Practice using focal points in sketches by drawing street scenes.
Drawing a realistic street scene may sound intimidating to folks new to the art world. Landscapes such as these, however, are among the first things students will learn in beginner's art classes. By using horizon lines, focal points and shading, artists will create dimension and depth for life-like street sketches.
Instructions
1. Establish a horizon line by drawing a single, light line across the page with a pencil. You may draw the line centered in the page or closer to the top or bottom of the page, as desired. The horizon line will guide you in drawing buildings in three dimensions. For example, you will see building roofs below the horizon line but should not see the roofs of buildings that extend above the horizon line.
2. Place at least one focal point on the horizon line to establish the center of focus in the street drawing. Focal points do not have to be in the center of the page or the center of the horizon line. Where you locate the focal point and how many focal points you create depends on how you envision the street looking. If you want your final street drawing to look as though you are standing in the middle of the road, use a centered focal point. If you want the scene to include a street corner with two intersecting streets extending in either direction, create two focal points, one on each side of the page. Draw small dots to mark the location of each focal point.
3. Draw two lines to establish the edges of the street. Align a ruler's edge on one of the focal points and draw a line that extends from the focal point to the bottom edge of the paper; this creates one edge of the street. Keep the ruler against the same focal point, but slide the bottom half of the ruler to widen the broad end of the road to the desired width and draw the second line. The two lines should meet at the focal point. This creates the illusion of depth, as though the street disappears in the distance.
4. Draw buildings along the street, making them shrink in size as they approach the focal points, furthering the illusion of depth in the sketch. Use the focal points to establish the foundations and rooflines of buildings. Draw vertical lines, parallel to the left and right edges of the paper, to create the corners of buildings; if you do not make lines parallel to the paper's edges, the buildings will appear to lean. Use the focal points to draw the top and bottom edges of windows and doors, keeping the sides parallel with the sides of the paper.
5. Add trees, lamp posts, people and vehicles to the drawing, as desired. Shrink the size of these additions as they near the focal points.
6. Establish the sun's location in relation to your drawing. This helps you determine shade the image to give the sketch even more dimension and depth. You do not have to draw the sun; only mark its location as a guide for shading and drawing the shadows of buildings, trees, vehicles, lamp posts and people.
7. Shade objects or sides of objects that your imaginary sun does not illuminate; this shade should be the same shade of gray throughout. To shade balls and other rounded surfaces, darken the shade as it approaches edges farthest from the imaginary sun.
