Atmospheric Perspective

SIMPLE
Brenda Hoddinott
PERSPECTIVE
E-03 BEGINNER: PERSPECTIVE ONE

In this lesson, you render a simple mountain range consisting of foreground, middle ground, and distant space, by using two components of perspective, overlapping and atmospheric perspective. Overlapping is a technique that gives the illusion of depth in a drawing, and refers to the position of subjects in a composition, when one visually appears to be in front of another (or others). Atmospheric perspective (sometimes called aerial perspective) refers to the visual depth created by various particles in the atmosphere. The farther an object recedes into the distance, the lighter in value it seems to become, and its edges and forms appear more blurred. This lesson is divided into the following three parts: INTRODUCTION: An illustrated discussion introduces overlapping, atmospheric perspective, foreground, middle ground, and distant space. OUTLINING OVERLAPPING MOUNTAINS: Three overlapping mountains are sketched within a rectangular drawing format, beginning with the one that is closest (the foreground) and working back toward the distant mountain and the sky (distant space). GIVING DEPTH TO A MOUNTAIN RANGE: Shading is added to the sky and mountains with squirkles to render the illusion of depth as a result of various types of particles in the atmosphere. This project is recommended for artists and aspiring artists of all ages, as well as home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators.
8 PAGES 13 ILLUSTRATIONS
Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada, 2005 (Revised 2006)
INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, you render a simple mountain range by using two components of perspective, overlapping and atmospheric perspective. Various elements of perspective are used to help create the illusion of three-dimensional spaces in drawings. Perspective is a method of representing subjects (and the individual parts of subjects) in a drawing, in such a way that they seem to recede into distant space, and appear smaller the farther they are away from you. Overlapping Overlapping is a technique that gives the illusion of depth in a drawing, and refers to the position of subjects in a composition, when one visually appears to be in front of another (or others). The term composition refers to the arrangement of the various facets of your drawing subject within the borders of a drawing space.
ILLUSTRATION 03-01
A drawing space (also called the drawing surface or drawing format) is the area in which you render a drawing within a specific perimeter. A drawing space can be separated into foreground, middle ground, and distant space by overlapping (or layering) objects in front of one another. In this square drawing space, the largest happy face (in the foreground at the bottom) is overlapping (in front of) the mediumsized one in the middle ground. The medium-sized happy face is overlapping the one farthest away (in distant space). Atmospheric perspective Atmospheric perspective (sometimes called aerial perspective) refers to the visual depth created by various particles in the atmosphere. The farther an object recedes into the distance, the lighter in value it seems to become, and its edges and forms appear more blurred. Even on a clear day, your ability to see distant objects is decreased by an assortment of atmospheric components, such as minuscule particles of dust and/or pollen and/or tiny droplets of moisture. Your vision becomes further diminished when the atmosphere is filled with haze, fog, smoke, rain or snow. Even fairly close-up objects can appear out of focus or almost invisible under certain conditions.
ILLUSTRATION 03-02
As you examine this drawing, observe how atmospheric perspective creates the illusion of depth in a forest. The trees in the front are drawn with more details and have more contrasting values than the ones in the distance. Their shadows are darker, and their highlights are brighter. Distant trees are lighter in value and less detailed.
Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com
The following cartoon drawing of a bunch of blobs in a fog demonstrates both overlapping and atmospheric perspective. Take note of which blobs are overlapping (in front of) others.
ILLUSTRATION 03-03
The light fog represents atmospheric perspective and shows how your ability to see into the distance can be diminished by moisture particles in the air. You can plainly see the crisp shading lines of Billy Blob (the shy blob in the front center), who is the closest to you. However, the farther away the blobs are from the foreground, the fewer details you can see. The blobs in the distant space are barely visible at all!
OUTLINING OVERLAPPING MOUNTAINS

