Applied Interior Design

Introduction
In the following pages, you will explore:

o Differences between one-point and two-point perspective

drawings
o The steps for drawing objects in one-point perspective
o Methods for drawing various objects in two-point perspective
o Techniques for finding the perspective centre and what it’s used
for
o What grids are used for and how to draw them in perspective
o Steps for drawing grids in two-point perspective

What is the difference between one-point perspective

and two-point perspective?

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One-point perspective
o Look for lines that appear parallel in the real world but converge at a single point
in the drawing. These lines may represent the edges of walls or buildings, or any
other objects extending into the distance.

o Identify a single point on the horizon line where these converging lines meet. This
is the vanishing point for one-point perspective.

o In one-point perspective, horizontal lines (like the tops and bottoms of walls) are
parallel to the horizon line.

o Vertical lines (such as the sides of buildings or other objects) remain truly vertical
and perpendicular to the horizon line.

o One-point perspective is often used for scenes where the viewer has a direct and
straightforward view, such as looking down a straight road or corridor.
Two-point perspective
o Look for sets of parallel lines in the real world that converge at two separate
vanishing points in the drawing. These lines often represent the edges of
buildings, roads or other objects extending into the distance.

o Identify two points on the horizon line where the converging lines meet. Each
vanishing point corresponds to a set of parallel lines in the scene.

o Vertical lines, like the sides of buildings or other objects, remain truly vertical and
are not influenced by the vanishing points.

o Two-point perspective is commonly used for scenes where the viewer has an
oblique or angular view, creating a sense of depth and complexity.

With these tips in mind, let’s put them into practice.

In practice

Let’s observe and explore the differences between one-point and two-point
perspective drawings.

o Find three (3) examples of drawings or artworks that showcase one-

point perspective.
o Find three (3) examples of drawings or artworks that showcase two-
point perspective.
o Analyze each example and identify at least three (3) key
characteristics that tell us the perspective of the drawing.
o Pay attention to how lines, shapes and space are used in each
perspective.

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o Consider the visual impact and depth created by each perspective
technique.
o Across all examples, compare and contrast the two perspectives,
noting any similarities and differences. What do you notice about how
similar objects and environments are depicted in each kind of
perspective?

Steps for drawing objects in one-point perspective

Now that we have a solid grounding for identifying the perspective of an image,
let’s learn some basic techniques for drawing in one-point perspective and
practise drawing some simple objects.

Drawing a cube
A three-dimensional extension of a rectangle is a rectangular prism. When all the
sides are of equal size, it’s known as a cube. Manufactured objects often have a
rectangular geometric shape—think of a table, a television or a kitchen cabinet.
That’s why knowing how to draw cubes and rectangular prisms in a three-
dimensional space is a foundational skill. So let’s get started!

Begin by drawing the horizon line, then place your vanishing point on the horizon
line. Next, draw a perfect square viewed head-on, a little underneath the horizon

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line. Note that in this example, the square is a bit to the right of the vanishing
point.

Next, draw a straight line from each corner of the square to the vanishing
point. If you're drawing a sketch or a transparent object, you can draw the line
from the fourth corner as well (not shown here), but you may need to erase it
in your final drawing

Now you can use the vanishing lines as a guide to draw the other sides of the
cube that would be visible from this viewpoint. In this image, the dotted lines
represent the other sides of the volume that would be hidden by the angle of
the object. Be careful not to place the rear edges of the cube too far back, or
your cube will appear to be a rectangular prism instead.

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Drawing a table
Now, let’s practise drawing a slightly more complicated object.

As before, start by establishing the

horizon line and vanishing point.
Then draw the two- dimensional
profile of the table. In this image,
we’ve positioned the table directly
below the vanishing point.

Next, draw vanishing lines from

each corner of the table top and
extend them to the horizon. Do the
same for the inside corner of the
table legs.

Finally, draw a horizontal line between

the front edge of the table and the
vanishing point. The endpoints of the
horizontal line should meet the
vanishing lines. The vanishing lines
should complete the sides of the table.
From this angle, you may not be able to
see the rear legs of the table, but you
can give the front legs three-
dimensionality by drawing short lines
along the vanishing lines, then adding
parallel vertical lines, as seen here.

