TECHNICAL DRAWING FOR 2.

One Point Perspective

BEGINNERS
ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE
One point perspective is one of the easiest perspective drawing styles available. The reason
for this is that all lines lead to a single point, and regardless of how complex your object is, it's
easy to realize when you've made a mistake, and just as easy to correct it.
Some Important Rules
Before we jump in, there are some important rules to keep in mind when drawing in one point
perspective.
All vertical construction lines are parallel to one another;
All horizontal construction lines are parallel to one another;
Given the lack of a second and third vanishing point, this perspective relies on orthogonal
construction lines;
This style of perspective, although convincing, is not always accurate.
WHEN TO USE ONE POINT PERSPECTIVE
Whenever you need to quickly present a concept of an object or a scene to another
person, you're faced with two options: technical blueprints, or a perspective thereof.
Due to the simplicity of this style of perspective, you can quickly convey an idea in a
convincing manner, without wasting too much time. Also, although not the most
accurate means of perspective rendering, this style is very easily understood by the
human brain, and hence also easily understandable by anyone, not just those that
studied architecture or technical drawing.
Personally, I recommend using this style of perspective for the following scenarios:
Architectural interiors of long rooms,
Object concepts,
Concept art.
CHOOSING YOUR VANISHING POINT

Keep in mind that the position of your vanishing point is critical. The further away you
move from the center of the canvas, the more biased your perspective will be to one
side of the object.
Basically, your image is affected similarly to how your object's position, in relation to
the horizon line, affects if you see the bottom or top side. If you go very far to your
left side, and your object is located on the same side, you risk only being able to
view two sides of your object instead of three.
This technique is best used for less important objects in your scene, such as boring
walls... leaving the focus area as detailed as possible.
EXERCISE
To ensure that you have a firm grasp of the basic concepts presented here, let's take a look at
this quick exercise. This is overview of what we're about to do.
Start off by drawing yourself the base construction lines, and pick a vanishing point that is not
perfectly centered on your canvas.
Define your rooms.
Identify the foreground object and create it based on your chosen vanishing point (in this case,
a bookshelf).
Make use of all necessary construction lines to project the position and size of the shelves.
Render the visible side of the shelves using the previously established light values.
Further enhance your shading to better emphasize your scene.
You can use the same work flow for not just this exercise but others with one point perspective.
1. CREATE THE BASIC CONSTRUCTION LINES
STEP 1
DRAW YOUR BASIC CONSTRUCTION LINES, AND KEEP IN MIND WHERE THE M OST INTERESTING PART OF YOUR

COMPOSITION WILL EVOLVE .

1. CREATE THE BASIC CONSTRUCTION LINES STEP 2
DEFINE YOUR PERSPECTIVE, OR BETTER SAID, WHAT YOUR POSITION AS T HE VIEWER WILL BE. IN OUR CASE, WE'RE RIGHT IN
FRONT OF OUR VANISHING POINT.
2. DEFINE YOUR ROOMS STEP 1
START DEFINING YOUR ROOMS BY IDENTIFYING ONE OF THE MORE DISTANT WALLS
2. DEFINE YOUR ROOMS
STEP 2
IDENTIFY HOW CLOSE YOU WANT TO PLACE YOUR FOREGROUND WALL. THIS WILL DEFINE HOW MUCH ROOM YOU HAVE TO
PLAY WITH IN INSERTING YOUR FOREGROUND OBJECT.
2. DEFINE YOUR ROOMS STEP 3
DEFINE THE MOST DISTANT WALL IN YOUR COMPOSITION, TO FURTHER ENH ANCE THE DEPTH OF YOUR FINAL IMAGE
3. CREATE YOUR DOORS
STEP 1
EXTEND TWO CONSTRUCTION LINES ON YOUR GROUND PLANE, TO IDENTIFY THE CORRECT WIDTH OF YOUR DOOR OPENINGS.
3. CREATE YOUR DOORS
STEP 2
BE SURE TO MAKE USE OF TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION LINES AS OFTEN AS NEEDED, AND ISOLATE THESE ON A SINGLE
LAYER, WHICH YOU CAN LATER MAKE MORE TRANSPARENT OR HIDE ALTOGET HER.
EXTEND THE RESULTING WIDTH UPWARDS, IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE HEI GHT OF YOUR DOORS.
.
3. CREATE YOUR DOORS
STEP 3
EXTEND THE RESULTING DIMENSIONS TO IDENTIFY THE MORE DISTANT DOO R SIZES AND PLACEMENT
.
3. CREATE YOUR DOORS
STEP 4
REMOVE THE RESPECTIVE SECTIONS. IN THE BELOW EXAMPLE, I'VE OPTED TO DOUBLE THE OPENING WIDTH TO ALLOW US TO
SEE MORE OF THE SECOND ROOM.
.
4. DEFINE WALLS AND CEILING
STEP 1
NEXT UP, CREATE A FLOOR. THIS STEP IS CRUCIAL AS IT WILL HELP YO U ADD DETAIL ON THE FLOOR PLANE AT A LATER
STAGE, WHEN THE WALLS ARE ALREADY IN PLACE.

