Uncomfortable's Advice from /r/ArtFundamentals

problems drawing boxes with dramatic foreshortening

https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtFundamentals/comments/wihsjn/problems_drawing_boxes_with_dramatic/

2022-08-07 15:04

no_name106

I started the 250 boxes challenge but I am having trouble drawing bigger boxes with dramatic foreshortening because I don't understand the notes. I understand that if a box far end is smaller than its front then then it has lot of foreshortening but I don,t understand how to draw that. Do i converge my lines more or put the vanishing points closer

Uncomfortable

2022-08-07 15:06

So the two options you listed at the end there - either converging your lines more rapidly, or bringing your vanishing points closer - may seem like different choices, but they're actually the same thing.

If you make two lines converge more rapidly, the point at which they meet will come closer to the object you're drawing. If you bring your vanishing points closer to the object you're drawing, its lines will converge more rapidly.

So, both are the correct answer.

let-me-think-

2022-08-07 16:43

When it comes to convergences I trace with my finger in directions of my already drawn 'parallel' lines and place my finger in the rough region I think they converge and then aim for that. Is this okay? Or should I go for a more instinctive guess and keep refining it until it looks right?

I feel like my finger method is one step away from actually just finding the vanishing point (cheating), but worse since its not as precise. It doesn't take long tho.

Uncomfortable

2022-08-07 16:48

You're mostly on the right track, but don't attempt to identify the specific vanishing point - instead, work based on the trajectories you're tracing along. As soon as you've got two lines pointing towards the same vanishing point, all you need to do is try to draw another line that fits with the existing two. Doesn't actually matter where the VP is, because in those two (or more) lines, all you need to focus on is being part of a consistent set with them.

no_name106

2022-08-07 18:54

thank you for your answer.But one last thing should all the line converge at the same rate or should some of the converge more dramatically than others (assuming I want a box to appear very big)

Uncomfortable

2022-08-07 20:47

I assume you're talking about the different sets of edges, and whether they should all be converging at a consistent rate - the answer is no. If you've got a box rotated such that it has a face turned most of the way to face you, then it's going to have one set of lines converging very rapidly to a vanishing point very close to the box (like what we see in 1 point perspective), and your other horizontal VP will be way off to the side, converging very slowly.

apokb

2022-08-07 23:08

The box will look weird if all three vanishing points are really close. And the closer one vanishing point is, the farther the other two tend to get. If you want to have really dramatic foreshortening your box will look more and more like a 1-point perspective box. If you put all three vanishing points close. About the far edge of a box vs it's opposite edge, that's not exactly how it works. I can't really explain it well in words so try to pay more attention to other boxes people have drawn/ those that show up in examples, and compare dimensions of opposite edges of boxes, making sure you do that for each edge.