The Secrets to Drawing: One Point Perspective
Lesson Description
Lesson Seven of The Secrets to Drawing Course introduces students to one of the most essential structural tools in the drawing process: one-point perspective. Up to this point in the course, students have explored the elements of line, shape, form, value, and space. Now, with a firm foundation in place, this lesson brings those concepts together through a system that allows artists to convincingly organize three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. One-point perspective is a cornerstone of realistic drawing, and in this lesson, students learn how to use it with confidence and control.
Why One Point Perspective is Important
The lesson begins with a clear explanation of what one-point perspective is and why it is so important. In everyday life, parallel lines recede toward a single point in the distance due to the way our eyes interpret space. You can see this phenomenon when looking down a hallway, a road, or the sides of a building. One-point perspective takes this natural visual experience and turns it into a predictable drawing system. By using one vanishing point placed on the horizon line, artists can draw objects that appear to recede realistically into space.
The Basics of One Point Perspective
Students start by learning the fundamental components of the system: the horizon line, the vanishing point, and the orthogonal lines that extend from objects to the vanishing point. Each of these plays an essential role in constructing believable spatial relationships. Through simple demonstrations, the lesson shows how an object—such as a box, a cube, or a room—can be drawn with accurate proportions by aligning the receding lines with the vanishing point. This approach eliminates guesswork and ensures that all forms share a coherent perspective.
Once the foundational principles are clearly established, the lesson expands into more complex arrangements. Students learn how to draw multiple objects in one-point perspective, ensuring that all lines converge consistently. They see how this system allows them to position buildings, streets, sidewalks, windows, and other architectural features in a realistic way. The lesson emphasizes that one-point perspective is not simply a technical exercise but a creative tool that enhances storytelling and composition.
One Point Perspective in a Drawing
After practicing with simple forms, students begin the primary drawing exercise of the lesson: creating a cityscape using one-point perspective. This project brings together the structural principles they have learned while giving them room to explore creative choices. The process begins by establishing a horizon line and placing a single vanishing point. From there, students build the basic layout of the city by drawing streets, sidewalks, and the fronts of buildings. Orthogonal lines are used to guide the receding sides of the structures, ensuring that the scene maintains accurate depth.
As the cityscape takes shape, the lesson guides students in adding features such as doorways, windows, rooflines, signs, and architectural details—all of which must adhere to the rules of perspective. Students learn how even small details contribute to the illusion of depth when drawn consistently. They also discover how to modify the heights and widths of buildings while still maintaining perspective accuracy.
The lesson encourages students to build visual interest by varying the scale and complexity of the buildings within the scene. Some structures may appear closer and more detailed, while those farther down the street diminish in size and clarity. This reinforces earlier lessons on spatial depth and value, highlighting how multiple visual elements work together.
Throughout the process, students are reminded that the perspective system is a framework—not a limitation. The cityscape drawing becomes an opportunity to explore creativity within structured guidelines. As the drawing becomes more refined, shading and value can be applied to accentuate the forms and strengthen the illusion of light and depth. This combination of technical structure and expressive detail mirrors the way professional artists construct complex scenes.
By the end of the lesson, students gain a strong working knowledge of one-point perspective and the ability to use it in their own work. More importantly, they come away with the confidence to approach structured environments—such as streets, rooms, buildings, and landscapes—with clear, logical methods. This skill opens the door to more advanced forms of perspective and prepares students for the upcoming lessons in the course.
Lesson Materials
White drawing paper, medium grade drawing pencil, ruler, eraser.
Lesson Resources
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Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
so, so interesting.
very creative; BRAVO.
Absolutely amazing teaching
Thank you. I really enjoyed the tutorial
shlomo avruch on January 19, 2015 at 10:26 pm said very creative; BRAVO
Thanks a lot! You made it very easy to understand perspective.
Thanks Anna!
great video; I learned this in art class once
For a complete novice like me, this is FANTASTIC…. Thank you Matt
Very interesting video. Thanks
Thank you Matt your an awesome teacher
Thank you Matt. I had many books teaching it but finally drawing it with you…I get it! Many thanks
Great video! It was easy to understand. One question, let’s say that all the trees are at the same distance (10 meters), how I know the correct position of each tree? Thanks!
Beautifully simple and easy to follow. Thank you.
Very well explained. Perspective has always been a mystery to me. Can’t wait to give it a go. Thanks.
Well explained and demonstrated. Inspirational!
Hope I get this struggle with brain fog due to fibromyalgia plays with cognition
waooo I did it. I never thought I could do a perspective
I am so glad I found you online. I really am learning a lot. This subject on perspective was amazing and very challenging. I got through it and learned very well. Thank you for sharing your talents and helping us to grow with Art.
Thanks Thelma!
I totally agree with Thelma! Thanks a lot Matt for supporing us and giving us the tools to learn to draw! So inspiring and creative.
The videos keep stopping. Do you have any suggestions on how to fix this?
Thx for your time>
Hi Lynda,
All of the videos are set to play in High Definition by default. This can cause “skipping” or buffering if your internet connection isn’t super fast. You can turn off this feature by scrolling over the video embed and clicking on the “HD” icon. This will make the videos play much faster without much buffering.
Hi! Matt,
you make difficult things so easy and interesting to understand :D…. Thank you !!
What if I draw a street curving to the left. Will there not be more than one perspectiv point on my horisont line ?
this is such a good question! I am also wondering.
Can anyone recommend a good graphite eraser?
Wow! I never knew you could do so much with one vanishing point, you could draw a whole city!
Just imagine what you could do with 3 VP’s.
Excellent!
Thanks Cathy!
