What follows is a short list of takeaways from the readings and videos on perspective:
There are many more types of perspective than originally discussed in class.
Four point perspective exists when a scene that typically would be drawn in three-point perspective has components both above and below the horizon line, requiring an extra vertical vanishing point to accurately draw.
Photo perspective accounts for warp created by camera lenses.
Perceptive perspective reduces scene distortion by using bent lines, although I’m not entirely sure of the need for this method.
Arial perspective is different than the previously mentioned forms of perspective. Rather than using geometry to imply depth, arial perspective employs color shifts. For example, as an object moves further away, its tone tends to shift towards blue, it loses contrast and resolution, and it generally seems to become hazier. Think rows of mountains receding into the distance. Air molecules distort more light from further away peaks, allowing the human eye to perceive depth.
One video mentioned that reverse perspective, in which the vanishing points come towards the viewer rather than away, is truer to how people actually see. I did not understand this point; it seems to me that traditional perspective is more inline with how I process depth. This may be interesting to explore further.
The way fine arts masters draw in perspective is inconsistent. One well-defined, consistent set of rules cannot capture the myriad ways to view perspective. Artists use many tricks, including curved vanishing lines and multiple vanishing points, even in one-point perspective. Learning to draw well in perspective is no mean feat!