How to draw in One Point Perspective?

A hello to all of you beautiful people out there! 👋 Have you ever wondered how people draw a simple sketch and make it look very realistic? I have! Because I usually sketch for leisure and never thought about the how-tos of it. So even with reference images, my sketches lacked something on the ‘convincing’ part which i couldn’t put my finger on until now! It’s drawing with perspectives!

Our eyes perceive depth in the form of perspectives, simply one point, two point and three point. So, how do you replicate what you see in 3D on a 2D surface, that is paper and make it look very realistic and convincing? Using this unique technique called drawing with perspectives.

What is One Point Perspective?

Imagine you are standing in a train track that stretches straight in front of you. Concentrate on how far your eyes can see. At the farther end over the horizon, everything seems to converge to a single point. That point is called VANISHING POINT. We are going to use this vanishing point and draw our image.

In one point perspective, a single vanishing point is used, in two point 2 and 3 for 3 point perspective. In one point perspective, the observer is viewing the image face on, that is all of the planes facing the observer are flat. By using a horizon line, vanishing point and a set of straight lines that diverge from the vanishing point, you can create a beautiful rendering of a 3D image on a paper that looks realistic. Let’s see how with an example of drawing a train track with a tunnel.

Drawing a tunnel in One Point Perspective

1. Draw a straight line for the horizon and mark the center with a point which is our vanishing point.
2. Draw a set of lines diverging from the vanishing point for the tracks. Compare it with image shown above for a better understanding.
3. For the tunnel, draw reference lines from the vanishing point as shown. Note how every line is drawn from the point. That’s how we create depth.

As for the shading part, the nearer end of the tunnel facing us will be brighter and it gets darker as we go in. So I’ve shaded accordingly. I will add a train on the top, and finish up with some shading. Here is the end result.

In further posts, I will talk about 2 point and 3 point perspectives. Thank you for visiting! If you’ve like this, check out few other posts of mine here 👇

• Weird Science
• 5 Basic Skills of Drawing
• Sketchbook Tour
• 9 Simple Ways To Get Out Of an Art Block
• Dear Diary | Cosmic Nuisances