CREATING PERSPECTIVE GRIDS
Using Adobe Photoshop CS4
by Adam Nichols
Painting in perspective can be a daunting task for any artist. Follow these 7 easy steps to create realistic and accurate perspective grids in Adobe Photoshop CS4. Let the tools take the stress off your back so you can enjoy focusing on the details once again.
Lots of people ask me how I paint my environments and in particular - how to paint environments in perspective. Its actually quite simple if you plan ahead. Before starting it helps to determine the shot you will be creating. There are a few questions you will need to know before starting any shot but most can be figured out along the way.
1.0 First thing to plan with any composition is; Whats the aspect Ratio of the page?
Create a new document with your desired aspect ratio.
For this tutorial we will be going with a wide-screen 16:9 aspect as you see in movies. 3200 x 1800 pixels is a good resolution for this aspect ratio.
Tip: Try to keep you file sizes realistic, if you're running a slower machine then its best to limit yourself to smaller sized image. Once you get lots of layers you will regret the large file sizes.
1.1 Open Photoshop
1.2 Menu > File > New
1.3 Name your work (its a good habit to get into)
1.4 Set your image resolution to 3200 x 1800 pixels @ 72dpi
(note: with larger files and more layers comes slower performance)
1.5 Click OK
2.0 Where is the horizon line in the shot you're planning to paint?
Decide whether you need to sketch a thumbnail or whether you can see it already in your minds eye, you will need to know if its either an up shot ( with a low horizon line) or a down shot (with a high horizon line.)
Also is your horizon angled or flat? For angled horizons its easiest to make a flat grid and rotate it once you're done.
Establish your horizon line by placing a ruler in a rough position. (This can be changed/adjusted later if need be.)
2.1 Turn on the Ruler bar <Ctrl> + <R> on the keyboard
or selecting Menu > View > Rulers in the menu.
2.2 Click-drag the top ruler to place a guide line for your horizon line.
2.2.1 Adjust guide with the Move tool <V> on the keyboard
and dragging the guide.
3.0 From your sketch or rough idea determine how many vanishing points it will require.
Single point perspective - has parallel lines for 2 planes with one vanishing point and is the strongest for composition.
Double point perspective - has 2 vanishing points (usually one in shot and the other off the page.) and creates more realistic scenes.
Three Point Perspective- has 3 vanishing points for all planes and can be the most dynamic, although challenging, of the lot.
Four and Five point perspective- requires curving vanishing lines and can be faked but generally are unnecessarily difficult to use in concept artwork.
For this tutorial I will create a 3 point perspective Grid as single and double point perspective use the same approach and are much easier to create.
3.1 Make a new layer. <Ctrl> + <Shft> + <N>
3.2 Select a thin hard edged 3 pixel brush. Thinner is best.
3.3 Draw a straight horizontal line across the page.
Hold <Shift> to lock to vertical plane.
3.4 Duplicate this layer. Menu > Duplicate > Duplicate Layer...
3.5 Free Transform this layer. <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T>
3.6 Rotate this selection by an increment of 15 degrees.
Hold <Shift> and rotate it one snap increment.
3.7 Repeat this step until you have a perfect star shape in equal
15 degree increments.
3.8 Merge all layers into a single layer. Select layers and <Ctrl> + <E>
or Menu > Layer > Merge Layers
3.9 You may need to Scale these lines up to cover your entire page
using Free Transform. <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T>
4.0 Where are your vanishing points? In 3 point perspective you will only see a single vanishing point at any one time. It is impossible to see both left and right vanishing points unless it is a panorama which is a four or 5 point perspective grid.
Four and Five point perspective are for showing 2 or 3 vanishing points within a single shot. These are often used in animation or cartoons background matte painting if the camera rotates 180 or follows the character across the shot for an extended sequence.
For this shot we will show a single vanishing point in the lower left with the low horizon line meaning our vertical lines will vanish vertical off the page, and to the right off the page.
4.1 Position the vanishing Point in the lower left along the Horizon Line.
4.1.1 You may need to Scale these lines up to cover your entire page
using Free Transform. <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T>
4.2 Free Transform <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T> the selection and change the height to 50%.
You'll notice the lines now appears to vanish closer to the horizon line.
4.3 Duplicate this layer by <Alt> Dragging the layer to he right Vanishing
Point
4.4 Free Transform <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T> scale this selection so the
lines cover the entire page. Hold <Shift> to retain aspect ratio while
scaling using Free Transform.
5.0 With both horizontal Vanishing points established now we will create the vertical vanishing lines.
We could use a similar method for the top but since it would be so far off screen its easier to use a different method starting with vertical lines.
5.1 Make a new layer. <Ctrl> + <Shft> + <N>
5.2 with the same 3 pixel thick brush draw a straight vertical line.
Hold <Shift> to to snap vertically.
5.3 Turn on your page grid. <Ctrl> + <'>
5.4 Click drag with <Alt> the line with even spacing snapping to each of
your grid increments. 10 or so is a good ballpark number.
5.41 If your grid is not snapping turn snapping on by pressing
<Shft> + <Ctrl> + <;> or Menu > View > Snap
5.42 If your increments are too large or small you can set new
increments in Menu > Edit > Preferences > Units and Rulers
5.5 Select all the vertical line layers and merge them into one layer.
<Ctrl> + <E> or Menu > Layer > Merge Layers
5.6 Free Transform <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T> these layers.
5.7 Move the middle reference node to roughly the centre of the two
Horizontal vanishing points.
This will ensure you're vertical lines are working at 90 deg to your
horizontal vanishing lines.
5.8 Right Click the mouse to select perspective mode while using Free
Transform.
5.9 Move the top corners inward until you find the right amount of angle
to your vertical lines to match your horizontal lines.
Additional Steps:
6.0 For added realism and dynamics we can tilt the horizon-line.
If you wish to angle the horizon line you can now select these 3 layers and again using Free Transform <Ctrl> + <Alt> + <T> rotate the angle to make the shot more dynamic.
7.0 Finally we can emulate 4 and 5 point perspective by bending our vanishing lines.
If your shot needs an extra amount of punch you can fake Four or Five Point Perspective by using the Warp Function (only available in CS2 and up) while in Free Transform mode. This will allow you to add additional curve to your grid which is perfect for panorama wide-screen environments and fish eye lens effects.
Hopefully you found this tutorial interesting and now with a bit of practice you will have the freedom of not worrying so much about your perspective when painting environments and composing illustrations.
If you have any feedback or suggestions regarding these tutorials please feel free to drop me a line.