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As you can see, the basic technique for drawing in one-point perspective is as
follows:

1. Establish your horizon line and vanishing point.

2. Draw a simple two-dimensional shape as the basis for your three-
dimensional object.
3. Extrapolate the foreshortening of the three-dimensional object by
drawing vanishing lines from the corners or edges of the two-
dimensional object to the vanishing point.
4. Use those vanishing lines to help sketch out the horizontal lines and
vertical lines of your three-dimensional object.

#Of course, these are only two very basic objects.

Now, let’s try practising these techniques.

In practice

o Choose four common objects that might be found in the same space
(a desk with a computer, coffee mug and pencil case on it, for
example, or a dining room table with chairs, plates and cups).
o Make three sketches of different compositions of your chosen objects
in one-point perspective.
o In your layout, consider the arrangement of objects and the
placement of the horizon line and vanishing point. Remember that
the vanishing point can appear anywhere on the horizon line, and this
will change the perspective.
o These are meant to be rough sketches, so you don’t have to flesh
them out in detail. The point is to decide which one-point perspective
layout you like best.
o Choose the sketch you like best and create a more detailed one-point
perspective drawing based on it.

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Method of drawing objects in two-point
perspective
Now, let’s look at some methods for drawing objects in two-point perspective.
While some of the principles are already familiar to us, the way we put them into
practice is a little different.

Drawing a cube
Just as we drew a cube in one-point perspective, we can draw one in two-point
perspective as well.

To draw this cube, follow these steps:

o First, draw the horizon line and two vanishing points.

o Then, draw two lines from each vanishing point. These lines will
intersect to form the top face of the cube.
o Then, draw a vertical line down from the corner of the cube nearest
to us.
o Now, draw one more vanishing line from each vanishing point to the
bottom of the vertical line. This will define the left and right faces of
the cube.
o Fill in the remaining faces.

Notice that unlike one-point perspective, two-point perspective does not feature
any perfectly horizontal lines besides the horizon line.

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Drawing a rectangular prism
First, draw the horizon line and two vanishing points. You’ll
want to position your vanishing points far away from each
other on the horizon line. Then, from each vanishing point,
draw two vanishing lines under the horizon line.

Eventually, the vanishing lines from each point should cross,

making an oblique parallelogram

Next, draw a vertical line extending from

where the vanishing lines intersect in the
foreground

Now, draw two more vertical lines from where

the vanishing lines intersect. This begins to
suggest the outline of a three-dimensional
shape.

Now, to determine how tall your rectangular prism will

be, draw two more vanishing lines- one from each
vanishing point-above the horizon line. These lines
should intersect above the first vertical line you placed.
You can also place a vertical line coming up from the
back corner of the prism. This is shown in this
illustration by the vertical dotted line-this line would be
invisible in this perspective, blocked by the faces of the
three-dimensional object.

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Now you can fill in the rectangular prism’s
edges and erase unnecessary vanishing
lines. In this illustration, you can see how
the invisible faces of the prism are
represented by dotted lines.

Now, let’s see what drawing a cube in a 45-degree perspective looks like.
Remember that 45-degree perspective is a particular type of two-point
perspective where the centre of vision is positioned midway between the two
vanishing points. This makes a 45-degree angle between the vanishing line, the
station point and the centre of vision on the horizon line.

Drawing a cube in 45-degree perspective

To achieve the 45-degree perspective, there are

additional steps needed to position the vertical lines
representing the right and left edges of the cube in a
way that ensures all sides are equal.

As usual, start by drawing the horizon line and two

vanishing points. Draw a vertical line to represent the
nearest edge of the cube, then draw lines connecting
the top and bottom of this vertical line to each
vanishing point.

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Draw a horizontal line going left from the
bottom of the vertical line. This line
should be about as long as the vertical
line. Draw a horizontal line of the same
length going right from the bottom of the
vertical line.

The points where these vanishing

lines intersect mark where the edges
of your cube will land.

From here, you can simply remove

any vanishing lines or extraneous
lines you no longer need and fill in
the remaining lines needed to define
your cube.

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For those new to perspective drawing, deciding where to place vanishing points
on a blank canvas can be a challenge. Here are some helpful tips to consider:

o Position the vanishing points on the edges of your canvas or even

outside of it. Vanishing points can be positioned up to two times the
width of your canvas outside of it.
o In general, the further apart your vanishing points are, the better.
o In an interior drawing, you can sketch a rough perspective of the
corner walls to determine a natural angle for your scene and find the
position of your vanishing points.

