How to Draw Perspective: Basic to Complex Structures

This week, I drew a foreign cathedral, and I hope to visit it in person someday. I'm in awe of how much time and effort earlier generations dedicated to designing such intricate structures.

By sketching the cathedral, I learned how squares and circles can be combined to create structures. This technique can be applied to drawing spaces and buildings, and the process resembles computer modeling—defining shapes, planning spaces, and layering elements like stacking a cake. 🙋

Let’s dive in to explore how to use lines to create a sense of space!
Before You Start Drawing: Key Concepts

● What is perspective?

Perspective is a technique that makes your drawings look spatial and realistic by projecting real-world objects onto a flat surface. It helps you understand proportions and the size relationships between near and far objects.

● The role of the picture plane in perspective:

Think of the picture plane as a window that directs your view, similar to a camera lens or a canvas. 3D objects are projected onto this 2D surface, creating the image you see.

● What is a vanishing point?

In a perspective drawing, all parallel lines that recede into the distance converge at a single point called the vanishing point. This simulates the effect of objects appearing smaller as they move further away.

For example, in the upper-right illustration, lines in the same direction all converge toward their respective vanishing points on the horizon.

● Eye level:

Your eye level determines the viewing angle of the scene, whether it’s straight-on, bird’s-eye (looking down), or worm’s-eye (looking up). It defines how the scene feels to the viewer.

Common Types of Perspective

● One-point perspective:

As shown in the bottom-right hallway illustration, all lines converge toward one vanishing point.

● Two-point perspective:

The small cathedral sketch above uses two-point perspective, with lines on either side converging to separate vanishing points on the left and right.

● Three-point perspective:

By adding a third vanishing point, lines converge either above or below the image to simulate an extreme bird’s-eye or worm’s-eye view, perfect for dynamic scenes like looking down from a skyscraper.

● Square perspective:

The objects we see in our daily lives can often be simplified into squares to construct shapes and proportions. By using squares, we can quickly understand structures and establish the size relationships between objects and space when drawing.

Simplifying shapes helps us better understand the structure of objects.

For example, a pistol magazine has a cylindrical structure, and squares can assist in visualizing its possible appearance in perspective.

Another benefit of using squares for understanding is simplifying complex shapes.

可以把物體想像成由幾個方形建立起來，譬如說以下的大同寶寶示範，寬為比例一個正方形比例尺，高大概是兩個正方形多出一點，因此我們可以疊積木方式建構出大約1 : 2.3個比例。

This method allows you to easily calculate the object's dimensions and predict how it will look when viewed from different angles.

● Circular perspective:

How circles change in perspective: In perspective, circles appear as ellipses. The further the circle is from the viewer's eye level, the more it flattens into an ellipse.

Car Tire Demonstration: Using Squares to Guide Elliptical Angles When drawing a car tire, a square can help establish the possible angle of an ellipse. By sketching a square in perspective, you can use its boundaries to create an ellipse that represents the tire's circular shape at a specific angle.

Pour-over Kettle: Hidden Circular Structures

These perspective tips are a great starting point. Why not try them out yourself? Practice applying these principles to capture the shapes and structures you see in daily life.

If you're interested in learning to draw but don't know where to start, or if you'd like to understand the knowledge behind drawing,

feel free to join my LINE and contact me. In my classes, I organize drawing methods in a clear and structured way. Click here to learn more about my drawing courses!