Category: Basic Drawing (Art)

Perspective and Still Life

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Perspectives of drawing: Wania Salman
In history of art, before the use and concept of perspective, sizes of objects were drawn as near
objects in front and larger objects at back.
In early 1400s or fifth century BC, the concept of perspective drawing
started to use in the art of Ancient Greece. This concept of perspective
increased and opened the new era of art with basic measurements and angles.
Perspectives are the measure angles that the graphical projection of an object in drawn on paper.
All the angles and objects are graphically drawn onto a single sheet of paper. It can be described
as creating a 2D or 3D image of objects on a plane flat sheet of paper.
There are three basic types of perspective art. One-point perspective (linear perspective), two-
point perspective and three-point perspective. At first, the artist must need to find vanishing
point on their horizon line (eye-level).
One-point perspective:
This perspective is used for objects in front. So that making the lines vertical or horizontal. The
lines that extend from foreground and background converges at single point called “Vanishing
point” which will always be on the horizon line. This perspective is only used for objects or
sights that is made up of lines that are directly parallel to each other or directly perpendicular to
each other just like railways tracks, roads, hallways, etc.

Two-point perspective:
This perspective is used for compositions that look at objects at an angle. Two lines extend and
converges at two different vanishing points on horizon line. It can be used to draw same object
just like one-point perspective.
For example, a rotated image of a house or a block. One set of lines will be parallel to the picture
plane and the other side will be oblique to it.

Three-point perspective:
This perspective is used for composition that are look up or down at large objects. Three lines
extend and converges at two vanishing point on horizon. If object is looked from up, vanishing
point is above the object and if looked from down, it is below the object.
Three-point perspective exists when the perspective is a view of a Cartesian scene where the
picture plane is not parallel to any of the scene's three axes. Each of the three vanishing points
corresponds with one of the three axes of the scene. One, two and three-point perspectives
appear to embody different forms of calculated perspective, and are generated by different
methods. Mathematically, however, all three are identical; the difference is merely in the relative
orientation of the rectilinear scene to the viewer.

Still life:
Laiba Zehra
A still life is a group of objects or a depiction of a group of objects. Depictions of still life are
usually, two dimensional. Still life drawings are drawings of non-living objects, organized in a
specific way to create a meaning or a visual impact or drawing of dead animals. Still life has
been present since ancient Egypt, ancient Greco Roman art and the middle ages all the way to the
present early. Artists believed that still life subjects were less important than other types of
drawings and paintings because they didn’t include images of people. Still life art began to grow
in popularity during the 1600s. Still life drawings can be created using a variety of various
mediums including charcoals, colored or graphite pencils and pastels. Artists often mix mediums
to make totally different effects. Still life photography is a category of photography used for the
depiction of non-living subject matter, usually for a small group of objects. It is the presentation
of photography to the still life artistic style. Some of the examples of still life photography are
tabletop photography, product photography, food photography and found object photography.
Objects like pots, vases, consumer products, handicrafts or natural objects like plants, fruits,
vegetables, food, rocks, shells can be taken as subjects for still life photography. Generally, still
life photos are not close up to the subject nor far away, but at a very head-on angle. The art in
still life photography is commonly the selection of objects that are being arranged and the
lighting rather than the skill of the photographer.
A still life drawing or painting mainly focuses on still objects. The subject matter is non-living
and never moves, generally with a focus on household objects, flowers, or fruits etc. Still life
work, contrasts, figure and drawing sometimes also focuses on a live human model. In a still life
the objects would never ever move and you can practice objects with different properties like
shiny metal, clear porcelain, or bulbous apples etc. The still life of fruit bowls is a very popular
choice because they are made up of simple shapes and everyone has fruit lying around. Creating
a still life can be a starting point for someone to practice fundamental skills. When drawing non-
living objects, you must make surety that they will stay in the same position until you move them
and making it should be an easy task for beginners. Still life artwork comes in a variety of styles
and mediums. The brush strokes can be loose and wild or precise and bold. As long as the
subject matter remains inanimate even a pen and pencil can create a still life piece.