Starting This Side Perspective Thing
Okay so I wanted to learn how to make stuff look 3D without losing my mind. Found this “side perspective” method online and grabbed my sketchbook and coffee. First attempt was total garbage – like my building looked like it was melting. Realized I forgot basic stuff before jumping in.
The Five Tricks I Actually Tried
First: Horizon line rule. Sounds boring but really worked. I put my coffee cup eye-level and scribbled that line across the page. Suddenly my chairs stopped floating in air. Even drew power lines tilting down to meet the line.
Second: Boxing trick. Instead of drawing whole buildings, I made dumb rectangles first. Like drawing a fridge box then carving details later. Saved me 20 minutes of erasing screwed-up windows.
Third: Guide line cheating. Took my ruler to sketch super light diagonal lines toward two spots on the horizon. Felt like kindergarten connect-the-dots but damn if roads and fences didn’t snap into place.
Fourth: Size play. Tried drawing my cat near vs far. Made front paws big and rear tiny with scratchy marks. She looked pissed but finally had depth! Did same with street lamps shrinking toward the back.
What Actually Happened
Failed attempt: Tried a cityscape without ghost lines. Got a leaning tower situation where buildings hated each other. Gave up after third building started sliding off the page.
Winning moment: Redid it with those faint guide lines. Kept checking angles with my pencil like some art ninja. Added shadows under bridges and darker tones on close stuff. Suddenly had that real “walk into the drawing” feel.
My Dumb Mistakes
- Overdid vanishing points at first
- Made trees same size like cookie cutters
- Forgot overlapping things look closer
- Used shitty pencil so shadows looked muddy
Final Thoughts
Watched some birds fly by for scale practice. Key was starting stupid simple – horizon line, boxes, light guides. Not gonna lie still looks amateurish but at least objects sit where they should. Might try cars next if my eraser survives.
