Draw a regular oval. How to correctly draw a circle in perspective, draw an ellipse
The two-dimensional circles in the previous pictures can be represented as coins, records, pancakes, lenses, etc. But circles are also components three-dimensional objects such as cylinders and cones, and are also widely used in the visual arts. Cylinders are the basis for an infinite number of things such as cigarettes, tanks, thread spools, pipes, etc. Cones are the bases for ice cream cones, hourglasses, martini glasses, funnels, etc.
An ellipse is an oval with two unequal axes (major and minor), which always form a right angle with each other. The axes divide the ellipse into a short and a long arc, respectively, both arcs being absolutely symmetrical.
You need to learn to draw ellipses freehand. Ellipses A and B are drawing attempts. Anyone familiar with ellipses can visually evaluate the major and minor axis and see that ellipse A is correct, but ellipse B is not symmetrical enough. (If we draw two axes for B, we can see the errors more clearly. Notice how different each sector is.)
You may find it useful to draw a rectangle using the marks. This will create four more guides to evaluate and compare the shape of the ellipse.
So, to learn how to draw (and represent) ellipses well, you first need to sketch out the axes. Let's mark equal segments on both sides of the center with strokes to define the edges.
Now let's try to draw four equal sectors. We always round the ends, do not make them sharp.
The center of a circle drawn in perspective does not coincide with the main axis of the ellipse - it is always further (for the observer) than the main axis.
This amazing fact often the cause of many difficulties. What is the relationship between the center of the circle and the axes of the ellipse?
A regular circle can always be described by a regular square. The center of the square (we will find it by drawing two diagonals) coincides with the center of the circle.
A circle in perspective can also be described by a perspective square. Drawing the diagonals will determine the center of both the square and the circle. We know from previous lessons that this point is not equidistant from the bottom and top line. So, we draw the diameter of the circle through this central point - it is also not equidistant from the bottom and top.
We also know that the main axis of the ellipse should be equidistant from the top and bottom lines.
Now, combining the two drawings, we see that the diameter of the circle is slightly higher than the main axis of the ellipse. Note also that the minor axis coincides in most cases with the perspective diameter of the circle.
The view from above explains this apparent paradox. The widest part of the circle (projected onto the drawing plane) is not a diameter, but a simple chord (shown by dashes). This chord will become the main axis of the ellipse, while the real diameter of the circle lying further away looks smaller.
So, don't make the mistake of drawing a square in perspective and using its center as the location of the main axis of the ellipse. The resulting figure will look like this
Also, if you want to draw half a circle (or cylinder), you cannot draw an ellipse and consider either side of the main axis to be half a circle in perspective. (The figure on the left is not half, although it seems equal)
But on the right are the correct halves, because the diameter of the circle was used as a dividing line.
Those who study in art schools and other educational institutions related to the fine arts know firsthand how difficult it is to draw still lifes with round objects and plaster materials - cylinders, cones, balls built through. The most difficult thing is to convey their circles, rotated at different angles in perspective.
So, in this article you will learn how to draw a circle rotated in perspective, correctly from a geometric point of view.
What does a circle look like in perspective?
Remember: the visible round part of an object, rotated in perspective, visually becomes an ellipse. Not a flattened circle, not an oval, not a donut with different halves, but an ellipse.
What is an ellipse, you can look at school course geometry. But for the artist it is important to remember its main features - symmetry with respect to two axes perpendicular to each other and edges rounded along the radius. That is, an ellipse is an absolutely symmetrical figure.
There is a story about different halves of a circle, which is turned at an angle in perspective. It is taught in art schools and on the Internet. But it is often misinterpreted, which leads to misconception and confusion.
For example, a round cup, top view.
When we turn it at an angle, we see the circle from above in a different way. And what we see is exactly what is called an ellipse.
Remember once and for all: no matter how we rotate this cup, its top will remain an ellipse. It may become wider, narrower, but will still remain an ellipse.
How to draw a circle in perspective with one vanishing point
Let's start with a square in which we inscribe a circle. At the center of the intersection of the diagonals of the square is the center of the circle. The axes of the circle also pass through the center; they are perpendicular to each other.
In the place where the axes of the circle come into contact with the square, there are points of contact between the circle and the square. Therefore, it is important to depict the axes of the circle.
Let's depict the same square in one-point perspective. At the intersection of its diagonals is the center of the circle. The axes of the circle pass through this center.
You may notice: the axis has shifted, and the halves of the circle are no longer equal. The near half of the circle is larger, the far half is smaller.
However, the ellipse is symmetrical. That is, both halves are equal relative to the axis. To find the axis of the ellipse, divide the vertical axis of the circle in half and draw another axis through the found point. We see that this line does not coincide with the axis of the circle.
Now you can draw an ellipse. We make it symmetrical relative to the found axes and outline it, passing through the points of contact.
