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Description
So far, we've seen a bit of what can be done in the world of the Single (One) Vanishing Point (1VP)- here's a bit more!

The Single Vanishing Point will usually be on a line called "The Horizon," also known as "Eye Level." This is very important to keep in mind as it also involves points of view. A small creature will have a low horizon, while a bigger one will have a higher one. If you want to draw a floor from the point of view of a mouse and a giraffe, you'd have two different points of view, and this would be based on how high the horizon is. This will be covered in greater detail a bit later.

With a 1VP view your focus is on that one vanishing point. What you see of objects depends on where they are in relation to the vanishing point.

The image at the top of this page shows four shapes. They surround a vanishing point.

Take a moment to notice what you can see of them. Since the top one is over the VP, you see its underside. The one beneath it? You see its top. The one to the left is showing its right side; the one to the right shows its left side (based on your point of view).

You can actually try this in real life with any object. Try it with a block or a book. This is actually something you see all of the time in everyday life.

For comic artists, this is something that must come easily. To show someone walking past a crate or a building requires one to know how to do this. For traditional or computer animation, it is just as important. If you are passing a building while on a bus or a train, watch to see how you see it as you approach it and then go by it.

Real life and art come together here.

The next image has two structures: a staircase and a strange object. Between them is a vanishing point. Keeping in mind that the horizon is usually a horizontal line going through the vanishing point (but not always!), look and see what you can see of the objects. The same rules from the top image apply here.

But- in addition, you can see that any flat, level surface exactly on the level of the VP is flat to you. That is because it is perfectly level with your eye level.

It might seem tricky at first- until you apply what you already know from real life to it. Because they are the same here, almost exactly!

The next image shows two blocks. One is "standard," with vertical and horizontal lines up front, while the other is turned so it is a diamond shape. This IN NO WAY affects how the corner lines go to the VP. It just shows that you can rotate such an object in that way and still have a 1VP image. Any line that does not go the the VP DOES NOT automatically have to be vertical or horizontal.

The World of the Single Vanishing Point is not so limited. In fact, it has a lot of room.

The final image shows a corridor. It is a pretty standard 1VP corridor: vertical and horizontal lines if they do not go to the VP; it is very much like what you'd see with late 1970s and early 1980s role-playing computer and video games.

The only difference, as with the pits on the previous page, is where the VP is. Once again it is centered on the left one, but moved over with the right. Notice how this affects the image. It is as if you stepped to the left. Again, this is how it would be in real life.

If you moved the VP down very low, then you'd see the corridor as a mouse would. The floor would be drawn more "flat," while the ceiling would be more angled. The walls would also be affected, as would any doorways.

As a side note, you'd have to keep in mind what changing the point of view might do. A human would see the top of a table, a mouse would not- but that mouse would see the underside of the table, while a human would not. A mouse might not only see what is in another room through the gap under a door, but would see the underside of the door too!

But for now, don't worry too much about it. Take it one step at a time, so you can both build upon and understand what all of this is about, and the later things will come much easier, since it all builds up bit by bit.

Good luck!

Previous page:

[link]

Description
So far, we've seen a bit of what can be done in the world of the Single (One) Vanishing Point (1VP)- here's a bit more!

The Single Vanishing Point will usually be on a line called "The Horizon," also known as "Eye Level." This is very important to keep in mind as it also involves points of view. A small creature will have a low horizon, while a bigger one will have a higher one. If you want to draw a floor from the point of view of a mouse and a giraffe, you'd have two different points of view, and this would be based on how high the horizon is. This will be covered in greater detail a bit later.

With a 1VP view your focus is on that one vanishing point. What you see of objects depends on where they are in relation to the vanishing point.

The image at the top of this page shows four shapes. They surround a vanishing point.

Take a moment to notice what you can see of them. Since the top one is over the VP, you see its underside. The one beneath it? You see its top. The one to the left is showing its right side; the one to the right shows its left side (based on your point of view).

You can actually try this in real life with any object. Try it with a block or a book. This is actually something you see all of the time in everyday life.

For comic artists, this is something that must come easily. To show someone walking past a crate or a building requires one to know how to do this. For traditional or computer animation, it is just as important. If you are passing a building while on a bus or a train, watch to see how you see it as you approach it and then go by it.

Real life and art come together here.

The next image has two structures: a staircase and a strange object. Between them is a vanishing point. Keeping in mind that the horizon is usually a horizontal line going through the vanishing point (but not always!), look and see what you can see of the objects. The same rules from the top image apply here.

But- in addition, you can see that any flat, level surface exactly on the level of the VP is flat to you. That is because it is perfectly level with your eye level.

It might seem tricky at first- until you apply what you already know from real life to it. Because they are the same here, almost exactly!

The next image shows two blocks. One is "standard," with vertical and horizontal lines up front, while the other is turned so it is a diamond shape. This IN NO WAY affects how the corner lines go to the VP. It just shows that you can rotate such an object in that way and still have a 1VP image. Any line that does not go the the VP DOES NOT automatically have to be vertical or horizontal.

The World of the Single Vanishing Point is not so limited. In fact, it has a lot of room.

The final image shows a corridor. It is a pretty standard 1VP corridor: vertical and horizontal lines if they do not go to the VP; it is very much like what you'd see with late 1970s and early 1980s role-playing computer and video games.

The only difference, as with the pits on the previous page, is where the VP is. Once again it is centered on the left one, but moved over with the right. Notice how this affects the image. It is as if you stepped to the left. Again, this is how it would be in real life.

If you moved the VP down very low, then you'd see the corridor as a mouse would. The floor would be drawn more "flat," while the ceiling would be more angled. The walls would also be affected, as would any doorways.

As a side note, you'd have to keep in mind what changing the point of view might do. A human would see the top of a table, a mouse would not- but that mouse would see the underside of the table, while a human would not. A mouse might not only see what is in another room through the gap under a door, but would see the underside of the door too!

But for now, don't worry too much about it. Take it one step at a time, so you can both build upon and understand what all of this is about, and the later things will come much easier, since it all builds up bit by bit.

Good luck!

Previous page:

[link]