Techniques for finding the perspective centre and

what it’s used for
Now we will explore techniques for finding the centre of a volume or object in
perspective and how the centre of objects is used in perspective drawing.

Diagonal technique

In perspective drawing, we often need to know where the centre of an object is.
This allows us to place a window in the middle of a wall or a knob in the middle of
a drawer. But to find the centre of a volume, you don’t need any complicated
formulas or fancy instruments!

The real centre of a square or rectangle viewed head-on is easy to find. Draw two
diagonal lines between the opposite corners of the shape. The centre of the X
formed by those diagonal lines is the centre of the object.

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This technique is also effective for objects in perspective—in this case, we find
what is called the perspective centre. The same process will allow you to find the
centre of a rectangle viewed at an angle. In this example, the rectangle is being
viewed in perspective. Drawing diagonal lines from one corner to the opposite
corner will still indicate the correct centre point of the rectangle.

Diagonal lines make useful guidelines, but you probably don’t want them in a
finished piece. Sketch them in lightly so you can more easily erase them. You
can also use a special pencil, such as a non-photo blue or non-print blue pencil,
to make marks that will not be visible when the image is photocopied or scanned.

The importance of perspective centre

This simple technique for finding the centre of an object has plenty of applications
in interior design. For example, to draw double doors in perspective, you can use
the perspective centre technique to find where the two doors will meet. This
method will also work for barn doors, kitchen cabinets and any other similar set of
items.

Let’s see how we can use the perspective centre technique to draw a house with
a gabled roof.

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Start by drawing a rectangular prism in two-
point perspective. This rectangular prism will
serve as the general outline of your house.

Using the perspective centre technique, find the

centre of the side of the house where you will
place the gable. Once you’ve found the centre,
draw a vertical line through it. This line should
be parallel with the vertical edges of the
rectangular prism.

Extend the vertical line up to where you want the

apex of the gabled roof to be. Draw diagonal
lines from the corner of the rectangular prism to
meet that apex.

Now, do the same thing on the opposite side of the

rectangular prism. This side will not be visible to the
viewer when your drawing is complete, but you can still
use this method to find the exact centre of the rectangular
face, and from there, derive the centre of the gabled roof.

You will erase these lines when cleaning up your drawing.

As you can see in this example, you will have one visible
line, denoting the other edge of the roof. The last step is to
draw a line connecting the apex of each triangular shape
to represent the top of the roof.

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Drawing evenly spaced elements

The perspective centre can also be useful when trying to depict objects or
elements that appear at even intervals—for example, when drawing a row of
planted trees, a picket fence, houses or signposts on a street.

As an example of how this technique works in practice, let’s look at how to draw
an evenly spaced fence using the perspective centre.

Drawing a fence using the perspective centre technique

First, draw the horizon line and a vanishing

point. Then, draw a vertical line in the
foreground. This will serve as the basis for
our first fence post.

Add two vanishing lines, one extending

from the top of the vertical line and
another from the bottom. These vanishing
lines serve as the guide for the height of
our fence posts.

Add another vertical line, slightly closer to

the vanishing point. Using the perspective
centre technique, draw an X between the
two vertical lines to find their perspective
centre.

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Draw another vanishing line between
the perspective centre (the midpoint of
the X) and the vanishing point. This
shows you the perspective centre of all
the other fence posts you’ll be drawing.
Draw another vertical line between the
first two vanishing lines.

Draw a diagonal line extending from the

top of the middle post through the
centre of the third post and down to the
ground. This will give you the starting
position of the fourth fence post.

Repeat this process to continue placing

the evenly spaced vertical lines of your
fence in perspective.

Erase your guidelines: you’ll be left with

a series of evenly spaced vertical lines
in perspective.

But they don’t quite look like a proper

fence yet.

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To properly represent a fence (or any other series of evenly

spaced three-dimensional objects), you need to use a
second vanishing point. Place a second vanishing point on
the opposite side of the horizon line and draw vanishing
lines connecting the new vanishing point to the top and
bottom of the vertical line closest to the foreground. Then,
draw a second vertical line between the new vanishing
lines, very close to the original vertical line. Connect the
two vertical lines and add a vanishing line to the right
vanishing point to depict the upper face of the fence post.

Repeat this process for every other vertical

line, and you will create the impression of a
series of three-dimensional objects.