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4. DEFINE WALLS AND CEILING
STEP 2
CREATE YOUR WALLS, AND SEPARATE THEM ON A DEDICATE LAYER OR SET OF LAYERS. TO GIVE US A BIT MORE ROOM TO
PLAY, IN THIS STEP, I'VE DECIDED TO ALLOCATE A MUCH LARGER WALL FOR THE CLOSEST ROOM.

.
4. DEFINE WALLS AND CEILING
STEP 3
CREATE YOUR CEILING. YOU DO THIS BY SIMPLY USING THE INITIAL CON STRUCTION LINES (ON YOUR LEFT SIDE), AND
EXTENDING THE SELECTION TO THE RIGHT MARGIN OF YOUR CANVAS.

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5. DRAFT CONSTRUCTION LINES FOR THE
FOREGROUND OBJECT
STEP 1
NOW THAT THE BASIC SURROUNDINGS HAVE BEEN DEFINED, IT'S TIME TO START FOCUSING ON CREATING THE FOREGROUND
OBJECT. WE'RE AIMING TO CREATE A BOOKSHELF, AND AS SUCH, WE NEED TO IDENTIFY THE WIDTH AND LENGTH, ON THE
GROUND PLANE FOR STARTERS.

.
5. DRAFT CONSTRUCTION LINES FOR THE
FOREGROUND OBJECT
STEP 2
WITH THE CONSTRUCTION LINES EXTENDED ACROSS OUR COMPOSITION, WE NOW SIMPLY EXTEND TWO PARALLEL VERTICAL
CONSTRUCTION LINES, AND CONNECT THEM WITH ANOTHER PAIR OF PARALL EL HORIZONTAL LINES, TO IDENTIFY THE HEIGHT
OF OUR BOOKSHELF.

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5. DRAFT CONSTRUCTION LINES FOR THE
FOREGROUND OBJECT
STEP 3
WE SIMPLY APPLY THE SAME METHOD TO IDENTIFY THE NEAREST SIDE OF THE BOOKSHELF, AND ALSO TO DETERMINE THE
LENGTH.

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5. DRAFT CONSTRUCTION LINES FOR THE
FOREGROUND OBJECT
STEP 4
NOW THAT THE GENERAL VOLUME OF OUR OBJECT IS DEFINED, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND IDENTIFY SOME OF THE FINER
DETAILS, SUCH AS THE POSITION OF OUR SHELVES

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5. DRAFT CONSTRUCTION LINES FOR THE
FOREGROUND OBJECT
STEP 5
THE HORIZONTAL LINES ALLOWED US TO IDENTIFY THE POSITION OF OUR SHELVES. EXTENDING A LINE FROM THE POINT
WHERE THESE LINES INTERSECT THEIR CORRESPONDING VERTICAL LINES, TOWARDS THE VANISHING POINT, ALLOWS US TO
IDENTIFY THE SHELF LENGTH.

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6. CREATE YOUR FOREGROUND OBJECT AND
SHADING
STEP 1
AGAIN, CREATE A FEW MASKS AND USE A DARKER COLOR TO AID IN IDENTIFYING THE RESPECTIVE FACES FURTHER DOWN
THE LINE.

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6. CREATE YOUR FOREGROUND OBJECT AND
SHADING
STEP 2
YOU CAN GO ONE STEP FURTHER AND ENHANCE THE CLARITY OF YOUR LIGH TING SITUATION, BY ASSIGNING DIFFERENT
SHADES OF GREY TO YOUR OBJECT. JUST KEEP IN MIND THAT IT CURRENT LY HAS NO THICKNESS, SO DON'T SPEND TOO MUCH
TIME ON THIS STEP.

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7. ADD WIDTH
STEP 1
AS EVERYTHING IS QUITE FLAT IN THIS STAGE, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON A DDING A BIT MORE DEPTH. THE MAIN PARTS WE
WANT TO ENHANCE ARE: THE WALLS AND THE FOREGROUND OBJECT.
.