As you can see, everything is quite simple. But the thought of different halves of a circle haunts me and prevents me from drawing an even and geometrically correct ellipse. True, not everyone succeeds in drawing an even ellipse the first time, so don’t be discouraged if it still doesn’t work out. The main thing is that you draw it with the right approach.
The question arises: why do we then draw so many lines, outline a square with circle axes and diagonals? Why complicate things then? Let's assume that we are drawing a sugar bowl with a lid on top. The lid has a handle in the center. When we look at it at an angle, the handle will visually shift, that is, be located in the center of the circle. The center of the circle is located at the intersection of the diagonals, as we found out, that is, with an offset relative to the center of the ellipse.
When you draw some complex object, for example, a baluster, you will need to find the center of the circle. This will help place individual structural elements on the same axis.
How to draw a cylinder
In perspective, with one vanishing point, everything is simple. But if we are drawing an object with two vanishing points, then things can be more complicated. For example, let's take a cylinder lying on its side.
The most common design option without proper construction is a flattened cylinder. It turns out not round, but looks flattened.
In a training drawing, all complex shapes should be represented as simpler shapes. Let's imagine our cylinder in the form of a parallelepiped, outlined along the points of contact with the cylinder.
The main thing is to correctly determine the direction of the faces of this parallelepiped and reliably display the perspective. When we draw a cylinder from life, we look at the angle between the two faces.
As with one-point perspective, the center of the circle is at the intersection of the diagonals of the square. We draw the axes of the circle through the found center.
To find the axes of the ellipse, we need to find the axis of rotation of the cylinder. To do this, we build a parallelepiped through and draw the axis of rotation from the center of the front face to the center of the back face.
Let's find the minor axis of the ellipse - it is always parallel to the axis of rotation and is located in the middle of the axis of the circle. In perspective with two vanishing points, this midpoint often coincides with the center of the circle (or almost coincides, like mine), but not always.
Draw the minor axis of the ellipse. The major axis is perpendicular to the minor. The main thing is to ensure that the axes are perpendicular to each other.
Let us mark the points of contact and, passing through them, draw a symmetrical ellipse. To avoid it turning out crooked, we follow the segments of the ellipse along the axes - they must be the same.
Sometimes there are mismatches; it’s impossible to pass smoothly through all the points of contact, so to speak, to stretch the ellipse over the points of contact. First, check the square - it may be too much, unnaturally brought into perspective, or, conversely, there is no perspective. Secondly, don’t bother with millimeters; no one will ever see them in the drawing anyway, if your ellipse itself looks smooth and convincing.
The back of the cylinder is drawn in a similar way.
You will notice that the far ellipse looks wider and rounder than the front one. This means that we drew the perspective correctly, because we see the back part more than the front. Hence this effect. Perhaps everything is drawn rather roughly, not everything is perfectly straight, but the main thing is to convey the essence.
And now you can complete the drawing of the cylinder.
How to fit circles into the faces of a cube
This magical exercise will help you learn how to draw circles in any rotation and from any perspective. Draw a cube and inscribe circles on its faces.
In the same way we inscribe the circle into the last face.
And most importantly: You must understand that drawing is not an exact science, not geometry. And you don’t have to get hung up on catching millimeters, erasing everything and redrawing it again if something doesn’t fit together geometrically. The artist's task is not to draw geometrically accurately, but to ensure that his drawing is convincing. This is especially true when it comes to geometrically correct shapes.
So, when drawing circles in perspective, correctly estimate the direction of the axes of the ellipse and try to draw the ellipse symmetrical about these axes. And you don’t have to worry about millimeters.
An oval is a geometric figure that is used to display individual parts of interior items, draw animals and much more. Many people are interested in how to draw an oval correctly by hand.
How to draw an oval yourself correctly
In order for the drawing to turn out beautiful and harmonious, it is necessary to correctly and accurately draw all its elements. However, not everyone knows how to make an ellipse by hand correctly and beautifully.
To make an ellipse, you need to take:
- album sheet;
- ruler;
- pencil;
- eraser.
Initially, you need to draw a rhombus in the middle of the sheet, all sides of which will be equal, and the opposite sides will be parallel. The rhombus should be such that an oval of the required size fits well into it. Then you need to fit an oval into the resulting diamond. After this, the diamond must be erased with a pencil.
Draw an oval evenly and beautifully
To look great, you need to know how to draw an oval with a compass in a few minutes. To make an ellipse using a compass, you need to take:
- album sheet;
- pencil;
- compass;
- thread;
- pins.
To draw an ellipse beautifully, you must initially draw two straight lines that will be perpendicular. Place the point of the compass at the intersection of the two lines and then draw a circle.
The diameter of such a circle will correspond to the width of the ellipse. Then, leaving the compass in the same place, you need to draw a circle slightly bigger size to get the length of the ellipse. Then you need to connect the two circles, erasing the extra lines. Thus, you will get a beautiful and even oval, from which you can then draw various animals and birds. Knowing how to draw an oval by hand, you can make very beautiful and original drawings without much difficulty.
