Doing Fast Perspective Setups in the Field

Part 1: Books and Equipment



I want to begin this discussion by emphasizing that the methods I am about to present are not shortcuts to learning perspective, they are shortcuts to doing fast setups in the field.  None of these methods will work if you don't have a good understanding of how perspective works.  In order to gain understanding, you're going to have to spend some quality time with a good book, a long ruler, some big sheets of paper, and plenty of patience.  There's no way around it.  However, the time you'll waste erasing and redrawing everything that comes out wonky is orders of magnitude greater than the time it will take to learn perspective.

My favorite perspective book is Perspective For Comic Book Artists by David Chelsea, which itself is a comic book.  I recorded YouTube video explaining why I like this book so much. I also give a bunch of other book recommendations.  You can find it here.

As far as basic equipment goes, if you're anything like me, you'll definitely need a ruler.  I know there are some purists who consider this cheating, but, to quote to cartoonist Doug Tennapel, I'm a purist until it doesn't work.  I cannot draw a straight line without a ruler, nor are there any prizes for doing so.  

A lightweight folding stool is also necessary.  I tried all kinds of ways to avoid it, because I live in the Boston area and travel mainly by subway, and it's a pain to carry the stool around.  But I simply cannot draw a perspective grid without the stability of having the sketchbook in my lap, which frees both hands to hold a pencil and the ruler.  The stability is not fantastic.  I generally hold off inking and painting a piece until I can find a table, but the stool and sketchbook combination is stable enough for penciling, and it gives me the freedom to set up wherever I want to. The drawing you see here was penciled on-location, then inked and painted at home.

To be continued in part two

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