Drawing

Tips from the SLC: Perspective and the Vanishing Point

Perspective is one of the things that students often come to the SLC for help with! If you think a little one-on-one help would be helpful this week be sure to contact the SLC for an appointment (learning@rmcad.edu or 303-225-8605)!

One of the common issues we see at the SLC has to do with vanishing points. Vanishing points are incredibly important when doing one, two, or three point perspective. You may be thinking, “How important can a dot on my paper be?” The image below can show you what happens if you make the dot too big. Your lines should meet in one small point and if your dot is too big they end up going to different points in space creating perspective lines that do not match up.

Sometimes students will bring in a drawing knowing it looks off but not knowing why. One thing that students often forget to check is the vertical lines. Just like your horizon line needs to be perfectly horizontal, your vertical lines (whether they are the side of a door or a book) need to be perfectly vertical or it they will throw off your entire drawing. Many students find a T-square or triangle helpful to make sure their lines are horizontal and vertical. Look at the basic examples below to see how the image on the right looks stable while the one on the left looks wobbly because the vertical lines aren’t truly vertical.

As always, the SLC is here to help! If you would like to schedule a tutoring appointment for this or any other class, you can call the Student Learning Center at 303.225.8605, email at learning@rmcad.edu or self-schedule at https://rmcad.mywconline.com/.