Some artists prefer sketching at an easel, while others prefer drawing while seated at a table.
Having the talent to draw something well, like a coal-carrying railroad car, is certainly a wonderful thing. However, a three-dimensional, rectangular-shaped box can be drawn by anyone who is able to pick up a pencil. The trick is using a horizon line and a vanishing point to convey perspective. The science behind this feat has nothing to do with artistic talent, but a lot to do with the ability to use a ruler and follow certain basic rules.
Instructions
Using Perspective in Drawing
1. Draw a horizontal line lightly about two-thirds of the way up on your paper using a ruler. This is the horizon line. Draw a rectangle somewhere below the horizon line using the ruler. The size of the rectangle determines how near the finished coal-carrying railroad car will seem to the viewer. Smaller objects on a page appear farther away while larger ones appear closer.
2. Pick a spot on the horizon line and make a small dot there. This dot is called the vanishing point. Use the ruler to span from the top corner of the rectangle to the vanishing point, and then trace this line lightly. Repeat this for the other top corner. The lines that merge at the vanishing point become the two sides of the coal car.
3. Place the ruler on the paper so that the lines radiating from the vanishing point are connected. Trace this line. The placement of the connecting line will determine your coal carrier's aspect, or the form in which it appears. If you want your car on tracks that are disappearing off into the background, then the connecting line will be farther away from the top edge of the car. For a car riding on tracks running horizontally, or in side view, the connecting line is traced closer to the top edge of the car. Experiment with both aspects, remembering that pencil drawings are easily erasable.
4. Study the three-dimensional box you have created and draw the tracks that your car rides on. For example, if your train is headed off the page to the left the tracks will be parallel to the horizon line. If the train is moving straight ahead the tracks will be perpendicular to the horizon line, but the track will angle into the vanishing point, just as the sides of the car do. Draw wheels to connect the car to the track. The coal inside the carrier is observable only as much as the interior of the carrier is visible to the viewer.
5. Adapt the use of the horizon line and vanishing point to add other objects in your drawing of a coal-carrying railroad car after you become familiar with how it's done. Giving a drawing perspective can make a two-dimensional object come to life. Sticks become trees, squares and triangles become houses, and curved lines become a meandering stream when you practice using proper perspective in your drawing. Enjoy!