When you’re finished, erase your

remaining vanishing guidelines.

Drawing ellipses and cylinders

Of course, not every object we need to draw is made of perfect straight lines. We
often use curved shapes, such as circles and cylinders. The perspective centre
technique can help us draw curved objects in perspective as well.

If you hold a wine glass in front of you without tilting it, the rim will not look like a
circle. A circle seen in perspective will often appear to be an oval or an ellipse.
Likewise, the foot of the glass will also seem flattened, but notice that these
ellipses are not identical. The top of the glass is closer to the viewer’s eye level,

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and thus to the horizon line. This makes the top of the glass appear to be a
narrower ellipse than the bottom of the glass, which will appear rounder.

The closer an ellipse is to the horizon line, the flatter it will appear. Ellipses that
are further from the horizon line will be rounder. You can create a perfect circle
by drawing it inside a square. Drawing an X inside the square will allow you to
locate the centre of both shapes.

Draw a square in perspective. Then, draw an X inside the square, followed by

a + that passes through the centre of the X. Finally, draw a circle whose sides
touch the edge of the square where they intersect with the ends of the cross. You
should end up with something like this:

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Note that, just as with a rectangle, when we rotate that shape in three-
dimensional space, we can still find the centre.

Knowing how to draw an ellipse and find the perspective centre will be useful for
rendering all kinds of objects, such as glasses and coins. Knowing how to render
a cylinder in three dimensions will allow us to reproduce the shapes of cans,
columns, the arms of co [Get your reader’s attention with a great quote from the document or
use this space to emphasise a key point. To place this text box anywhere on the page, just drag it.]
uches, and so on.

Drawing a cylinder

To draw a cylinder, you must first draw a rectangular

prism in perspective with two faces that are square.
As usual, you can extrapolate the rectangular prism
from a two-dimensional square. When you have
finished drawing the prism, draw a circle in
perspective on each of the square faces, using the
perspective centre technique.

Once you have drawn both circles, connect the

outermost points of each circle with a vertical line.
This forms the outline of your cylinder.

When you’re finished, you can remove the vanishing

lines and other markers you used to find the
perspective centre.

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Of course, to make a cylinder look convincingly round, you will likely have to add
details, such as highlights and shadows, to more effectively create the illusion of
three-dimensionality.

Now let’s see if we can put these perspective drawing techniques into practice!

In practice

Select three elements from the following list:

o A cylinder resting on one of its circular faces

o A cylinder resting on its side
o A regular series of rectangular prisms
o A three-dimensional solid composed of two or more kinds of prisms
(such as the gabled-roof house we saw earlier)

Create two drawings featuring each of your elements in one-point perspective.

Choose different vanishing points and horizon line placements to ensure variety.

Then, create two more drawings featuring each of your elements in two-point
perspective. Again, choose different vanishing points and horizon line placements
to ensure a different point of view.

What are grids used for and how do we draw

them in perspective?
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Grids are used in drawings to position figures and other elements in a scene.
They are a useful tool for providing guidelines for a drawing, and can also be
used to render certain elements, such as a tiled floor.

The image above is an example of a one-point perspective grid.

Drawing tiles in one-point perspective

When drawing a room with a tiled floor in one-point perspective, you could use a
grid as a guideline for drawing the room, then adapt part of that grid to serve as
the basis for the tiled floor.

For example, the floor in this image is essentially a perspective grid with some of
the squares coloured in, creating a black and white tiled pattern.

Having a tiled floor or wall in a composition is an easy way to communicate a

sense of perspective to the viewer. It also makes it easier for the artist and
designer to place objects in a room.

The simplest way to draw a tiled grid is in one-point perspective. This means that
the bottom edges of the tiled pattern will be parallel to the horizon line.

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Drawing a tiled grid in one-point perspective

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Now, let’s see if we can put what we’ve learned into practice.

In practice

Usking the techniques we’ve just seen, draw a one-point perspective grid.

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Steps for drawing grids in two-point
perspective
Of course, it’s also possible to draw a grid in two-point perspective. This can be
useful when drawing a room from the perspective of someone standing in the
corner, for example.

First, let’s look at how to draw a simple grid in two-point perspective.

In the examples below, we’re assuming that the centre of vision is positioned
midway between the vanishing points.