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7. ADD WIDTH
STEP 2
USE THE BELOW CONSTRUCTION LINES TO CREATE THE THICKNESS. THE SA ME PRINCIPLE APPLIES: THE FURTHER AWAY YOU
MOVE FROM YOUR POSITION, THE LESS YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON CORRECT S HADING. NOTICE THAT THE FIRST DOORWAY
FEATURES TWO TONES OF SHADING, WHEREAS THE ONE A BIT FURTHER ONLY REQUIRES ONE TO BE VISIBLE AND CONVINCING
.

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7. ADD WIDTH
STEP 3
NOW, USING THE SAME TECHNIQUE, WE WILL IDENTIFY THE THICKNESS OF OUR BOOKSHELF. THE BASIC CONCEPT IS TO
EXTRUDE YOUR PLANES OUTWARDS. THAT MEANS YOU'RE AIMING TO CREATE PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION LINES TO THE ONES
YOU USED TO INITIALLY IDENTIFY YOUR BOOKSHELF DIMENSIONS
.

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7. ADD WIDTH
STEP 4
ONCE YOU'VE DRAFTED YOUR CONSTRUCTION LINES CORRECTLY (TALKING A BOUT PROPORTIONS MAINLY), YOU CAN MOVE
AHEAD AND CREATE THE THICKNESS ON A NEW LAYER. BE SURE TO USE TH E SAME SHADES AS THE ONE YOU PREVIOUSLY
OPTED FOR, SO THAT YOUR OBJECT IS MORE CONCEIVABLE FOR THE VIEWE R.

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7. ADD WIDTH
STEP 5
NOW THAT OUR FRAME IS VISIBLY STURDY, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING AB OUT THE SHELVES. TO CREATE THE CONSTRUCTION
LINES AND DEFINE THE STRENGTH OF THESE SHELVES, WE'LL BE DRAWING THREE CONSTRUCTION LINES PER SHELF. THE FIRST
ONE FROM THE VANISHING POINT TOWARDS THE CLOSEST FACING POINT OF YOUR SHELF. SECOND ONE WILL DEFINE YOUR
SHELF THICKNESS, AND SHOULD BE A STRAIGHT, SHORT, VERTICAL LINE. THE THIRD, SIMILARLY AS WITH THE FRAME
THICKNESS, SHOULD REPRESENT THE EXTRUSION.

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7. ADD WIDTH
USING OUR NEWLY CREATED CONSTRUCTION LINES, DEFINE THE THICKNESS USING THE SAME SHADE-SCHEME AS WITH THE
FRAME.

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8. CREATE A CHEQUERBOARD TILE PATTERN IN
PERSPECTIVE
STEP 1
NOW THAT OUR FOREGROUND OBJECT AND DOORWAYS HAVE SOME ADDED THIC KNESS, WHY DON'T WE TRY ENHANCING OUR
PERSPECTIVE WITH A NIFTY CHECKERBOARD PATTERN CARPET FOR OUR SEC OND ROOM?
START OFF BY DRAWING CONSTRUCTION LINES FROM YOUR VANISHING POIN T, TOWARDS THE LOWEST MARGIN OF YOUR
CANVAS. BE SURE TO MAINTAIN EQUAL DISTANCES BETWEEN THESE LINES. YOU CAN DO THIS BY USING A RULER.

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8. CREATE A CHEQUERBOARD TILE PATTERN IN
PERSPECTIVE
STEP 2
NOW SIMPLY CREATE A SERIES OF PARALLEL HORIZONTAL LINES TO INTER SECT THE PREVIOUSLY DRAWN CONVERGING LINES.
BE SURE TO KEEP CHECKING YOUR PROPORTIONS, AND KEEP IN MIND THAT THE CLOSER YOU GET TO YOUR VANISHING
POINT, THE SMALLER THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THESE HORIZONTAL LINES W ILL BE.

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8. CREATE A CHEQUERBOARD TILE PATTERN IN
PERSPECTIVE
STEP 3
USE THESE CONSTRUCTION LINES TO SELECT YOUR CHECKERBOARD PATTERN, AND ON A NEW LAYER, FILL THE SELECTION
WITH A DIFFERENT, LIGHTER COLOR

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9. ADD YOUR FINAL SHADING
FINALLY, AS WE TOOK THE TIME TO ORGANIZE OUR LAYERS, FOLDERS AND MASKS PREVIOUSLY, NOW WE ONLY NEED A FEW
EXTRA LAYERS, AND SOME GRADIENTS TO ADD THE NECESSARY SHADING. I 'VE OPTED TO DARKEN THE MORE DISTANT ROOMS
AND KEEP SHADING TO A MINIMAL.