Urban Sketching Tutorial: Using Different Perspective Techniques

Learn different ways of representing perspective, from classic to curvilinear, in your urban sketches with Lapin

Perspective is how you see the world, and also how you represent it. Since the Renaissance, linear perspective has been a popular formula in art, but it’s not the only option. Using different types of perspectives can add personality to your work, create room for more details, and help capture your unique viewpoint.

In this tutorial, urban sketcher Lapin (@lapinbarcelona) explains different methods of representing perspective and how each one will shape your illustration. He also talks about why it’s important to practice observing how things look, rather than how we think they should look, and how this skill adds a new perspective and depth to urban sketches.

3 Different Types of Perspective for Urban Sketching

Linear Perspective
Made popular during the Renaissance, linear perspective is what we are most commonly taught. With a short, wide visual field, all the lines in the image point towards a vanishing point.

In one point perspective, a single vanishing point is placed on the horizon line.

Two point perspective can appear to open the visual field, placing two vanishing points on the horizon line, but it is also somewhat limited.

Cylindrical Perspective

Cylindrical perspective captures a 180 degree line of vision, as if you are looking at an image on the interior of a cylinder that has then been flattened.

Your horizontal lines will become curved and distorted, while vertical lines will remain the same.

Spherical Perspective

Cylindrical perspective is as if you are looking at the interior of a sphere.

When flattened, this distorts the vertical and horizontal lines in your image.

Did you enjoy this tutorial? If you'd like to learn more about how to create urban sketches that capture your surroundings through a unique viewpoint, check out Lapin’s online course Urban Sketching: Express Your World in a New Perspective.

You May Also Be Interested In:

- Architectural Sketching with Watercolor and Ink, a course by Alex Hillkurtz
- Architectural Illustration: Capture a City’s Personality, a course by Carlo Stanga
- Urban Landscapes in Watercolor, a course by Daniel "Pito" Campos