Hi Matt! Thank you for the amazing tutorials!
I have question: how far should the second cube be placed? How do we determine the depth of the cube? Should all the sides be still equal? Or does it change in perspective?
Thank you!
Hi Elena,
You can place additional cubes wherever you would like them. If they are closer to the viewer, then they should be placed lower on the picture plane than the first. If they are farther away, then they should be placed higher on the picture plane. I hope this helps.
matt,
how far back does one draw the 2nd cube on the back after the 4 lines drawn to vanishing pt.?
thanks a bunch!,
raquel
Hi Raquel,
This is up to you. It depends on how long the structure is.
Hi Matt I have tried my hands on many types of drawings and this class was so interesting thanks a ton for sharing this knowledge
I remember doing this exact excercise in art class at school! looking forward to learning two adn three point..never did that. 🙂
I really enjoyed this video! So interesting. Couldn’t believe the drawing I got at the end!
Hi Matt – what about triangles/pyramides – how do we combine them with the cubes – is it up to me where I place the 3rd “arm” of the triangle (meaning the backline) – or do I simply draw a straight line to join the 2 bottom lines that are connected with the vanishing point which will show me where the 3rd arm of the triangle should be? I hope you understood my question 😉 and what about the different ypes of base they could have … 🙂 thanx in advance for your reply
I have been painting for years but this drawing class is really helping me with perspective!
How does one know how far back to draw the back side of the building or cube?
Hi Jenae,
You can place the back side of the square as far back as you wish. The further back you place the back side, the longer your form will appear.
lOVE IT FOR SURREALISM
Super helpful, and very logical. However the question is how can one identify looking at a picture or a scenery if it has one, two or three perspectives. (Not second nature right now, hence asking if there is simple rule of thumb) Thank you Matt.
i loved it bravo
very good
i loved it
Best example of One Point Vanishing Point I have seen! Easy to understand.
Thanks Patsy!
This is easily the simplest and most effective demonstration of this concept I’ve seen in half a year of “online tutorials.” You are an excellent teacher, Matt, and these lessons are working for improving my skills and understanding. Thank you for your work in simplifying key concepts into easily digestible videos.
Enjoying this drawing. Great teaching.
Thanks so much! I am a semi-professional portrait artist who is self-taught. I am able to reproduce an image quite well and can play around with what I am seeing a bit. However, I never learned the fundamentals and thus struggle to experiment in my work the way I desire to. I have been struggling with finding a way to fill in the gaps of my knowledge and have even considered art school (despite the cost and the fact that I am already in grad school). These videos are literally an answer to prayer! I stumbled on them a few days ago and I am so impressed. Thank you for your clear instruction and thoughtful presentation.
Really enjoying my first drawing lesson. Will help immensely in my future watercolor endeavors. Thanks Matt!
This is wonderful. I’ve read so much about this and got completely confused but with your video, I totally understand it right away. Thank you.
Really good lesson. Worth noting that you will see the top of objects drawn below the horizon line and the bottom of objects drawn above the horizon line.
Oh wow, that all makes sense now! I can believe I can draw this! Thank you!
Hello Matt
I really appreciate your work and your passion for this courses. I want to ask a question. As far as I know, the videos can be downloaded. For some reason, though, I can’t download them. Can you tell me why? Thank you.
Hi Maria,
Video file downloads were removed in July of 2020 due to abuse and piracy. You can read more about why this was removed here…https://thevirtualinstructor.com/members/removal-of-download-links/
Okay, I understand.
Matt really an interesting lesson I learned quite a bit and I can’t believe how easy it was to understand. Kudos to my teacher.
I have literally Hundreds of art books. . . Several of them are on perspective drawing. You made it look simple enough for me to go get my paper, ruler, pencil, and eraser and get to work. . . I was amazed at how well it turned out! Thank You for giving me the confidence to TRY! ( I did this after completing the tutorial on the water glass in graphite on toned gray paper. THAT was the hardest drawing I have ever completed. I usually draw by grid method, but followed your directions and used my pencil to measure from the photo on the computer screen. Although it took all my spare time for two days, it was time joyfully spent GROWING! Growing in skills, Growing in confidence, and Growing in observation. . . Words can not express how grateful I am!!!!) Thank You! Thank You! THANK YOU!!!!!
Awesome to hear! Thanks Linda!
I was experimenting with the one-point-perspective method to attempt to make a drawing of a small space. After drawing a basic rectangle to represent a bar (without bar stools) and locating the vanishing point about center of the horizon or viewer’s eye line, I completed the second, smaller rectangle and connected the lines for a 3D representation of the rectangular “box”. It became obvious that if there was to be say a 3-foot wide space behind the bar and then another 2-foot counter behind that… the drawing was going to look extremely squished.
This one-point method works great for sketches of large buildings and streets, etc. Is there some other method for interior spaces too small for a vanishing point? Thanks, Lee
PS: So far I’m really enjoying the drawing course. Maybe I’m just getting ahead of myself?
So far I’m really enjoying the course. Maybe I’m just getting ahead of myself
Loved it . Love your accent 😁 I was able to stay focused which is a huge deal for me with my learning difficulties and I found that you’re explanations held my attention.
I’m looking forward to alot more of your videos 👍
These are great videos and show so much that I often go through them once to get the theme and then go back a second time to get the drawing part of it. One thing I would like though is if the introduction and phase out display and its music were not so much louder than the voice instruction on the video. I have to drop my sound bar setting from about 70-80 to 35-40 so as not to get overwhelmed by the volume of these parts of the video.
I’m learning so much! Thank you Matt!
Great classes ! Thank you. I’m rusty but these classes are just what I was looking for.