Drawing Perspective: How to See It and How to Apply It

by Matthew Brehm

Overview

Here’s a hands-on guide to perspective that’s for anyone who wants to draw or paint—in any genre or medium. It’s partly about learning how to draw a set of straight lines that meet at a point, but it’s not filled with lots of dull, dry theory (although it does explain how it all works). Instead, it gives you tons of fun, practical exercises, and encourages you to play with them, so that learning how to draw in perspective is effortless and easy. Put your observational skills to the test with:

• Image Quizzes: take a pen and draw in all the vanishing points onto the book itself
• Perspective Chambers: draw objects onto an existing scene, keeping it all in the right perspective—sort of like 3D doodling
• Unique exercises with more than 100 vanishing points to figure out

By the time you’ve completed this book, you will have a keen understanding of how perspective really works. Plus, you’ll learn how to look at the world around you, see what’s really there, and spot where those invisible straight lines may be located. It will become like a sixth sense to you—one that will add depth and meaning to all of your artistic pursuits.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781438006598
Publisher:	Barron's Educational Series, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/01/2016
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Matthew Brehm is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Idaho, where his teaching responsibilities include design studios, graphics courses, and an annual two-month study abroad program in Rome, Italy. Matthew was involved as a founding Board Member of Urban Sketchers and has presented workshops and lectures at several of the group’s International Symposiums. He is the author of Sketching on Location.

Editorial Reviews

From the reviews:

“This detailed yet comprehensive drawing guide accurately depicts the myriad applications of perspective through simple explanations and the extensive use of relevant graphics. It clarifies how perspective can be utilized as the underlying structure to an image and yield extraordinary results for both interior and exterior scenes, regardless of medium, subject matter or style. Techniques for observation and sketching to scale are a nice touch, as are specifics about delineating various geometric forms. Though anyone could improve their visual acuity with this user-friendly book, art students will find it indispensable.”
—San Francisco Book Review, www.sanfranciscobookreview.com

From the Publisher

05/15/2016
Brehm's (architecture, Univ. of Idaho; Sketching on Location) guide achieves the laudable feat of explaining perspective drawing without being either boring or confusing. Perspective—the depiction of spatial depth on a two-dimensional surface—with its theories, geometry, and numerous rules, can seem frustratingly complicated to many artists, especially beginners. Chapters on one-point, two-point, three-point, multipoint, and curvilinear technique are structured around helping readers see, understand, and apply the various principles. Scenes are broken down into basic shapes and diagramed to illustrate how the technique operates in different situations. Each chapter includes a step-by-step exercise to cement the lesson. Readers can photocopy or download the special fold-out pages of grids and partial drawings found in the workbook section to aid in their drawing. A lively, brief history of perspective in the introductory section is a bonus. VERDICT Dynamic layouts and simple structure make this guide fun to read and easy to comprehend.

Library Journal