Elephants and Art

There is a famous fable — maybe you’ve heard it before — of six blind men who come across an elephant.

The first man feels the leg of the elephant and says, “I knew it! An elephant is like an oak tree.”

The second man, a bit skeptical, grabs hold of the elephant’s tail. “Don’t be dumb, an elephant is like a piece of rope.”

“Seriously guys?” says the third man as he touches the elephant’s trunk. “Elephant is just another name for a snake.”

The fourth blind man, not a fan of snakes, approaches the elephant cautiously and touches the ear. “An elephant is like a big leather jacket!”

The fifth man, a fan of leather, rushes toward the elephant, slamming face first into it’s stomach. “You’re all wrong... An elephant is like a brick wall.”

The sixth man, laughing, touches the elephant’s tusk. “I don’t know why I spend time with you fools. An elephant is just like a pipe!”

As is human nature, the men begin to fight over who is right. Just as the fight nearly escalates into a blind boxing match, an artist who has been quietly observing the entire affair makes his way over to the men.

“Hey Guys, I couldn’t help but overhear the cause of this altercation and I would like to inform you that you are all correct. The elephant has each of those characteristics. You just can’t agree because you all have differing perspectives.”

What's that got to do with ATCsJr 

& your art?  

Easy.  You see things your own way.  It doesn't make it wrong - it just makes it your perspective.  And your perspective is just as right as each of those blind men who thought they each knew what an elephant was.  Your art is unique and represents how you are in the world.  So, no matter what comes out of your creativity,

YOU ARE RIGHT!

It's all about Perspective

Drawing in the right perspective can be tough unless you've got a "formula" or a "recipe" for how to do it.  Ever wonder how artists, architects, and engineers get a drawing to look more like real life than a drawing?   It's all about perspective.  Are you looking from a worm's view, bird's view, dog's view, mouse's view, or a human's view?  There's so many different ways to look at the world!

Image from http://www.watercolorpainting.com/perspective_1_2_3_point.htm

Generally speaking, there's three "point" perspectives:  Single, Double, and Triple.  With Single Point Perspective, you pick a point on your horizon.  All lines going up and down go up and down perfectly straight.  All the other lines, however, meet together at that one point, also in a straight line.  It's sort of strange when you're drawing it, but when it's all finished up, it looks right.  :)

Image from http://www.watercolorpainting.com/perspective_1_2_3_point.htm

Double Point Perspective follows the same idea, but you split your image in two.  So, you pick two points on the horizon you've chosen, then decide where the middle of your piece of art will be.  All horizontal lines that are on the left of the middle come together at the horizon dot on the left.  All horizon lines on the right of your image meet at the spot on the right.

Image from http://www.watercolorpainting.com/perspective_1_2_3_point.htm

Three Point Perspective is where you start getting into who's view of the world you're looking at.  Basically, the difference between Double Point and Triple Point is that the vertical lines (the ones going up and down) don't go up and down, they meet at a tertiary point.  If that point is in the sky, the point is called the zenith.  But if it's in the Earth, it's called a nadir.

Bob Ostrom, on Jerry's Artarama made a video to teach a good way to do it: Three Point Perspective.