In this section, you sketch three mountains beginning with the one that is closest (the foreground) and working back toward the distant mountain and the sky (distant space).
ILLUSTRATION 03-04
1. Outline a horizontal rectangle (similar in shape to mine) as your drawing space. A horizontal rectangle is often referred to as a landscape format. You can either turn your drawing paper horizontally, or you can use a ruler to draw a rectangle as your drawing space.
ILLUSTRATION 03-05
2. Sketch the outline of a mountain in the foreground. When planning to overlap objects, I generally find it easier to draw objects in the foreground first. Try to draw the outlines of the mountains in approximately the same locations as in my sketches.
ILLUSTRATION 03-06
3. Outline a second mountain behind the first. This mountain represents the middle ground. No need to make the shapes of the mountains exactly like mine. Feel free to draw them more rounded or jagged. 4. Add the third mountain in the distant space behind the other two. Because this mountain is farther away than the others, the peaks should be somewhat smaller.
ILLUSTRATION 03-07
GIVING DEPTH TO A MOUNTAIN RANGE

In this section, you add shading to render the illusion of depth as a result of various particles in the atmosphere. Shading is the process of adding values to a drawing so as to create the illusion of form and/or three-dimensional spaces. Values are the different shades of gray created in a drawing by various means, such as varying the density of the shading lines and/or the pressure used in holding a pencil. Squirkling is an easy method of shading, in which randomly drawn curved lines (called squirkles) combine squiggles and scribbles with circles to create values. Squirkles tend to look best when the curved lines are very randomly drawn and of different shapes and sizes. If you are not familiar with the shading technique I call squirkling, please refer to beginner lesson D-01 Squirkling Values.
5. Use a 2H pencil and squirkles to add a very light value to the sky behind the mountains.
ILLUSTRATION 03-08
Press very gently with your pencil so the squirkle lines are very light!
6. Use an HB pencil to add shading to the mountain in the distant space. This mountain needs to be darker than the sky. However, keep in mind that the two closer mountains need to be quite a bit darker, so be careful not to make this shading too dark. Use a gentle graduation of values to give this mountain a little form. A graduation is a continuous progression of values from dark to light or from light to dark. Form refers to the three-dimensional structures of shapes.
ILLUSTRATION 03-09
7. Add shading to the mountain in the middle ground (on the right) with a 2B pencil. This mountain in the middle ground should be darker than the one in the distant ground. Again, graduate the values to give the illusion of form to the individual sections of the mountain.
ILLUSTRATION 03-10
8. Add shading to the mountain in the foreground with a 4B pencil. Objects that are in the foreground of a scene are generally in sharper focus than the middle and distant ground. Hence, this mountain has darker darks and lighter lights in the graduations to create the illusion of detail.
ILLUSTRATION 03-11
9. If you wish, add a few shrubs, trees, and shadow sections. Use a HB pencil to add details to the middle ground and a 4B for the foreground. Make sure you keep your pencils very sharp.
ILLUSTRATION 03-12
Keep in mind that the trees in the foreground are closer to you and therefore drawn larger and with more detail than those in the middle ground. As you can see in this close-up, the trees are simply thin vertical lines with a few squiggles to represent the branches. To draw a more detailed spruce tree with squirkles, refer to Lesson A-21: Spruce Tree.
ILLUSTRATION 03-13
In the interest of simplicity, the focus of this lesson is on overlapping and atmospheric perspective. In G-level lessons you work with various shading techniques along with the rendering of light and shadows based on a dominant light source. Light source is the direction from which a dominant light originates. The placement of the light source affects every aspect of the shading in a drawing.
BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, cont crayon, and oil paints.
My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<
Born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted Learn to Draw books. During Brendas twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brendas skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from Forensic Artists International. Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her communitys recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several childrens art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites. Fine Art Education http://www.finearteducation.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world.
ART PUBLICATIONS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

Drawing for Dummies (2003): Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. The Complete Idiots Guide to Drawing People (2004): Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

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SIMPLE

E-03 BEGINNER: PERSPECTIVE ONE

OUTLINING OVERLAPPING MOUNTAINS

GIVING DEPTH TO A MOUNTAIN RANGE

BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

ART PUBLICATIONS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

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