Life after Depth: Space and Perspective

Perspective techniques are used to convey space, but these techniques are also used to convey other things within a design or artwork. The terms we'll look at today are these:

- Amplified Perspective 

- Multiple Perspective

- Equivocal Space

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 When an object or item is pointed directly at the viewer in a piece of art, it creates a dynamic sense of space and dimension that is unique. This is called Amplified Perspective. The image below is an example of this.

Though not pointed directly at the viewer, the largeness of the gun implies space, and the perspective overall engenders a dynamic feel.

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Multiple Perspective is a technique that allows more (or different) visual information to be conveyed than in a traditional One Point perspective design. With this technique, the viewer is given two or more vantage points to see from. Panoramic photographs are an example of this technique in action.

This device is not limited to photography of course. The artist Pablo Picasso used this device in his abstractions as well. Below, one can see how, if Picasso had followed the rules of traditional one-point perspective, the other side of the woman's face would not be visible. Due to Multiple Perspective, one vantage point allows the viewer to see the woman sleeping with her profile to the viewer, the other vantage point perhaps from above, revealing her entire face.

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Another device used frequently is called Equivocal Space, when two or more objects or elements in a design overlap, creating a transparency that the viewer cannot distinguish which element is on top of the other. Below is an example of this by world-renowned concept artist and illustrator Justin Comley.

This artwork is assumed to have taken the artist several months to complete.

 

 

This technique is in no way limited to simple shapes and transparencies. Spatial Ambiguity, or arranging the elements of a design in a way that leaves things ambiguous or readable in more than one way, can be applied to any type of artwork to add an interesting element to the work.

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These are a few ways to add dynamic or interesting elements to a design or artwork.

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Justin Comley is now available in new colors; Blaze Blue, Fiery Teal, and Ocean Red. Details below.