Some of the most difficult things to draw accurately are objects which are essentially symetrical, things like cars, - especially when, as I do here, you draw without preparatory measures or pencil under-drawing. In these drawings I used a favorite pen, the Staedtler Pigment Liner, a lightfast, waterproof, smooth fine-line pen. You can see I had more time to draw the autos in the top piece, - less in the second and much less in the bottom drawing. In all, tho', there's some illusion of "depth".
Here in these drawings, I found it best to start with those objects and parts closest, then work back into the picture toward the background. Over lapping and relative size help produce an illusion of depth, so a small understanding of "Linear Perspective" is helpful. While drawing an object in perspective it is easy to misinterpret line direction and introduce unwanted distortion unless you have a clear idea about the location of your eye level (horizon line) vs. your subject matter. That is key!
Think in terms of water for a moment. Imagine you are seated on your dandy little folding stool, nice new pen in hand, drawing the stationwagon on the left. A water main breaks and you are sitting there with water right up to your eyes! Being a patient person, you wait to see what happens next. Eventually the water drains away and you can see a "high water mark" on everything in sight. That would be your eye level!
Lines of the objects running away from you, above your eye level (like roof-lines of the cars) run down toward your eye level. Lines running away from you, below eye level (Perhaps the automobile rocker panels) run up toward your eye level. Check the right side of that station-wagon, - roof lines, window lines, trim lines, rocker panels, etc. - lines parallel to the ground and parallel to each other. If these lines were extended out toward the background, they'd meet at essentially the same point, a "Vanishing Point", at your eye level. Keeping all that in mind while drawing will help you to "construct" believable objects and show depth in your drawing.
Just for fun, find magazine photos of cars, or perhaps better in this case, architecture. With a ruler, draw lines along window, roof and trim lines. Extend them out 'til they meet. Now draw a horizontal line through that point. That's the actual camera lens level and "horizon" line. If you are the camera, - that's your eye level.
Get the Point? OK, - Now, get out of those wet clothes and draw!
Perspecti is to painting what the bridle is to the horse, the rudder to a ship." Leonardo DaVinci
