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Perspective: How to Improve By Training Your Eyes in the Real World (NEW REFERENCES BOARD)
🕑 Added 2023-11-17 22:04:01 +0000 UTCHey everyone,
If you have been around here on Patreon for a while, you will notice I often discuss perspective because it's one of the things I know best. The points previously discussed are about basic application with simple geometric shapes/forms and perspective distortion using techniques like fish eye in Photoshop, but I haven't told you how to STUDY using life references or photography references. In today's post, I'll share with you some strategies to apply daily.
1. Sketching from Life: We all have tried this at least once, we carry a sketchbook and take a few minutes daily to sketch our surroundings. This is a very basic tip but still useful. Here are some nice strategies to tackle this study approach.
- Week 1 - The Vanishing Point Venture: Focus on scenes where vanishing points are evident, like long streets or railroad tracks. Your challenge is to capture these scenes, emphasizing the vanishing point in your sketch.
- Week 2 - The Size Shift Challenge: Choose scenes where objects of similar sizes appear vastly different due to distance, like cars on a road stretching into the distance. Sketch these scenes, paying special attention to the size differences as they recede.
- Week 3 - The Angular Adventure: Look for structures with interesting angles, such as staircases, sloped roofs, or open books. Your challenge is to sketch these angles, showing how they change perspective.
- Week 4 - The Dynamic Depth Day: Find a spot with a deep field of view, like a park or a busy street, and focus on layering different elements at varying distances. This challenge will test your ability to create depth in your sketches.
- Bonus Challenge - Perspective with a Twist: Once a month, pick a complex place and add an imaginative twist. For example, sketch a city street but imagine and add a giant object in the scene, maintaining the correct perspective. This not only tests your skills but also encourages creative thinking.
You can choose any random place as long as you can cover a few of these points. Remember, the goal here is not only to learn but also to set some goals that help you find that extra motivation to go outside.
2. Photography Exercises: This is probably my favorite, as I prefer just to use pictures from Pinterest, but you can use your camera or smartphone to take pictures from various angles and distances. Later, to sketch side by side in Photoshop in order to analyze these photos and understand how perspective alters the appearance of objects.
You can also try the schedule I shared with you in the previous point but with pictures instead of outside references. Now, for this specific point, I've saved several references in the current Pinterest board you have access to, mostly in relation to people in interesting perspective choices. However, for environment-related perspectives (which many of you are currently studying as well), I've created a board with numerous references about the environment that you can use to bootstrap your study process, have access in the link bellow and please don't add new pins to this board or you will be banned.
This invitation link will be useful for this month; after that, I might just send you a private message with the link, just in case it gives an error, as often happens with Pinterest invitations.
Conclusion
Perspective, like many other fundamentals, might be intimidating because sometimes we lack the proper understanding. You will always be afraid of what you don't understand. Developing a series of habits in which you constantly pay attention to perspective in nature and pictures will open your eyes slowly, like Neo in The Matrix. It's about awareness and repetition. Try any of these strategies and take small steps toward that goal. Also, if you want to push perspective using a fisheye style, you might enjoy this article as well.
Perspective! - Simple Exercises to Nail Fisheye Compositions and Characters From Imagination
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Comments
Ramon Nuñez
I've not used Blender so far, so I'm not the most qualified to give feedback on this matter, but I know people who have done pretty interesting stuff in a relatively short amount of time. This means, in my opinion, that it's a very useful tool with a shallow learning curve. So, anything that can fit into your creative schedule and help you solve technical problems is a good idea. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Thanks for your comments!
Yen
Thank you very much for your sharing on perspective! Personally, when I'm drawing, I tend to prefer references with a strong perspective because it can greatly enhance the visual impact of the artwork. Additionally, I wanted to ask if there are any insights from you, or from Ramon, regarding applications in modeling software (such as Blender). It seems that this type of software can also be used for reference, but I haven't delved into learning it.
