Silverpoint

Aerial perspective

Aerial perspective: five overlapping hills, each lighter, bluer-feeling, lower in contrast and softer-edged than the one in front of itnearestfarthestvalue range shrinks with distanceAir is a veil. Each mile adds a layer. Distance is drawn with a lighter pencil, not with smaller detail.
FigureAerial perspective
FoundationMass

Aerial perspective

Five hills, then a real distance

Make the eye travel miles using value and edge alone.

Difficulty
Time
about 1 h
You draw with
2B, 4B
Aerial perspectiveA smooth gradientHard, soft and lost edges

Why this one

  • Unit 3 of the program: Mass: the Corot Half.
  • A drawing with obvious depth made from value steps and edge softness, with detail only in front.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood 2B, 4B 2B, 4B for the darks, on their sides for mass. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
  2. 2Pitt Matt 8B to 12B for the big tone passages: matt, so the dark mass reads as tone, not shine.
  3. 3Kneaded eraser (warm it) and the clean Mono Zero lift the lights out of the mass; the Mono Zero for sky holes and lit edges.
  4. 4Alpha sketchbook 9 x 6 draw at the book's size and keep the proportions; date the page.
In general, this study asks for
  • Drawing pad
  • 2B, 4B
  • A photo with layered distance: hills, a valley, a city from above

Watch first

All videos →

Squinting, value scales and why beginners under-read darks.

YouTube
Atmospheric charcoal landscape drawing tutorialMad Charcoal · Broad charcoal masses and lifted lights; the closest thing on YouTube to a late Corot being made.How to draw a landscape for beginners: atmospheric perspective pencil shadingCircle Line Art School · Gentle, narrated, and exactly the beginner level.

The plan

4 stages · ~50 min
  1. 1

    Five hills

    15 min

    Draw five overlapping hill shapes, one behind the other. The nearest: full range, crisp top edge, some texture. Each one behind: lighter, less contrast, softer top edge. The last barely darker than the paper. Nothing else. Stand back. The page is five miles deep.

    Aerial perspective: five overlapping hills, each lighter, bluer-feeling, lower in contrast and softer-edged than the one in front of itnearestfarthestvalue range shrinks with distanceAir is a veil. Each mile adds a layer. Distance is drawn with a lighter pencil, not with smaller detail.
    FigureEach layer a step lighter and softer.
    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    Roberts's city

    15 min

    Study the Constantinople sheet. Trace with your finger the value of the buildings from the foreground back: each row of roofs is a step lighter, until the far shore is almost nothing. Notice the white heightening is only in the near and middle zones.

    Constantinople, Roberts, n.d.
    Art Institute of Chicago

    Roberts, Constantinople, n.d.. Graphite, heightened with lead white, on tan wove paper.

    David Roberts, Constantinople, graphite with white on tan paper. A whole city stepping back in value.

    The Art Institute of Chicago · The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection

    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    A real distance

    15 min

    From your photo, draw the layered distance as overlapping planes, five if you can find them. Value does the work; detail stays in the nearest plane only. Set the phone to greyscale and compare.

    Checklist0 / 1
  4. 4

    Self-check

    5 min

    Tick each item honestly. If one is a no, the session is not finished; go back to that step.

    Checklist0 / 3

What it should look like

  • A drawing with obvious depth made from value steps and edge softness, with detail only in front.

Where it goes wrong

  • Far hills with crisp edges. Edges say near. One soft pass with the side of the pencil along every far edge.
  • Drawing far things small and dark. Size without value. Lighten them until they stay back.

Log this session

Start the clock when you pick up the pencil. Stop it when you put it down. Log it. Every session counts toward the box.

00:00of ~60 min

Status

How did it go?

Up nextThe order of values in daylight