How to Use Creative Perspective

• Step-by-step instructions: Master the principles of perspective, including picture plane, foreshortening and convergence, circles and cones, three-point perspective, universal perspective, figures in perspective, and more.
• Expert analysis of master illustrators: Discover how seasoned illustrators like John Atherton, R. M. Chapin Jr., Robert Fawcett, and others have broken away from traditional conventions to create impressive artworks with convincing perspectives.
• Discover creative solutions: Find valuable tips on how to break away from restraints while staying within the fundamentals of perspective drawing. Understand when it's better to work within tradition and when to play around with different techniques.
• Three hundred forty-nine illustrations: With over 300 black-and-white drawings from masters of the field plus input from noted artist and educator Alan Watson, this guide is an invaluable tool for creating realistic perspectives that capture life in all its dimensions and a must-have for beginning and experienced artists looking for creative guidance in their own artwork.

In this thought-provoking practical guide, a noted artist and educator demonstrates that learning to violate the rules of perspective (profitably) is as important for the practicing artist as learning the principles of perspective themselves. Only in this way can students free themselves from the constraints of tradition and find their own imaginative paths. However, it is vital that students first have a solid grasp of classical perspective before they can think about adapting it creatively.
In presenting the principles of perspective drawing, Mr. Watson devotes a chapter each to step-by-step discussions of such topics as the picture plane, foreshortening and convergence, the circle, the cone, three-point perspective, universal perspective, figures in perspective, and much more. To illustrate his points he offers expert analysis of the works of such leading illustrators as John Atherton, V. Bobri, R. M. Chapin, Jr., Albert Dorne, Robert Fawcett, Constantin Guys, W. N. Hudson, Carl Roberts, Ben Stahl, and Aldren A. Watson, as well as drawings by Pieter de Hooch and Paul Cézanne. The result is a ground-breaking study that artists, illustrators, and draftsmen will find invaluable in learning to create works with convincing perspective.
Ernest W. Watson taught at Pratt Institute for over 20 years, co-founded and served as editor-in-chief of the magazine American Artist, and co-founded the prestigious art publishing house of Watson-Guptill.
Dover (1992) republication of How to Use Creative Perspective, originally published by Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, 1955.