Perspective Drawing A Designer's Method

Perspective Drawing balances the need for detail with the need for spontaneity by establishing a connection between constructed perspective and freehand sketching. The techniques illustrated and discussed in this text enable students to design a space as they are drawing it. One of the author's students described the effectiveness of this approach as making it 1,000,000 times easier to draw freehand after learning these perspective techniques. After studying the methods for constructing linear perspective, students produce a number of freehand sketches. They test each one with an overlay grid to verify the location of horizon lines, vanishing points and other key elements. With practice, they develop the ability to find these key points intuitively while sketching, so that they can draw freely and confidently.

Robert Philip Gordon, Columbia College