In this lesson, Grant Fuller teaches how to draw a Street Scene in One-Point Perspective from Start Sketching and Drawing Now. This will be a one-point perspective drawing from the street level with a single vanishing point.
- acid-free art paper
- 2H, HB, 2B wooden pencils
- kneaded eraser
- reference photo (optional)
1 Rough In a Sketch
Use an HB pencil to rough in the sketch. It is not necessary to draw the horizon line because it will be obscured by other elements of the cityscape. The key lines are the top of the wall on the right and the sidewalk.
2 Draw the Storefronts
Make the storefronts compressed as they are being viewed from an extreme angle. Do not make many of the doorways and windows much wider than a pencil line. Try to keep the pencil on the paper as long as possible and use a fluid motion on shapes that are not rigid structures.
3 Draw the Cars and Apply Tone
Draw the cars and then begin adding tone to the shadow side of the cars with a 2B pencil. It’s easier to get a feel for the final product when the drawing starts to take on a three-dimensional look.
Have some reference photos of objects you want to include in the drawing. It is too difficult to draw complicated objects from memory. In this case, you’ll need some photos of cars taken from the same angle as the street.
4 Smooth the Texture to Finish
Go over the tone with a 2H pencil in order to smooth the texture in the shadow areas.
For more drawing, pick up Start Sketching and Drawing Now, or these other fine products: