Silverpoint

Convergence off the page and dividing bays

Estimating convergence when the vanishing point is off the page: measure the near and far heights, divide both into the same number of parts, and connect the matching marksnear edge, 4 partsfar edge, 4partswindow heads, string courses, sills: all sit on these linesSight the top edge and bottom edge with the pencil (the real angles). Everythingbetween is interpolated.You never need the vanishing point. You need two true edges and a ruler for the rest.
FigureConvergence without the vanishing point
FoundationLine

Convergence off the page and dividing bays

A terrace of windows that shrinks correctly

Place a row of equal windows along a receding wall by construction, with the vanishing point off the page.

Difficulty
Time
about 1 h
You draw with
2H, HB
Convergence without the vanishing pointDividing bays in perspectiveTwo-point perspective

Why this one

  • Unit 4 of the program: Line: the Draughtsman's Half.
  • A receding wall with six or more windows that get narrower and closer together at a believable rate.

From your kit

The whole kit →
  1. 1Grafwood 2H, HB 2H, HB for layout and line. Long points from the Blackwing on everything up to B.
  2. 2Kneaded eraser and the Mono Zero press-and-lift corrections only; the Mono Zero for a single sharp light.
  3. 3Alpha 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
  • 2H, HB
  • A photo of a long building face with a row of equal windows, seen obliquely

Watch first

All videos →

Longer, covers dividing bays and off-page vanishing points.

YouTube
Learn to draw buildings using two-point perspective, narrated for beginnersCircle Line Art School · The corner view, built slowly.How to draw architecture using two-point perspective, narratedCircle Line Art School · Applied to an old building with a tower.

The plan

4 stages · ~59 min
  1. 1

    Two true edges

    18 min

    Sight and draw the top and bottom edges of the wall. Draw the near vertical and the far vertical. Divide both verticals into four equal parts and connect the matching marks: four convergence lines, correct without any vanishing point. Sills and lintels will sit on these.

    Estimating convergence when the vanishing point is off the page: measure the near and far heights, divide both into the same number of parts, and connect the matching marksnear edge, 4 partsfar edge, 4partswindow heads, string courses, sills: all sit on these linesSight the top edge and bottom edge with the pencil (the real angles). Everythingbetween is interpolated.You never need the vanishing point. You need two true edges and a ruler for the rest.
    FigureDivide both verticals equally, connect the marks.
    Checklist0 / 1
  2. 2

    The first bay and the X

    18 min

    Sight the width of the first window bay and draw its far edge as a vertical. Draw the bay's diagonals to find its centre. Run a line from that centre along the convergence (through the matching mark on the far vertical): the wall's centre line.

    Dividing a receding wall into equal bays with the diagonal method: a centre line is drawn to the vanishing point, and each new bay is found where a diagonal through the previous bay's midpoint crosses the far edgeDraw bay 1 by eye. Find its centre with an X. Run a line from the top of bay 1through the centre of its far edge: where it hits the base is bay 2's far edge.Equal in the world means shrinking on the page. Never measure receding bays with a ruler.
    FigureFirst bay by eye, then the diagonal, forever.
    Checklist0 / 1
  3. 3

    Diagonal to the next bay

    18 min

    From the top of the first bay's near edge, draw a line through the centre of its far edge. Where it hits the wall's bottom edge is the far edge of the second bay. Draw that vertical. Repeat. Each bay narrower than the last, by construction, not by guess. Put a window in each between the right convergence lines.

    Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Pennell, 1883
    Art Institute of Chicago

    Pennell, Ponte Vecchio, Florence, 1883. Etching on cream laid paper.

    Pennell, Ponte Vecchio, Florence. The windows shrink along the bridge at a rate that was constructed.

    The Art Institute of Chicago · The Joseph Brooks Fair Collection

    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 receding wall with six or more windows that get narrower and closer together at a believable rate.

Where it goes wrong

  • Bays measured equal with a ruler. The wall flips flat. Erase and construct.
  • The near and far verticals divided into different numbers of parts. The convergence lines fan wrongly. Same count on both.

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 broken line