Perspective is fun. Perspective is hell. And either way, it can’t be ignored. This series covers all you need to know to get started with perspective. What you will further read applies both to digital and traditional art.

The series really covers the basics. It includes all that I think you will benefit from knowing.

 

There are many guides already available on the web. But I find that most of them essentially tell the same thing, and show the same pictures.

Despite reading them, and drawing cubes from different angles, I still struggled with perspective. This of course, limited what I could draw.

 

At some point, I started avoiding trying to learn perspective, hoping that it would come to me naturally. And some points did come to me though practice or observation, either by sketching or 3d modeling.

But in my case, that wasn't enough. I could draw one separate object well. But if I wanted to create a complex scene, something in it would always feel wrong.

 

 

 

I’ve struggled up until I skimmed over several “serious” and high-brow articles - the ones that have math formulas in them, and explain how everything is backed up by calculations. Did it help me? No. I was confused. But I was also intrigued. And if you're curious enough, then it's all the motivation you need.

I now wanted to understand what's going on behind the scenes.

 

The fancy articles showed me how little I actually know.

Motivated, I started digging deeper.

I've read various blog posts, and articles targeted at different levels - from professional artists to middle schoolers. Of course there was a lot of recurring information, but there were also unique parts. I extracted what was most useful to me from each tutorial.

Like taking puzzles from different sets, I created a new picture that I could call my own. The gaps in my knowledge were filled.

 

 

I now feel ready to share this picture with others.

 

To make my explanations simple to follow, I restructured what I know, and split the guide into manageable chunks. Each of them will discuss a different topic and can be read on its own. But it is the totality of all episodes that will give you the most enriching picture.

It all started with me trying to create a tutorial on the [Perspective ruler]. But everything big starts with some small goal in mind. I can teach you how to use a fishing rod, but what good will that do if you don't know what's a fish?

 

To everyone who sketches architectural structures for fun, I take my hat off in respect. As for the others, people like me who haven't yet lost their sanity by drawing infinite staircases, I offer a pat on the back, together with this tutorial.