How to Draw a Guinea Pig Based on an Oval
Drawings of animals and birds drawn from simple geometric shapes look very interesting. Many are interested in coming out of the oval with their children.
Using an oval you can quickly and beautifully draw a guinea pig. To make a drawing, you need to draw two ovals in a horizontal position, one of which will be slightly smaller than the other.
One oval should intersect with another, and then the outer corners formed when the two shapes intersect should be closed with lines. This will create the neck of the animal. In the center of a small oval you need to draw a point, from which you will then get an eye.
After this, you need to draw small ears at the top of the small oval. When everything is ready, you should draw the guinea pig's paws. It is worth considering that the front legs should be slightly shorter than the hind legs and almost invisible.
When everything is completely drawn, the extra lines can be erased, and then you need to color the guinea pig, making the animal spotted.
Knowing how to draw an oval, you can do it based on this geometric figure very beautiful drawings of animals and birds.
The question is important not only for beginners, but sometimes also for experienced artists. Understanding how to draw a circle correctly in perspective, we can draw a huge number of objects, not just pots and plates.
All in all short summary: Usually we rarely see round objects from the front. For example a plate like this
We see much less often than this.
Therefore, we need to understand how to correctly depict a plate in a perspective horizontal plane. There is a simple diagram for this.
The most important thing is on the left. We see ovals and the horizon line, relative to which we usually draw all objects. At the level of the horizon line, the oval either turns into a line or becomes very narrow. The higher or lower, the rounder the oval becomes, all the lines that are closer to us according to the law of perspective will be thicker, everything further away will be thinner. If the oval is much lower than the level of vision, it can become almost round. This can be seen very clearly by taking a roll of tape, your ideal medium for practicing this skill. We raise the skein to eye level - ideally we will see a rectangle, raise it higher and lower and immediately see clearly all the changes.
In the vertical plane, the story is absolutely the same, only the diagram must be turned 90 degrees.
Thus, all plates and pots become subject to us, we look at the previous picture of the plate, taking into account new knowledge.
You can draw another oval to show the thickness of the plate, the final result depends on your observation skills. The skill of drawing ovals is very well trained in detailed drawing of simple objects; the same roll of tape, for example, works great at first.
There is another common mistake when drawing ovals. Many people draw two arcs instead of an oval. This should not be allowed, even if your oval is very narrow; we always draw roundings in the corners.
Over time, you will become great at finding perspective in almost any object.
Well, after you get tired of circles, you can try drawing squares - the principle is the same. There is indeed a nuance with the vanishing point, but more on that another time.
I hope you no longer have problems with the circle in perspective and your drawings will be correct and accurate. In addition to this post, you can also see
Ovals are a very common element in still lifes. And still life, in turn, is a favorite theme for novice artists - motionless nature. If the oval is drawn correctly, then the entire drawing looks stable and correct. So how to draw an oval is easy?
General approach.
To know how to draw an oval correctly, you need to understand academic drawing, perspective, and vanishing points. This is for those who want to become professionals and study the subject in depth.
And now I’ll tell you about a simplified method that gives good results.
And, if you are wondering how to teach a child to draw an oval, check out this method.
How to draw an oval. Draw an oval in 4 steps.
- Let's take a simple figure rotation with the same diameter throughout the entire height - a cylinder.
Let's construct a drawing template and draw an auxiliary line v - the axis of rotation.
The upper and lower lines limiting the height of the cylinder will be denoted by f and h, respectively.
The task is to draw ovals at the top and bottom of the cylinder.
- To simplify, we assume that our eyes are above the cylinder - this is the most common view of the depicted object. Then (remember!)
This means that the upper oval will be slightly narrower than the lower one.
Draw the top oval:
We mark on the axis of rotation v the distance to the point of the upper circle closest to us, as we see it on the object. This is point A.
A little, but already. It's because of perspective. Therefore, on the same line v we mark the point farthest from us - point B, but the distance from straight line f to it will be slightly less than to point A.
How to draw an oval Now we have 4 extreme points of the oval and can draw it. Let's just do one more thing - put brackets on the sides of the oval.
This is so that we do not have the opportunity to draw a “fish eye” instead of a figure that is round along the entire length.
- Let's move on to the lower oval. Everything is exactly the same there, with the difference that the distance along the v axis to the straight line h of the near and far points will be greater than that of the upper oval. And, at the same time, the back remains shorter than the front. We put brackets and describe the lower oval.
- And this is what the visible cylinder turned out to be:
How to draw an oval All other options:
Different diameter of rotation according to the height of the object
Eye level below or at the height of the object
do not change the principle of construction - the expansion of the oval as it moves away from the eye and the narrower back of the oval compared to the front.
How to draw an oval And in conclusion.
These simple techniques show you how to draw an oval, and their use will make your drawings more convincing.
If you teach this to your children and grandchildren, then their drawings of cups, vases, and jugs will be the best in the class. This will increase their interest in drawing and increase their authority in the eyes of their classmates.