7 PAGES 15 ILLUSTRATIONS

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1 Drawing an Brenda Hoddinott K-02 INTERMEDIATE: PERSPECTIVE TWO You need to understand ellipses in order to correctly draw cylindrical or cone shapes objects, such as vases, ice cream cones, mugs, plates, and tires on vehicles. In this exercise, I show you how to use one point perspective to accurately draw an ellipse. You need your sketchbook, a pencil, and a ruler. This project is divided into three sections: EYEING A CIRCLE IN PERSPECTIVE: You know a circle is round. But, a circle changes its shape to an oval when viewed in perspective. Hence, drawing ellipses correctly requires you to record circles as you actually see them, not as your mind knows or perceives them to be. DRAWING A BASIC ELLIPSE: I show you how to draw an ellipse correctly with one point perspective. DRAWING A PRECISE ELLIPSE: If a drawing subject, or your style of drawing, needs a more precise ellipse, follow the directions in this section. 7 PAGES 15 ILLUSTRATIONS This lesson is recommended for artists with strong drawing skills and a basic understanding of geometric perspective, as well as advanced students of home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators. Published by Hoddinott Publishing for Drawspace.com, Halifax, NS, Canada

2 2 Figure 201 EYEING A CIRCLE IN PERSPECTIVE An ellipse looks like an oval shape, but in fact is simply a circle drawn in perspective. Perspective is a complex aspect of drawing. Don t expect to be able to master all components right away. Be patient with yourself. Careful observation of objects around you expands your understanding of perspective. Your skills at rendering perspective, improve with practice. Drawing circles in perspective means unlearning some of what your brain currently knows about what it sees, and readjusting its perceptions to a different set of rules. You know a circle is round. But, a circle changes its shape to an oval when viewed in perspective. Hence, drawing ellipses correctly requires you to record circles as you actually see them, not as your mind knows or perceives them to be. Examine the ellipses and cylinders above and below the horizon line (marked HL) in figure 201. Take note, that the closer the ellipses are to the horizon line, the narrower they appear. Perspective is a visual illusion in a drawing in which objects appear to become smaller, and recede into distant space, the farther away they are from the viewer. Horizon line is an element of perspective, also known as eye level that refers to an imaginary horizontal line that divides your line of vision when you look straight ahead. Your eye level always stays with you wherever you move. The horizon line is usually drawn parallel to the upper and lower sides of a square or rectangular drawing space. Vanishing point is an imaginary point (marked VP in this drawing) on the horizon line where perspective lines seem to converge. Perspective lines are straight, angular lines (invisible in real life), which extend from the edges of subjects back to a vanishing point(s) on the horizon line.

3 3 DRAWING A BASIC ELLIPSE In this exercise I show you how to draw an ellipse correctly with one point perspective. You need your sketchbook, a pencil and a ruler. 1) Draw a straight horizontal line as the horizon line. Refer to figure 202. Figure 202 2) Add a dot in the center of the line as the vanishing point. 3) Draw two lines below and parallel to the horizon line to represent the top and bottom of a square viewed in perspective. Refer to figure 203. Now you have three parallel lines. Figure 203 4) Connect the lowest parallel line to the vanishing point with two straight lines. Refer to figure 204. Now you have the other two sides of your square shape, drawn in perspective. Figure 204 5) Erase all lines except the four of your new square shape. Refer to figure 205. Figure 205 The square shape in Figure 205 serves as a guide for drawing an ellipse.

4 4 6) Draw two lines, connecting each set of two opposite corners. The point where these two lines intersect is the exact center of your square (Figure 206). This point is also the center of the ellipse you draw. 7) Draw line AB perpendicular to the two parallel sides of the square (Figure 207). 8) Add line CD parallel to the two parallel sides of the square. Refer to Figure 208. Points A, B, C, and D mark the center point of each of the four sides of your square. Figure 206 Figure 207 Figure 208 9) Lightly sketch an oval inside the square that touches each of the four points: A, B, C, and D. Figure 209

5 5 10) Erase all lines that are not part of your ellipse. For most drawing needs, this ellipse works great. Figure 210 DRAWING A PRECISE ELLIPSE If a drawing subject, or your style of drawing, needs a more precise ellipse, follow the directions in this section. 1) Follow steps 1 to 8 in the previous section. 2) Use a ruler to connect dots A and D, D and B, B and C, and C and A. You now have another square drawn at an angle inside the original square. Figure 211 3) Focus your attention on the four large triangular shapes created by the four corner sections that are not part of the new square. Notice that each of the four triangular shapes is divided in half by a line. Figure 212 4) Use a ruler to measure the total length of each of these four lines, divide the distance by three, and mark two dots to identify the three equal lengths. Refer to Figure 213 on the next page. Some artists prefer to divide each of these lines into halves, and others like to divide each into five or more sections for increased accuracy. I get by just fine with only thirds.

6 6 As you develop stronger skills with perspective, you may want to experiment with dividing these four lines into more than three sections, for increased accuracy. Figure 213 5) Lighten your drawing with a kneaded eraser. 6) Take your time and draw the ellipse, and then erase the guidelines. Use dots A, B, C, and D as well as the inner dots you just drew as reference points. My favorite places to draw the lines of the ellipse are just past the one-third points (measured from the inside outward). Figure 214 If you want a line drawing of an ellipse appear even more three dimensional, make the line thicker toward the foreground. Naturally, according to perspective, things appear smaller the farther they recede into the background. Therefore it s logical to make the line thinner on the side of the ellipse that is farther away. Refer to Figure 215. Figure 215

7 7 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, conté 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. John s, 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 Brenda s twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brenda s 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 community s recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several children s 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. Drawspace 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. LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. The Complete Idiot s Guide to Drawing People: 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.