Nighttime in a City, Persian manuscript folio attributed to Mir Sayyid ‘Ali, Tabriz, Iran, c. 1540
Search the internet for perspective, and Western perspective is pretty much all you’ll see. Billions of lessons illustrating the importance of one point, two point, and three point perspective. Lessons state that this is something every artist needs to learn in order to correctly render the three dimensional world on a two dimensional surface. It is not only useful, it is required for all artists, and it is theonly method for drawing the world as it really is.
The Virtual Instructor showing Western one point perspective
To the idea that Western Perspective is the only “true” perspective, I say pshaw
It’s not immediately apparent, but while these linear perspective rules can be useful for some drawings, this is not the only form of linear perspective available for educated artists, and there’s an ugly reason you don’t know about other forms.
Western Perspective as we use it today is from the Renaissance, specifically, from Filippo Brunelleschi. In this way of seeing, there is a single point of view (POV), and objects get smaller as they get farther away from the point of view. This method is presented as the only technique for drawing things as they really are. For proof a piece of glass can be used to trace a scene, confirming that objects diminish towards a common vanishing point. As anyone who has taken a perspective class will attest, this way of drawing does not come naturally to us. We must be educated to be able to draw with this method.
This way of drawing was connected with math, science, Christianity, and due to the forces of history, it was connected with colonization. As part of colonizing other cultures, the strategy was to use Western cultural artifacts to bring other cultures around to the Western way of thinking. For hundreds of years this form of drawing has been part of an assumed dominance over other cultures. Artists who do not draw with these methods are labeled as primitive, ignorant to the rules of art. Many forms of drawing were judged according to this perspective, and deemed incorrect. Even in current perspective lessons, it’s said that other cultures do not have any form of consistent or linear perspective at all.
The Japanese adopted the Chinese style of axonometric perspective
The truth is that while artists in various cultures are perfectly aware of Western perspective, they recognize it’s failings, and they often choose to use something else. Depending on what they do, where they’re from, and what they want to express in their art, cultures around the globe have their own “true” methods for perspective, and we should know about them. Some examples of non-Western perspective are: parallel, isometric, axonometric, and multiple perspectives.
Yesterday’s post introduced Inverse, or Reverse Perspective. Today’s challenge is about Vertical Perspective.
Vertical Perspective
Cupola decoration, 6th century, Cairo
Most artists naturally draw with a kind of vertical perspective, and most viewers naturally see with it. Without consciously thinking about it, lots of us humans tend to organize a composition with far away objects higher up, and closer objects lower down. This is vertical perspective.
drawing by a boy in the fourth grade
If you’re going to use vertical perspective as your method for showing space, you get to set aside the requirement that objects be increasingly smaller in size as they get farther away. Once size is not dictated by rules of space, you can use size to express different elements of your picture. For example, you can very logically size important things large, and less important things small. Or you can just size things so they look “right” to you. It’s a great way to create! Ready to give it a try?
Day 22: Vertical Perspective #30SAL
Today’s Challenge is to create something using vertical perspective, in which objects or figures that are closer to the viewer are shown below objects or figures that are farther away.
Share your drawing on Instagram with these tags: #30sal, #verticalperspective
This was the final challenge – the 30th Challenge for 30 Challenges in January! The final prompt was to create an asymmetrical portrait. This suggestion was designed to push a portrait drawing – something that can frequently cause us to tense up trying to get things perfect – into something more bold, individual, compositionally dynamic, …
Interested in studying sumi-e painting? Angie Dixons’ top recommended book for beginning is The Sumi-e Book by Yolanda Mayhall. The information in The Sumi-e Book is very good and accessible, and books and youtube are great for learning sumi-e but, Dixon says, students really need to have the pressure of a teacher. Today’s Beginning Sumi-e workshop …
[image_with_animation image_url=”7636″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Anni Albers (1899–1994) was a textile artist, designer, and printmaker. You likely know of her husband Joseph Albers, the colorist. No doubt the two inspired each other. I recently ran into a book of Anni’s sketches, each page a sheet of graph paper with a different pattern idea. Most were …
Today is memory and imagination day in our 30 day creative challenge. This one’s great to do with kids! New Scientific Discovery Did you hear? Scientists discovered a new __________ . The scientific name for it is __________ . It looks like a __________ , it acts like a __________ , and it lives in …
Day 22: Vertical Perspective #30SAL
Search the internet for perspective, and Western perspective is pretty much all you’ll see. Billions of lessons illustrating the importance of one point, two point, and three point perspective. Lessons state that this is something every artist needs to learn in order to correctly render the three dimensional world on a two dimensional surface. It is not only useful, it is required for all artists, and it is the only method for drawing the world as it really is.