Drawing a grid in two-point perspective

Draw your horizon line and two vanishing points.
Draw a ground line and divide it into equal parts
using markers. The intervals between each marker
represent one unit of measurement.

Draw a few preliminary vanishing lines from each

vanishing point and connect them to the markers
on your ground line.

Select one of your two vanishing points and add vanishing

lines connecting each unit marker to that vanishing point.
Notice that where the vanishing lines connected to one
vanishing point meet the vanishing lines connected to the
other, they create a rectangle in perspective.

Draw a diagonal line from the lowermost corner of this

rectangle so that it crosses through the opposite corner of the
rectangle, and extend this line until it meets the horizon. This
will help you find the perspective centre of the squares in your
grid.

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Use the points of intersection between this
diagonal line and your first set of vanishing
lines to draw a second set of vanishing lines for
the other point on the horizon. You will see the
first squares of your grid start to appear.

When you have a grid you're satisfied with, you

can erase the guidelines and vanishing lines you
no longer need. You'll have a tiled grid in two-
point perspective.

Now that we’ve seen the basic process for creating a two-point perspective grid,
let’s see how we can apply it to creating the basis of an interior design drawing.

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Drawing a room in two-point perspective using a grid
Start by drawing a vertical line, which will represent the corner where two walls
meet. For a common two-point perspective view, the line should be drawn using a
scale that fills one third of the height of the drawing surface. If you want a closer view
of the room (for example, if you wanted to show details on the wall, such as books in
a library or kitchen cabinets), the line should be drawn at a larger scale. Keep in mind
that the more of the drawing surface this line takes up, the closer the viewer is to
your picture plane and the less of the room you will be able to show. This vertical line
can intersect with any point on the horizon line in order to show more of one wall
than the other. Once you have your vertical line, mark it at regular intervals to create
a scale. For example, one interval might represent one foot.

Now, locate your horizon line and vanishing points. In this image, we will use
a scale of one grid square being equal to one foot. Draw the horizon line
roughly five feet from the bottom of your vertical line. This will recreate a
standard height at average eye level. Place two vanishing points on this line.
The closer the vanishing point is to the vertical line, the less of the wall will
appear. When you have your guidelines in place, use them to draw the lines
marking the corner of the wall with the floor and ceiling, respectively.

Draw a horizontal line from the bottom corner intersection.

Using the same scale as your vertical line, draw markers at
each increment.

To start drawing your grid on the floor, select one of your

vanishing points and one of your unit markers on the
horizontal line, then draw a line that runs through both. Repeat
this process for each horizontal marker on the same side of
the vertical line as your vanishing point.

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To complete the grid, repeat this process starting from the
opposite vanishing point, drawing lines that run from that
vanishing point through the unit markers on the horizontal line.

When you have all the grid lines on your floor, you can erase the
vanishing guidelines.

Now we can create the grids along the walls.

Select one of your two vanishing points. Draw a series of lines

that run from that vanishing point and intersect the marker
points on your vertical line.

To complete this grid, draw vertical lines on the wall starting

from where the lines on the floor grid meet the wall. When
you're finished, you can erase your vanishing lines, and you'll
have a complete grid on this wall.

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For the other wall, let's demonstrate that we can do things in
a slightly different order. First, draw a straight vertical line
from each floor grid line that touches this wall. Then, you can
draw lines that start at the vanishing point and travel through
each unit marker placed on the vertical line.

When you have finished, erase any unnecessary vanishing

lines. You will have a perspective drawing of the interior of a
room, with grid lines that can help you place objects.

Now, let’s see if we can put what we’ve learned into practice.

In practice

Using the techniques we’ve just seen, draw a two-point perspective

grid.

How to place objects and figures in

perspective
If you look at Western works of art from before the Renaissance, or modern
works of art in the naïve style, you’ll notice perspective errors. As we have seen,
the innovation of linear perspective allows us to place objects in the right place,
with the correct dimensions, in a space that appears naturalistic.

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Measuring height
Let’s learn how to use a height scale to measure the relative size of objects,
based on how distant they are from the viewer in a scene.

To measure the height of figures in a perspective drawing, begin by placing the

horizon line and adding a vanishing point, then draw a vertical line that is the
height of the object you wish to represent in the foreground. Elements set back
from the foreground cannot be taller than this vertical line.

