Welcome
The Complete Guide to Perspective Drawing: From One-Point to Six-Point addresses the persistent need to understand the geometry of drawing. Computers can calculate angles but the need to accurately express ideas by hand, on paper, is not going away anytime soon. As a professional, knowing how we process and interpret images are principal skills.
The information is presented in a linear format. I would advise not skipping chapters. Start at the beginning of the book. Later sections assume you understand previous chapters. Without the foundations supplied from the earlier sections, the rest of the book may be perplexing. The instructional illustrations use basic geometric shapes as placeholders for real world objects. Depending on its proportion and scale, a cuboid can represent a building, a car, or a person. All objects can be reduced to simple geometric forms.
After becoming well-versed in perspective theory, you will be able to find various solutions to any given problem. These solutions become evident when you understand the “whys” as well as the “hows.” I want this book to illustrate how to draw accurately, but also explain why the procedures work the way they do. I have attempted to create a book for beginners and a book for the advanced. I want to tackle the difficult problems as well as the basic problems, to create (as much as possible) a complete perspective book.
What's on the website
To understand perspective, you must practice perspective. Over seventy-five downloadable worksheets are included on this site. They are organized by chapter. Read the chapters then practice on the worksheets. If you get stuck, or wish to check your answers, there are instructional videos for each worksheet. Keep in mind there are many possible solutions to any given problem. The solution displayed on the videos, and the order of each step, may be different than what you have implemented. This does not necessarily mean your solution is wrong. You may have just used a different approach or executed your steps in a different order. The approach to the problem may vary, but your final result should look like the one displayed on the video.
Author Biography
Craig Attebery is a native Southern Californian. He graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in 1980, receiving a BFA with Honors. He then completed his MFA studies at Otis/Parsons Art Institute in 1984. Craig has worked as a freelance illustrator for advertising agencies, science books, and the entertainment industry, as well as creating conceptual art for JPL/NASA and the aerospace industry. Craig’s illustrations have appeared in many publications including Newsweek and Time magazines. In addition to his commercial work he has participated in exhibitions at galleries and museums throughout the country and internationally, including the Fry Museum (Seattle, WA), the Arnot Museum (Elmira, NY), the Art Museum of South Texas (Corpus Christi, TX), and the Oceanside Museum (Oceanside, CA). His work is in the permanent collection of the de Young Museum (San Francisco, CA). Craig is a faculty member at ArtCenter College of Design where he has taught perspective for over 15 years.