To the idea that Western Perspective is the only “true” perspective, I say pshaw
It’s not immediately apparent, but while these linear perspective rules can be useful for some drawings, this is not the only form of linear perspective available for educated artists, and there’s an ugly reason you don’t know about other forms.
Western Perspective as we use it today is from the Renaissance, specifically, from Filippo Brunelleschi. In this way of seeing, there is a single point of view (POV), and objects get smaller as they get farther away from the point of view. This method is presented as the only technique for drawing things as they really are. For proof a piece of glass can be used to trace a scene, confirming that objects diminish towards a common vanishing point. As anyone who has taken a perspective class will attest, this way of drawing does not come naturally to us. We must be educated to be able to draw with this method.
This way of drawing was connected with math, science, Christianity, and due to the forces of history, it was connected with colonization. As part of colonizing other cultures, the strategy was to use Western cultural artifacts to bring other cultures around to the Western way of thinking. For hundreds of years this form of drawing has been part of an assumed dominance over other cultures. Artists who do not draw with these methods are labeled as primitive, ignorant to the rules of art. Many forms of drawing were judged according to this perspective, and deemed incorrect. Even in current perspective lessons, it’s said that other cultures do not have any form of consistent or linear perspective at all.
The truth is that while artists in various cultures are perfectly aware of Western perspective, they recognize it’s failings, and they often choose to use something else. Depending on what they do, where they’re from, and what they want to express in their art, cultures around the globe have their own “true” methods for perspective, and we should know about them. Some examples of non-Western perspective are: parallel, isometric, axonometric, and multiple perspectives.
Yesterday’s post introduced Inverse, or Reverse Perspective. Today’s challenge is about Vertical Perspective.
Vertical Perspective
Most artists naturally draw with a kind of vertical perspective, and most viewers naturally see with it. Without consciously thinking about it, lots of us humans tend to organize a composition with far away objects higher up, and closer objects lower down. This is vertical perspective.
If you’re going to use vertical perspective as your method for showing space, you get to set aside the requirement that objects be increasingly smaller in size as they get farther away. Once size is not dictated by rules of space, you can use size to express different elements of your picture. For example, you can very logically size important things large, and less important things small. Or you can just size things so they look “right” to you. It’s a great way to create! Ready to give it a try?
Day 22: Vertical Perspective #30SAL
Today’s Challenge is to create something using vertical perspective, in which objects or figures that are closer to the viewer are shown below objects or figures that are farther away.
Share your drawing on Instagram with these tags: #30sal, #verticalperspective
Or post your work to this Padlet
Related Posts
LAST DAY of 30SAL Faves: Asymmetrical Portrait
This was the final challenge – the 30th Challenge for 30 Challenges in January! The final prompt was to create an asymmetrical portrait. This suggestion was designed to push a portrait drawing – something that can frequently cause us to tense up trying to get things perfect – into something more bold, individual, compositionally dynamic, …
Sumi-e Book Recommendation
Interested in studying sumi-e painting? Angie Dixons’ top recommended book for beginning is The Sumi-e Book by Yolanda Mayhall. The information in The Sumi-e Book is very good and accessible, and books and youtube are great for learning sumi-e but, Dixon says, students really need to have the pressure of a teacher. Today’s Beginning Sumi-e workshop …
SAL Challenge Day 9: Pattern
[image_with_animation image_url=”7636″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Anni Albers (1899–1994) was a textile artist, designer, and printmaker. You likely know of her husband Joseph Albers, the colorist. No doubt the two inspired each other. I recently ran into a book of Anni’s sketches, each page a sheet of graph paper with a different pattern idea. Most were …
30SAL Challenge: Scientists have discovered a new ____
Today is memory and imagination day in our 30 day creative challenge. This one’s great to do with kids! New Scientific Discovery Did you hear? Scientists discovered a new __________ . The scientific name for it is __________ . It looks like a __________ , it acts like a __________ , and it lives in …