Now draw two vanishing lines extending from the ends of this vertical line toward
the vanishing point on the horizon line. This triangle will serve as a height scale to
determine the relative size of an object depending on where it’s placed in the
background or foreground. To place other elements in relation to this vertical line,
simply draw them within the vanishing lines. You might even draw some
horizontal guidelines for precision.

To draw a figure on the other side of the scene, add two more lines that converge
at a second vanishing point. Note that figures whose eyes are level with the
horizon line are standing at the same height as you.

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You can use the same principle in one-point perspective as well. Once you have
established the scale of a specific object, vanishing lines can serve as guidelines
to keep objects in scale at a distance.

Using a grid to place objects in perspective

Now that we understand the principle of using vanishing lines to put objects in
perspective, how can we use the grid to place objects in perspective?

Placing objects in a one-point perspective grid

The first step to placing objects in a one-point perspective grid is to figure

out where they're positioned on the floor. The easiest way to do this is by
using simple two-dimensional shapes to represent where objects are
positioned. This requires that you understand the dimensions of the
objects you want to place in the scene, which is why it's important to know
what unit of measurement each square in your grid represents! For
example, in this image, the rectangle represents a couch that is two feet
and six inches by five feet. We have decided to locate it two feet from the
back wall and six

Once you’ve determined the footprint of your object, the next

step is to decide on its height. Use the grid lines on the wall to
help you. In this example, the couch will be 30 inches high, so
we mark this point using vanishing lines to help us. It can
sometimes be useful to place additional grid lines on the
other walls, to make it easier to maintain proportions.

Once you know the footprint and dimensions, the next step is
to use a simple geometric form to represent the object in the
space. All heights should be perfectly vertical lines, all widths
should be perfectly horizontal lines, and all depths should be
drawn from the vanishing point.

Once you’ve
determined the placement of objects in the space, you can start adding in their
details. It can be helpful to start by breaking objects down into simple three-
dimensional shapes (rectangular prisms, cylinders and so on), and then fill in the
details from there.

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Here is a step-by-step guide to draw a kitchen using one-point perspective.

Establish one-point perspective

In this example, we will be placing cabinets and other furniture in an interior design drawing
of a kitchen. The first step is to establish our one-point perspective. Establish the shape of
the rear wall by drawing a rectangle, then draw a horizon line. Using that horizon line,
establish your vanishing point and draw some vanishing lines. You’ll notice a square placed
in the rectangle of the rear wall—this will become a window.

Draw the cabinet shapes

After having drawn the one-point perspective grid and placed the walls of the kitchen and
the window, decide where you want the lower cabinets to be positioned on the left and right
walls. Draw rectangles for the fronts of the cabinets, making sure the lines recede toward
the vanishing point. Extend lines from the corners of the cabinets to create depth. Add lines
extending toward the vanishing point to show the sides of the tops and bottoms of the
cabinets. The three-dimensional shapes you have created so far are simple rectangular
prisms.

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Draw the table shape

Determine the location of the table in the middle of the kitchen. Draw a rectangular prism for
the tabletop, ensuring that the lines recede toward the vanishing point for proper
perspective. Add vertical lines from the corners of the tabletop to represent the table legs.

Add shapes and volumes for realism

Now that you have created simple three-dimensional shapes, you can start filling in
additional details to make the rendering more realistic. Complete the legs of the table by
turning the vertical lines into rectangles.
Divide the front faces of the cabinets to delineate the doors. Draw a long, narrow horizontal
rectangle at the bottom of the square to make a windowsill, as well as a circle near the
middle of the ceiling to create the beginnings of a light fixture. Note that at this point in the
drawing, we’re still using simple geometric shapes and volumes.

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Add décor and shadows

Start sketching the shapes of other elements—a semicircle for the lampshade, a circle on
the wall for a clock and some organic shapes to suggest the outlines of chairs at the table.
Draw a curtain rod above the window and the edges of a decorative picture on the right
wall. Note that we’ve even started to anticipate shading by filling in the corners of the
cabinets closest to the viewer—the sides facing away from the light entering through the
window.

Add fixtures and accessories

Now start adding further details. Simple shapes suggest handles on the cabinet doors, the
glass of the lampshade and a potted plant on the counter. More organic shapes are used to
fill in the details of the chairs and window curtain.

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Add cosmetic details

Finally, we can add cosmetic details—the pattern on the curtain, additional shading, and
details on the plant, the clock face and the art on the wall. Remember that for the purpose
of interior design drawings, these details don’t need to be completely realistic, as long as
they convey the important ideas of the design.

