really obvious? Some examples are the Sahara Desert in Africa where there are endless dunes and you can see where the pale sand meets the blue sky.

Or maybe the Scottish Highlands in Scotland.

Or the Grand Canyon in the USA.

Feel free to look up these examples to see if you can find the horizon line on those landscapes.

The vanishing point is a dot on the horizon line.

Again, we can see our horizon line where the land or sea meets the sky, and the vanishing point in the middle.

All the lines that show depth point towards the vanishing point.

Just like in this landscape scene, you can see how in this image we are eye level to the view.

The vanishing point always lies on the horizon line at eye level.

If you move your eyes up or down, the vanishing point will also shift.

If we were to draw this image, we would mimic the perspective on how space appears to get smaller in real life.

Think also about the lines in this image, how they're all parallel and going towards that one point.

In your architectural drawing, you could use a ruler for this to ensure accuracy.

This image seems to be of a railway track.

There isn't much in the foreground closest to the bottom of the photo, but in the background there's a lot going on.

It looks like the train is going further into the sky, getting smaller and smaller the further away it gets.

There's also trees in the distance.

Let's have a look at this image of a train track.

In this photo, can you find the horizon line? Think about where the lines seem to meet.

Can you guess where the vanishing point is? Pause the video here and discuss with a partner where you think the horizon line and vanishing point are in this photo.

Let's hear what Sam and Izzy have to say.

Sam says, "The horizon line is in the far distance where the land meets the sky." Izzy says, "The vanishing point is at the end of the railway track on the horizon line." Do you agree? There are more types of perspective that use 1, 2, 3, or even more vanishing points.

But to get started, we'll be using one-point perspective in our drawings today.

Think about this image on the left with multiple buildings in perspective.

One-point perspective is often used for front-on views of the facade of a building, or street views when you are centred in the middle.

The picture on the left shows multiple buildings.

Have you ever seen buildings like this before? Can you think where that was? Or where you were standing to get that particular angle? Let's test your knowledge.

The area where lines seem to meet in the distance is known as the blank.

Is it A, eye level, B, focus spot, C, vanishing point, or D, shadow dot.

Pause the video here while you come up with your answer.

The correct answer is C.

The area where lines seem to meet in the distance is known as the vanishing point.

Let's have a look at this image of the road and neighbouring buildings.

Using the image provided, draw lines to help you identify where the horizon line and the vanishing point is.

Pause the video here while you define these points.

Do you agree with Alex? He says, "By marking the lines of the road, buildings and rooftops, I could find the horizon line and vanishing point in the image." You can see how the lines all direct towards the back of the image with one vanishing point in the middle.

Now, let's have a look at using simple perspective in drawing.

Artists might draw a building using one-point perspective, using a step by step method.

Start by drawing a horizon line across the page.

Something like this.

It's helpful to use a ruler to create straight lines here.

Make a small dot in the centre.

This is your vanishing point.

Pause the video here while you work on the task.

Now, draw a square or rectangle in the middle and side of your page.

This is the front of your building.

You can pause the video here while you continue.

Next, pause the video while you draw lines using your ruler from the top and bottom corners, which connect to the vanishing point.

It should look something like this.

Like the diagram on the left.

Now, pause the video while you draw a vertical line between the two diagonal lines to create the back corner of the building.

Erase the extra lines, then add doors, windows, and details, making sure they follow the same perspective rules and point towards the vanishing point.

Again, pause the video while you work on this part of the task.

Wow.

It's amazing how our one vanishing point and perspective lines helped us to create this realistic drawing of a building.

This really goes to show how important the lines of perspective are.

Now, let's decide.

In one-point perspective, what do all of the lines do? Is it A, go straight up, B, curve around the page, C, point to the bottom of the page, or D, go toward the vanishing point.

Pause the video while you decide on your answer.

If you chose D, you would be correct.

In one-point perspective, the lines go towards the vanishing point.

Now that one building has been drawn using one-point perspective, you can expand your design to multiple buildings or even a whole street scene.

Think about this street sketch on the left.

I love how they've played with perspective.

Your task now is to try drawing two or three buildings in a row.

Each one should follow the same vanishing point and each should look like it goes back further into the distance.

Pause the video here while you work on this part of the task.

When you add windows, doors, signs, or paths, they should also follow the rules of perspective.

Remember the key rule of one-point perspective: lines going into the distance must point towards the vanishing point.

Can you see how all of the lines go towards the same vanishing point in this diagram? It's much easier to do with a clean pencil and ruler.

Buildings that are closer should be taller and buildings further away should be smaller.

Can you see how this is shown in the diagram? The one closest to us, the arrow is a lot longer, whereas further away, the length of the building is incredibly shorter.

These things make your drawing look more realistic and three dimensional because that's how our eyes see depth in real life.

So, why do buildings look smaller as they get farther away? Is it A, because that's how our eyes see depth, B, because they could actually shrink, C, it's a drawing rule for depth, and not real life, or D, because of weather.

Pause the video while you work out your answer.

If you chose A, you would be correct.

Buildings look smaller as they get further away because that's how our eyes see depth.

Let's go over some tips before you get started.

Firstly, you should use a ruler.

Remember to start with your horizon line.

This is where the sky meets the ground in your picture.

Then, you can mark your vanishing point.

Put a dot in the middle of the horizon line.

Add windows, signs, or extra features or details to complete your scene.

Draw the road or the street.

You can use two lines that go from the bottom of the page to the vanishing point.

You could even add building fronts.

Start with rectangles along each side of the street.

Another tip is to use guidelines.

From the top and bottom of each rectangle, draw faint lines to the vanishing point to help show depth.

Lastly, don't forget to check your angles.

If a line isn't straight towards the vanishing point, it might look wonky and break the perspective.

Pause the video here while you work on this task.

You may have come up with an example like Jacob.

He says, "I designed a city street scene using one-point perspective.

I used a horizon line and a vanishing point to make sure everything lined up.

Doing this helped to add depth." You can see he's created a really thorough example in his diagram.

Everything seems to go towards the vanishing point and buildings get smaller as they get further away.

To summarise, perspective helps artists show space and depth in their drawings.

Artists and architects use perspective to bring realism to their designs.

Buildings can be made to look 3D using a horizon line and lines that lead to a vanishing point.