One-point linear perspective

If you stand in the middle of a residential street and look down the road, it will seem to disappear into the distance. In addition, the houses and trees along the street will appear smaller the farther they are from you. In order to draw this accurately, you would use a technique known as one-point linear perspective.

One-point linear perspective utilizes one vanishing point, or a point where the image appears to recede into the background. In a drawing of a residential street, the point where the road seems to disappear would be your vanishing point. The invisible lines along which you find the houses, sidewalks, and rows of trees are known as orthogonals. Figures or objects that decrease in size along the orthogonals appear to be farther in the background, or deeper into the space. Transversals, or lines that run horizontally across the image, help to create a grid-like pattern. This allows the artist to portray perspective accurately. The transversal that runs through the vanishing point is known as the horizon line.

Below you will see a photo of railroad tracks, which illustrates the concept of one-point linear perspective.