Introduction

Hello~ I really like architecture and interior design and frequently use them in my work.

The perspective rules in Clip Studio Paint have been an immense help. Hence, I wanted to make a tutorial about the tool's basic functions, the theory behind them and give some tips and tricks, that have helped me in my own drawing process (using illustrations of mine as an example)

Setting Up the Perspective Rulers

Firstly we need to set up our perspective grid. There are two ways to go about it, I'll start with creating the perspective ruler option. We can create a perspective ruler by selecting the corresponding option in the layer menu, as shown bellow:

We are given three options of linear perspective; one, two and three point perspective respectively. Additionally we are also given an option to create a new layer, I recommend keeping it ticked on, as you never know whether you are creating a perspective ruler, while having an important layer selected.

Bellow is a quick recap of how an object looks like, drawn using different number of vanishing points

(I.e. points towards which parallel lines in the picture converge towards) .

 

I tend to work in three point perspective as it tends to imitate a naturalistic kind of 'camera' view. The reason being that as we, as humans, have a certain eye level, we usually see objects as being above and bellow it. Wе rarely see objects exactly at out eye level.

 

At the same time, perspective options should be chosen based on subject matter of illustrations themselves.

 

E.g. 1 point perspective works best for tunnels and hallways, 2 point for room design, 3 point allows you to work with fun camera angles, like extremely low or high ones.

The result is a set of perspective points that we can move as we wish.

Now I wanna lay out the other way to get those points in. This method is less intuitive, but also allows you to easily plug in 3d objects into the perspective 'settings' that you create. We start by creating a new 3D layer.

The result is a 3d layer. But we can't see it yet, nor does it have the perspective points that we will be using. To make all this visible, we need to click on the crossed out ruler on the layer tab.

Now we can see the familiar set of vanishing points. Like with perspective ruler we can move them about, though in this case this will affect the 3D layer itself (and all the objects placed in it.

Some Extra Tools

Before I move to the meat of the tutorial: creating the illustrations, I wanted to discuss the options that will appear on the tool window.

The snap option makes sure that drawn lines are tied to the vanishing points, deselecting it, will allow you to draw free hand. You can see whether its turned on or on by the colour of the lines leading to the vanishing points.

GREEN stands for OFF

PURPLE for ON.

Deselecting the fixed eye level option allows you to tilt the horizon line and thus the 'camera'. Tilting it by a bit amplifies the sense of unease and can be used to increase the creepiness of uncanny pieces.

Clicking horizontalize the eye level, will return it back to normal.

Last but not the list are the grid toggles. Using them you can render visible perspective grids on three planes. On the above pictures, I had the bottom grid turned on to make it easier to see the perspective plane.

 

The grids can be toggled on or off depending on the part of your illustration that your are working on. For example, making visible a gird on one of the 'walls' (the vertical planes) can make it easier to place and draw wall decorations, while the 'floor' allows you to space and layout objects in the illustration/

 

My only advice is avoid turning all of them on at the same time, as they can crowd the illustration and distract the eye.

Step 1: Laying Out the Illustration

We can start drawing the illustration by drawing a rough sketch of what we want to draw. I drew the sketch without any perspective grids, by free hand.

 

Personally I recommend first creating a rough thumbnail without any assistance, as, unlike the perspective rulers, it allows for the mind and the hand to wander freely across the illustration.

At the sketch level, despite the roughness, I have laid out the planes of the illustration. By varying the proximity of objects to the 'camera'/ the viewer, we create a sense of depth, as well as an appealing composition, that can lead the viewer's eye into the illustration.

Step 2: Using Perspective Ruler to get a Clean Sketch

To clean up the sketch I need to set up a perspective grid that would match the space that I have sketched.

After setting up a three point perspective ruler, I pick a set of axis that I like the most (to be precise: ones the seem the most proportionally correct to me) and plot a 'corrected' version. In this case I have chosen the cupboard, because the other blocky object there was (the chaise) felt really unsteadily drawn to me.

Because I have objects drawn in multiple locations (and I would like to keep the different angles to keep the composition visually interesting), I have to create different perspective rulers, based on the rotation I drew.

The structural objects (like the walls and the cupboard) are refined according to the perspective rule, the objects, that are slightly rotated, are drawn by freehand, following the general height of the horizon line. This prevents the illustration from looking too uniform/ 'perfect'

 

It should be noted that uniformity is not a flaw, it can be masterfully used to depict an orderly setting, just this particular illustration of mine is preoccupied with domestic messiness.

 

Note: despite the odd angle, as shown by the pictures above, the horizon line in this image is horizontal, the odd diagonals are achieved by a mixture of the high camera angle, and a foreground that stands at an able to the rest of the artwork.

Step 3 : Completing the Illustration

After the sketch is refined, it can be lined. Lines drawn using a perspective ruler have an uniform quality to them, if that's not what you are going for in your illustration, I recommend drawing a thin line with a perspective ruler, and then thickening it by hand.

After the lining stage, the perspective rulers don't really come into play, they can be consulted for drawing shadows and light specs on rectangular objects, but ultimately the light source (as opposed to the rules of perspective) comes into play for those.

For instance, while the outlines of the shadow roughly correspond to the vanishing points (as the object casting them does), they are slightly shifted and/or extended, based on the light source and the behaviour of light.

Finishing thoughts

Here is the finished illustration, drawn by the methods laid out above.

 

In the end perspective rulers is a tool like any other, and we can use them in any way we like, limited only by subject mater and the boundaries of our imagination.

 

I hope that you'll have fun experimenting with them, and different set ups that you can create!.