Per

spect
ive-
-Under
standi
ngof0pt
,1pt
,2pt
,and3ptper
spect
ive

Per
spec
tiv
einmat
tepai
nti
ngi
ses
sent
ialf
ort
hei
l
lus
ionofr
eal
i
sm.I
fsomet
hings
eemsof
fper
-
s
pec
tiv
e,t
heof
fper
spec
tiv
eel
ementwon'
t"f
eel
"int
hes
amewor
ldasanot
herobj
ect
,br
eak
ing
t
hemagic
.I t
'sj
ustanothert
hingweneedtomatchtothepl
ateinor
dertocreat
ethemagi
cof
mat
tepai
nti
ng.Thisles
sonwon'tgooverper
spec
tiv
einasmuc hdet
ailass
ay,adedi
cat
edbook
woul
d.I t'
sjus
taquic
kr ef
resherf orthos ewhok now s
omeper spect
ive,aswellasshowings ome
r
ealworldexampl
esofwhatt olookf orinc ert
ainpers
pect
ivepoints.Perspect
iveli
nesandv anish-
i
ngpointscoul
dbeanywher eyouwantt hem tobeaslongasitlookspleasi
ng,ifyou'
redrawing
f
rom scr
atch.Butt
omat chapl ate,andt hecameraaswellasfocallengt
handdi st
ancethati t
wasshoton,weneeds omebas icpers pecti
veideas.Theideaspresentedhereshouldcoverabout
99% oft
hemat
tepai
nti
ngsy
ous
eeoutt
her
e.

Tobetterunderstandperspecti
ve,photoswillbeusedt ohel pill
ustr
atesomei deas .Anyt
hing
photographedupc los
ewi t
hawi deanglecamer a,wil
lresultinagr eaterforeshorteni
ngeffect
.
Shooti
ngs omethingfrom furt
herawaywi l
ldr amati
cal
lylessent his
,andev enfurtherwit
hal ong
foc
allengthlens.Shooti
ngf urt
herwithazoom l enswill"f
latten"theper s
pec t
ive,s owheny ouar
e
l
ookingt obuil
dy ourl
ibr
aryphot osf
ormat tepainti
ng,hav ebot hs mal
landl ongf ocall
ength
pi
ctur
esf
orfutur
ework.Whenyouarework
ingonasmallf
ocall
engt
hmatt
e,uses
mallf
ocal
l
engthpi
ctur
essotheymat
chup,v
icever
saforl
ongl
engt
hfocall
engt
himages
.Evenwit
hthe
ri
ghtperspecti
veli
nesdrawnout ,mix
ingthetwowillneverdeli
vergoodr esul
ts.Youprobabl
y
onl
yhav eaboutplusormi nus1-2mm inthewideangle(10-25mm) ,5-10mm maxoff ocall
ength
i
nt hemidr ange(35-
75mm) ,andmay be20-30mm diff
erencefrom 150-300.Thegreaterthefocal
l
ength,themor eofadi f
fer
encey oumightgetawaywiths i
ncetheflat
teningeff
ecti
sn'tasdra-
maticasitisinthefi
rst80mm range.

Her
e'saqui
ckex
ampl
eoft
hes
amef
rami
ng,butdi
ff
erentf
ocall
engt
handac
tualc
amer
apos
i-
t
ions
.Thef
ir
stpi
ctur
e,I
'm about1f
ootawayf
rom L
urk
yaswel
lasawi
rel
essmous
ethr
owni
n
t
here.I'
m us
ingabouta25mm wi
deanglelenswit
habout1footdi
stanc
e.Thes
econdpi
ctur
e,I
wentuptoa150mm lens
,wit
habout5feetdis
tanc
etoLurk
y.
Noti
ceLurkyonthelefthassuperhugel egs
,andi t
'sr
eal
lycomingtowar
dst hecamera.The
angl
eofthemous eisbigandpr onounced.Thenwet urntothephotoont heri
ght,wit
hthesame
fr
aming,andLur
k y
'slegssuddenlybecames hor
t!!Theheadals
os eemsbigger
,it
'sbecaus
eit
's
now t
hes
amepl
aneal
mos
tast
hel
egsandmous
elenswi
se,f
rom a5f
ootdi
stanc
eands
hot
us
ingal
ongl
ens
.Al
sot
hef
looroft
heobj
ect
shav
evas
tlydi
ff
erentper
spec
tiv
es.