Placing objects in a two-point perspective grid follows a similar process.

Placing objects in a two-point perspective grid

As we've seen, the first step is to Once you've decided on the Draw vertical lines from the
decide where your objects will be placement of the objects on the floor, corners of the two- dimensional
placed in the scene, using a two- determine the height of the objects. shape on the floor grid until they
dimensional shape to indicate the Follow the grid from the shape to intersect with the height
object's position and scale on the where it intersects with the wall. Then guidelines. This gives you the
floor grid. In this example, the use the grid lines on the wall to find rough outline of the object and
rectangle represents the placement of the height of your objects. Draw a line shows how much space it will
a sofa that will measure two feet and from this point on the object to the take up in three dimensions.
six inches by five feet. It's placed one vanishing point. In this example, we've
foot from the left wall and four feet drawn a guideline to the desired height
from the right. of the sofa at 30 inches.

You can use the perspective centre

to determine the precise 33
placement of the object-for
Applied Interior Design
In most cases, you can simply draw the geometric shapes once they’ve been
placed in the perspective grid, then add freehand details inside them to create a
perspective drawing, as shown in this image.

Drawing objects in two-point perspective

#First, use your established vanishing lines to sketch the rough shape of the
object. How much space will it take up in three dimensions? Note that, at this
stage, we’ve depicted the object as a cube; however, this only represents the
total space it will occupy in the scene. It will be divided into smaller volumes and
negative spaces
#To represent this simple table, start by sketching the three-dimensional sides of
the rectangular prism that makes up its top
#Then do the same thing for the rectangular prisms that make up its legs.
Remember that the vertical lines of the legs are totally vertical, but the horizontal
lines are aligned with the vanishing lines, so you can use them as guides. Note
that at this point, the object is now divided into smaller volumes and negative
spaces.
#Tables of this kind often have support struts between the legs. You can start to
add these in by drawing rectangular prisms between the outside legs
#Next, draw the supports on the other side of the table. Remember that some of
these parts of the chair will be hidden by those that are closer to the observer.
You can always draw the full rectangular prism, and then erase the lines that
should be hidden afterwards.
#Once you have the basic shapes, you can erase the vanishing lines you’ve been
using as guidelines, and start shading the forms to add detail and depth.
#The last step is to add details. Here, we’ve added the details of the wooden
planks that make up this table.

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Applied Interior Design
In some cases, it’s unnecessary to draw the entire perspective grid in order to
render an element.

In this illustration of the exterior of a building, for example, you can simply draw a
grid on three sides of the geometric shape to divide the faces of the building. In a
case like this, drawing the perspective grid on the object helps you to accurately
place elements such as windows and doors. You can use the same basic steps
for creating a perspective grid, but draw the guidelines for creating the grid lines
on the faces of the object rather than on the walls of the room.

To do this, you can use the corner of the shape furthest from the horizon line—
and therefore closest to the viewer—and draw a horizontal line at that point to
use as a measuring line. The ticks that mark each unit should begin at the corner
of the object and be extended from the vanishing points used to draw our
guidelines.

When drawing in two-point perspective, remember that the vertical edges of

objects that are located on the same vertical plane (parallel to the picture plane)
will share the same scale.

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Applied Interior Design
Dividing an object
You’ve learned how to find the perspective centre of an object and, having found
its midpoint, divide it in half. But what if you need to divide an object into more
than two equal parts?

If there’s an area that you need to divide into more than two equal sections, you
can use the following method.

Draw a horizontal guideline starting from the bottom

corner of the object nearest to the observer. Because
this horizontal line is parallel to the picture plane, we
can measure this guideline and divide it into equal
sections. Divide the guideline into the number of
sections you want to divide your object into. Then, draw
a line from the end of the horizontal guideline that
passes through the farther bottom corner of your object
and extend it to the horizon line. The intersection of this
line with the horizon is a new vanishing point.

Trace a line from this vanishing point to each of the

unit markers on the horizontal guideline.

From each point where your new vanishing lines

intersect the bottom of the object you wish to
divide, draw a vertical line. Your object should now
be divided into equal vertical sections.

You can use this method to create equal sections or follow a specific pattern. For
example, this would be an easy way to create a wall with regular stripes, a fence
with posts at regular intervals or another similar object.

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