Drawing Uphill Perspective - Don't Make This Mistake

Perspective rules when buildings go uphill need some adjustment to allow for this difference. Avoid side streets where the buildings don't look quite right. The answer is simple once you know - and this video explains it all!

[@AbiNomac]

I drew an Italian village street recently on a slope and it threw me off. The finished drawing looks nice to the untrained eye but it would have looked even better had I known this “trick.” Thank you Stephen

[@stephentraversart]

Yes. It’s easy to confuse that upward sloping ground line as a perspective angle line.

[@dr.t2916]

That explains the issues I’ve had with certain buildings, I never would have realised. I just kept re-adjusting from observation, but this makes it clear why. Thank you so much!

[@stephentraversart]

Thanks Dr T. I sometimes wonder if my explanations make as much sense to others as they have to me, so this feedback is great. I’ll be making a downhill perspective video soon. There’s a few differences to note. 😀

[@dr.t2916]

@@stephentraversart I’m excited to watch that one too!

[@lkogirl9869]

Amazing clarity!

[@Nnomadd]

fantastic tutorial

[@gerarddeheide4584]

Clear explanation!

[@stephentraversart]

Always encouraging to hear this. Thank you Gerard. 😀

[@SaraStevensonArtist]

Love this !! Eye opener !!

[@stephentraversart]

I always love it when an explanation really connects. Thanks 😀

[@mrchristian8782]

really helpful, as always!

[@stephentraversart]

That’s great to hear. It’s not so hard once we get it. 😀

[@lw8281]

Thank you for a clear explanation.

[@stephentraversart]

You are welcome! Keep drawing😀

[@darbypea2223]

Incredible. I wonder how would you draw cars that are parked on a slope. Do they also follow the eye level perspective or the ground level?

[@aanchal_gandhi]

Awesome explanation 🙌🏻 really helpful

[@stephentraversart]

Great to hear Aanchal. I appreciate hearing that. 😀

[@madmoisellechaotica6934]

Hey I really like your videos. For this one it would have been nice though to get to know how to draw a slope in perspective. Maybe an idea for another video? All the best!

[@stephentraversart]

Thank you. I’ve never tried to do that. Let me think about it. 😀

[@samjadragon]

amazing advice and eye opener to a lot of my own problems. whenever i draw scenes like that i always find them so uncomfortable for some reason and now i know why. its almost like my brain and eyes are arguing with each other on what the eye level is. i do have to ask though how would you go about correcting that picture? would you draw the buildings using the established VP and then erase the parts that are being covered by the rising ground level or would you you adjust the drawing so that they fit VP while distorting the shapes so that they fall inline with the slope?

[@stephentraversart]

The biggest problem is that the buildings are not drawn correctly for buildings going up a hill. At some point the get staggered to align with ground level. Only a few windows will line up etc. Careful observation of our reference is the way to avoid a lot of drawing grief. 😀

[@kayj312]

great video, would’ve been cool to see a “fixed” drawing for comparison

[@stephentraversart]

Agreed, but I based the problem drawing on one I found online so I didn’t have , or have permission, to use the reference image. 😀

[@kayj312]

@@stephentraversart fair enough

[@13noman1]

So I take it these same "wrinkles" would apply to, say, a street scene that goes down and up? There's a lot of neat architecture in a nearby, rather hilly city.

[@stephentraversart]

I’m sorry, what did you mean by wrinkles?

[@13noman1]

@@stephentraversart variation from perspective. For example, uphill (or downhill) takes one approach (variation from straight perspective) but what if the scene has BOTH uphill and downhill? Literally and figuratively a wrinkle!

[@Alex_Short]

Those are not lines. Those are BOWS. They are going beyond vanishing point and start to depart from the right to the left side. It is like you within the sphere. You see lines as straight only because you see only the smalles part of the sphere you are in.

[@stephentraversart]

This might be true, but probably not relevant to an actual drawing unless I’m trying to draw a building that’s longer than the distance I’m able to see. Thanks for the thought😀

[@Dobrymolodets]

you are talking the same thing over and over again, please teach how to draw.

[@stephentraversart]

This video is about understanding how perspective works in uphill scenes, rather than actual drawing. But I have around 500 videos, the majority of which where I draw a picture and explain what I’m doing. Perhaps they will be more helpful to you. 😀