Thiseff
ec ti
st hesameaswheny ou phot
ographabui ldi
ng.Def i
nit
elytryitoutify
ouhav en'
ty et.
Shootupc l
osewi t
haswi deangleaspos si
blewithouttil
ti
ngupordownt hec amer
a'shori
zon,
thengor eall
yf aranddoi twi
thaz oom anglelens,fi
tt
ingt hesamef r
ami ng.Youwi l
lseethe
dif
fer
enc e. Thi si
sals
ot hereas
onmos tportr
ait
saret akenwithamor eflat
teri
ng55-85mm foc al
l
engthc amer aasitfl
attensoutthefeatur
es,notmak ingt hefr
ontoft hefaceornos egettoolarge
i
nthef
ront
.

Zer
oPoi
ntPer
spect
ive:

Let
'smo
mv eont ozer
opoi ntper
spect
ive,other
wis
ek nownasatmospheri
cper
specti
ve.In0pt
per
spec
tiv
e,thereis
n'tanydisc
erni
bleobjectorl
ocati
onthaty
ouc antel
linr
elat
ions
hiptoanot
her
obj
ecti
ns pac
e.Ther earen'
tanyrealvanishi
ngpoi
nts(t
houghthereisahor
izonli
ne),bec
ause
t
heterr
aini
ssoorgani
candsofl
owing.Theonl
ywaytotel
ldis
tanceandl
inearZspaceper
spec-
t
ivei
sthedept
hthatyouwil
lseeastheat
mospher
eenvel
opesobjec
tsgoi
ngfurt
herandfur
ther
awayf rom theey e.Thishaz i
ngupef fectdependsont heenvir
onment .Inwater,it'
sverypr o-
nounc ed,anddr opsof fveryquickl
ythef ur
thersomethingisawayi ndist
ance.Samegoesf or
rai
nyday s,foggyday s
,orot hermoisturebasedatmosphericsintheair
.Thepar t
icl
esint heair
absorbmor eandmor eoft hecol
orandmoi st
ureintheairofthehor i
zonandat mospher easit
goesbac k.F orfog,itget sbri
ghteras yougobac kduet othel i
ghtrefl
ecti
ngproperti
esoff og
(water).F orsmok e,itgetsmor emut ed,anddarkerduet oit'
spropert
ies(dustandbur ned
carbonmat t
er).Ifyouaddbac kli
ghtt orai
n,itwil
lbri
ghtenwayup.I fyoubac kli
ghtsomet hi
ng
heavier,l
esstranslucentandt hi
ck,li
kedus tpart
icl
es,i
t'l
lgetdarkerinexposur
e.

I
ntroduc
ingt
hesedepthef
fec
tsintoyourmatt
epaint
ingsandconcept
swil
lgr
eatl
yenhanc
ethei
r
"
siz
e"anddist
ancecues.Uselessforsmal
l
erobj
ectsthatar
eclos
ertoget
her
,orhavel
essat
mo-
s
pher
e,usemoreforgreaterdis
tanc
esl
ikemount
ainsandmois
tureri
chareas
.Noperspec
tiv
e
l
i
nesneededher
e,jus
t" depth"
.Herear
eafew ex
amplesof0ptpers
pect
iveofphot
osI
'vetaken
whi
l
etr
avel
i
ng:
0Poi
nt:Mount
ainsofTheGr
eatWal
lofChi
na,Bei
ji
ng

0Poi
nt:Mount
ainsofTheGr
eatWal
lofChi
na,Bei
ji
ng(
most
lyt
het
ophal
fofphot
o)
0Poi
nt:Mount
ainsofTheGr
eatWal
lofChi
na,Bei
ji
ng

0Poi
nt:Downt
ownShanghai
,Chi
na(
wit
h1ptper
spect
iveaswel
l)
1Poi
ntPer
spect
ive:

I
magest
hathav
e1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
ear
eshotf
latonwi
thnot
il
toft
hec
amer
aupordown,r
ight
i
nthec
ent
erf
oras
ymmet
ri
calors
trongf
ocalpoi
ntt
hathav
eal
lli
nesc
onv
ergi
ngandpoi
nti
ngt
o
t
hatareaintheimage.Todet
ermi
nethepers
pecti
vefor1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
e,fi
rstyoufi
ndout
wher
et hehori
zonli
neli
es.Fr
om t
her
e,st
artfol
l
owingalll
i
nesint
heimageint
ersect
ingapoi
nt
onthehor i
zonli
ne.Youcant henc r
eat
enew per spec
tiveli
nestomatchandorbuil
dnew
el
ement sontopoftheimagef orthemattepaint
ing.
Forperspect
iveli
nes
,IusethePent ool,butanys t
rai
ghtedgedtoolwouldsuf
fi
ce.Fullpr
eci
si
on
i
sn'tneededunlesst
hisi
sgoingt ohaveamaj orcameramov ewit
hreal3Dgeometry(whi
chyou
wouldus eaccur
ate3Dgeomet rytogetyourperspect
ive,notsomuchlinesi
nPhotoshop)
.Below
i
sanex
ampl
eIs
hoti
nTi
enanmenSquar
einBei
ji
ng,Chi
nabef
oreandaf
terper
spec
tiv
eli
nes
.

Not
icet
her
ear
esomel
i
nest
hatar
en'
tper
fec
tlyac
cur
ate,duet
orealwor
ldc
ondi
ti
onsofbui
l
ding
andconst
ructi
on,whic
hs houldn'
tmatchcomput er
izedl
inesexact
ly
.Pl usorminusadegreeor
twoshoul
dn'thurtt
oomuc hf orper
spect
ive,butdon'ts
traybeyondthat.Anynew photoyou
comeacross
,y ouwoulddot hisbef
oreat
temptingtoaddanyel ementstoitf
oramat t
epaint
ing.
Her
ear
emor
eex
ampl
esgener
al1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
ephot
osbel
ow:
1Poi
ntPer
spect
ive:

I
magest
hathav
e1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
ear
eshotf
latonwi
thnot
il
toft
hec
amer
aupordown,r
ight
i
nthec
ent
erf
oras
ymmet
ri
calors
trongf
ocalpoi
ntt
hathav
eal
lli
nesc
onv
ergi
ngandpoi
nti
ngt
o
t
hatareaintheimage.Todet
ermi
nethepers
pecti
vefor1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
e,fi
rstyoufi
ndout
wher
et hehori
zonli
neli
es.Fr
om t
her
e,st
artfol
l
owingalll
i
nesint
heimageint
ersect
ingapoi
nt
onthehor i
zonli
ne.Youcant henc r
eat
enew per spec
tiveli
nestomatchandorbuil
dnew
el
ement sontopoftheimagef orthemattepaint
ing.
Forperspect
iveli
nes
,IusethePent ool,butanys t
rai
ghtedgedtoolwouldsuf
fi
ce.Fullpr
eci
si
on
i
sn'tneededunlesst
hisi
sgoingt ohaveamaj orcameramov ewit
hreal3Dgeometry(whi
chyou
wouldus eaccur
ate3Dgeomet rytogetyourperspect
ive,notsomuchlinesi
nPhotoshop)
.Below
i
sanex
ampl
eIs
hoti
nTi
enanmenSquar
einBei
ji
ng,Chi
nabef
oreandaf
terper
spec
tiv
eli
nes
.

1Poi
nt:TheBazaari
nShanghai
,Chi
na

1Poi
nt+ 0Poi
nt:Downt
ownChi
cagoat
opt
heHancockBui
ldi
ng,USA
1Poi
ntPer
spect
ive:

I
magest
hathav
e1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
ear
eshotf
latonwi
thnot
il
toft
hec
amer
aupordown,r
ight
i
nthec
ent
erf
oras
ymmet
ri
calors
trongf
ocalpoi
ntt
hathav
eal
lli
nesc
onv
ergi
ngandpoi
nti
ngt
o
t
hatareaintheimage.Todet
ermi
nethepers
pecti
vefor1poi
ntper
spec
tiv
e,fi
rstyoufi
ndout
wher
et hehori
zonli
neli
es.Fr
om t
her
e,st
artfol
l
owingalll
i
nesint
heimageint
ersect
ingapoi
nt
onthehor i
zonli
ne.Youcant henc r
eat
enew per spec
tiveli
nestomatchandorbuil
dnew
el
ement sontopoftheimagef orthemattepaint
ing.
Forperspect
iveli
nes
,IusethePent ool,butanys t
rai
ghtedgedtoolwouldsuf
fi
ce.Fullpr
eci
si
on
i
sn'tneededunlesst
hisi
sgoingt ohaveamaj orcameramov ewit
hreal3Dgeometry(whi
chyou
wouldus eaccur
ate3Dgeomet rytogetyourperspect
ive,notsomuchlinesi
nPhotoshop)
.Below
i
sanex
ampl
eIs
hoti
nTi
enanmenSquar
einBei
ji
ng,Chi
nabef
oreandaf
terper
spec
tiv
eli
nes
.

