Art at Hosmer: One Point Perspective Cityscapes

Sunday, June 12, 2016

One Point Perspective Cityscapes

Last month, 5th grade artists learned about one point perspective, which is a form of linear perspective that allows us to represent 3D objects and space on a 2D surface. Using intersecting lines that are drawn vertically and horizontally and that come from one point on a horizon line, one point perspective shows how things appear to get smaller as they get further away. It is a way to create depth in a scene.

The horizon line divides the “ground” from the “sky” or determines the viewer’s angle. The vanishing point is the dot on the horizon where the receding diagonal lines converge or meet. The receding or orthogonal lines connect the corners of each object to the vanishing point. These define the edges of objects and shapes in the scene. In one point perspective, all vertical lines meet at one point, which is called the vanishing point, while the horizontal lines are parallel.

To begin this project, students were asked to create the illusion of 3D space on their paper without learning about one point perspective, to see how they might approach this task. Many students thought about how to show depth by representing objects that are closer to the viewer as larger, and objects that were further away as smaller.

The following class, we learned about the rules of one point perspective and began our cityscapes. Students began by drawing the horizon line and placing the vanishing point on that line, using a ruler. Then they added two lines that started at the vanishing point and ended at the bottom of the paper. Then they began to draw shapes for buildings, connecting the corners to the vanishing point. Students planned out a cityscape, adding buildings of different shape and size.

The following class, students added details to their buildings, such as signs, windows and doors. Students got very creative with their details, including logos of different companies and brands, and cars on the road. They outlined their pencil lines using Sharpie marker during the next class, and added color by using crayon. It took us several classes to finish our drawings, but students were very proud afterwards of how they were able to create the illusion of 3D space!

We finished this project with a written self assessment and compared our finished drawing with the first practice drawing we did. Many students were shocked at how different the two drawings looked, and it was exciting to see the growth. Below are examples of our one point perspective cityscape drawings, which were also on display at the recent Art & Music Extravaganza: