Vanishing point : perspective for comics from the ground up

298 Pages·2008·8.79 MB·English

VANISHING
POINT
Perspective for
Comics
From the Ground Up
Jason Cheeseman-
Meyer

Vanishing Point: Perspective for Comics From the Ground Up.
Copyright © 2007 by Jason Cheeseman-Meyer. Manufactured in China.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage
and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Published by IMPACT Books, an imprint of F+W Publications, Inc.,
4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, OH, 45236. [phone]. First
Edition.
Other fine IMPACT Books are available from your local bookstore, art
supply store or direct from the publisher at www.impact-books.com.
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Cheeseman-Meyer, Jason.
Vanishing point : perspective for comics from the ground up / Jason
Cheeseman-Meyer.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58180-954-1 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-58180-954-9 (alk. paper)
1. Perspective. 2. Drawing--Technique. 3. Cartooning--Technique. I.
Title.
NC750.C442 2008
741.5’1--dc22
2007027254
Edited by Jacqueline Musser
Production edited by Sarah Laichas
Designed by Guy Kelly
Production coordinated by Matt Wagner
Metric Conversion Chart
About the Author
Jason Cheeseman-Meyer is an artist, illustrator and writer currently
living in Arizona with his wife and two daughters. Formally educated at
Oberlin College after a stint at Otis College of Art and Design, he
continues his arts education with artists and illustrators around the
country. Jason has studied curvilinear perspective since 1993. He has
utilized his background in art, math, teaching and, of course, comic
books, in devising a practical system for drawing and teaching
curvilinear perspective.
Acknowledgments
When I set out to write this book, I asked my fellow artists what they
wished perspective books would cover, and found almost all of them
were resentful about how many important concepts perspective books
had never seen fit to share. Then I talked to friends and friends of friends
to whom perspective drawing had never made any sense, to find ways to
make the concepts instantly clear. It’s my sincere hope that this book
delivers to both of these groups, and thank you to everyone who talked
with me.
I owe many people debts of gratitude on behalf of this book: Ellen
made it physically possible for me to write this book; John F. was the
first to tell me “you should make a book out of this,” and his questions
about perspective helped shape my teaching approach (not to mention
he showed me a thing or two in the process); and Rush W. sparked my
interest in the possibilities of perspective drawing—way back in 1993—
into a fire that’s never cooled down. I also owe a debt to Albert Flocon
and André Barre, whose system of curvilinear perspective drawing
helped fill the final holes in my own system.
To this I add the legions of artists past and present who have inspired
me.
Contents
Introduction
Tools of the Trade