1Poi
nt:SubwaySt
ati
on,New Yor
k,USA

1Poi
nt:AnAl
leyDownt
own,New Yor
k,USA
2Poi
ntPer
spect
ive:

I
ntwopoi
ntper
spec
tiv
e,t
her
ear
etwov
ani
shi
ngpoi
ntsi
nst
eadofj
ustt
hes
ingul
ar
.2ptper
spec
-
t
ivegi
veswayt
ovi
ewi
ngmor
esi
dest
hanoneofanobj
ect
.Bel
ow i
ntheAppl
eSt
orephot
o,i
t
c
oul
dhavebeenjust1ptwe'
rewor
ri
edabout,butt
her
eisabi
gcamer
atil
tup.Theyrevealmore
v
ani
shi
ngpoi
ntsneededtomatcht
hephoto.OneVPisint
heAppl
eStor
e,theotheri
soutofthe
phot
oabov
ethemai
nbui
l
ding:
Thenextphot
o,ofWallSt
reetinNYC,ismostl
y2ptper
spect
ive,butappl
iedindi
ff
erentways
(moreofahybri
d,notaconventi
onal2ptora3ptduet
omul t
ifac
etedfac
esofbuil
dings.Notall
bui
ldi
ngsaresquar
eorbuil
tont hesameperspec
tiv
egr
idli
keac omputer!)Thi
nkofeac hbui
l
ding
t
hati
sangl
edont
hef
loorpl
anet
ohav
eit
'son2ptper
spec
tiv
e.Ther
ear
emanyher
e!Idi
dn'
t
draw onal
lofthem,butsomeoft
hem t
oil
l
ust
rat
e.Becaref
ulofus
ingthi
smethodofmulti
ple2pt
pers
pecti
ves,asit
'smuchhar
dert
onai
ldownandof
tencanconf
usethevi
ewerifnotdone
c
orr
ect
ly:
3Poi
ntPer
spect
ive:

Upnex
tis3poi
ntper
spec
tiv
e,whi
chnotonl
yjus
tcov
ersc
amer
ati
l
t,butat
hir
ddi
mens
ionof
v
ani
shi
ngpoi
nti
nanobj
ect
,thet
op/
bot
tom ofanobj
ect
,aswel
lask
eepi
ngt
hel
eftandr
ight
s
idesofanobject
.Thisals
oaccountsf
orv er
ywideangl
elensesthathav
ebarrel
edi
ndis
tor
ti
on
t
hat3pointpers
pect
ivecansol
ve(vert
ical
sconv
ergetoapoint)
.Us e3Pointi
naddi
ti
ont
o0Point
at
mos
phericpers
pect
iveandy
ourc
ompos
iti
onwi
l
lbeveryst
ronginregardst
oper
spec
tiv
e.Her
e
ar
eafew exampl
es,f
oll
owedbyamoc
kupofa3pointper
spect
ivephoto:
I
fyourvani
shi
ngpoint
sdon'
tfi
t,somet
imesi
t'
sagoodi deatoenl
argeyourcanv
aswi t
hex t
ra
s
pacetovis
uali
zet
heVP's.Evenwitht
heext
ras pac
e,myVP3s hownaboveissti
llout
sideofthe
i
mageborders
.Thisphot
oaccountedf
oradutchhori
zonli
ne,a3pointpers
pecti
ve,aswellas
mul
ti
ple"
tri
angl
e"bui
l
dingst
hathav
ethei
rownk
indofper
spec
tiv
e.Abi
gtr
ademar
koft
heol
d
bui
l
dings
tyl
esofNew Yor
kCi
ty
.

Pleasev
iew thepers
pecti
veset
upv i
deosinthi
sweeki fy ouwanttolearnmor eaboutthis.
Thereareotherfor
msofperspecti
vesuchasfi
shey e,concave,andc onvextypes,butthosear
en'
t
reall
yusedf
ormat tepai
nti
ng.Mor eforul
tr
astyl
iz
edef fectsorlat
erbedonei npos tasanadded
effec
tst
oamat t
epainti
ng.Forfurt
herenri
chmentofper spect
iveknowledge,checkoutt hi
sbook
:

TheCompl
eteGui
det
oPer
spect
ive,byJohnRaynes.
Fr
amedPer
spect
iveVol
.1andVol
.2byMar
cosMat
eu-
Mest
re