Creating the illusion of Depth and Space
- Overlapping - When one object covers part of a second object, the first seems to be closer to the viewer
- Perspective -A graphic system that creates the illusion of depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface.
Two-point Perspective:
- Size and Proportion - Larger objects appear to be closer to the viewer than smaller objects
- Edges - When an object or surface ends in a sharp way, it means it has a hard edge Soft edges are when objects end in a gradual way, from dark to light. Soft edges go back in space. Hard edges come forward in space.
- Contrast - The contrast between the dark and light areas decreases as an object if farther away.
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Texture & Detail -Things with more detail and visible texture seem to appear closer. Things with less detail appear farther away. This is true in terms of paint application, too. Thick, textural paint seems closer to the viewer than paint that is applied thinly or smoothly.
- Atmospheric perspective - close objects have greater intensity of color, detail and value contrast. The rider and horse in the below painting by Frederic Remington has higher color intensity, detail and value contrast in the foreground than the background cattle.
- Colors - According to the rules of the atmospheric perspective, the farther an object is, the more its color (hue) shift towards the background color which is usually blue sky.
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Color Temperature - The farther away an object is, the more atmosphere particles will be between it and the observer, i.e. the atmosphere color will have a bigger effect.
When the sky is blue, the color of background objects will shift gradually toward a blue hue due to scattered light and therefore become cooler.
Foreground objects will be warmer than the background objects since there are less atmosphere particles between the observer and the foreground objects. The background of the Mona Lisa has cool color, soft edges, and low in value contrast.
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Saturation - The farther an object is, the less saturated its color will be.
In other words, its color will be less rich, bright or intense, therefore becoming dull or neutral.
- Values- According to atmospheric perspective, farther objects will have higher brightness values, meaning their color will be lighter.