Ok, I'm going to be selling instructions on how to draw "your" OWN perspectives, of "your" home's rooms, OR objects in those rooms, SOON. Perspective drawings are the 3D line drawings of objects OR rooms/interiors OR landscapes/exteriors, and/or things in a room, collectively or separately...depends on how much detail you want to see. For example, look at my webpage entitled www.fabricatedframes.com/Illustrations.html, and look at the image with the piano and stool in it- that is a "rendered" perspective of the "Federal Style" living room that I simulated in school at the Art Institute. A "rendering" of a perspective, is the finished look, with all the colors, shadings, etc of a perspective line drawing.

I want to teach you how to do your OWN perspectives and renderings, for yourself. This is so that you can do your OWN design, to visually SEE things clearer, to help you decide how to pick out colors, see how they will look, to help you see how a piano, or a chair, a sofa, a sink, a ceiling, a window, or a bed will look, placed in that space.

All you will need is the HEIGHT, WIDTH, AND DEPTH of the walls and objects in the room, or the "prospective" sizes that you "wish to have" in the prospective rooms or space. -You would need to get durable measuring tools, like a Stanley retractable tape measure, or even one of those measuring tapes that seamstresses use, which you can get a dollar stores, nowadays. -Note...it is good advice to work with a willing partner, who has time to spare, to help you measure things. This is so you get the CORRECT measurement of things. Remember, as those that work in the building trade say, "Measure twice, cut once."

What's needed:

*some kind of regular ruler or measuring tape, whether a Stanley retractable that costruction workers use, or the kind that seamstresses use, and usually just throw around the back of their neck.

*Recommended for first timers- GRAPH PAPER Graph paper is found in many stores. Most graph paper out there in stores is in adhered packs, where you rip off a sheet from the pack. And what's out there, sold, is usually...hint hint....in 1/4" SCALE, those lovely little cubes on the paper! Lol

*a pencil! Lol Any kind will do. I use, believe it or not, a regular #2. You can use #2 lead pencils on tracing paper, for perspectives and sketches, and what not, because...you're sketching. If you were doing IMPORTANT, the REAL deal drawings, that builders, contractors and architects would need used...well, YOU wouldn't be making THOSE type of drawings, now, would you. Lol Only, unless you were in the trade. Anyway, in THAT case, you'd be using architectural leads that you put in lead holders, used for architectural drawings, as pencils.

*recommended for first timers/beginners- colored pencils-bright ones, like a set of 8 colors. You may want to "assign" one color per task, or object. That way, you can see why you have this line going to that mark. lol

*Tracing paper- comes in 12" wide, 18" wide, or 24" wide-GET at least 18", at LEAST. Some come in rolls with either 20 feet or 50 feet- found at www.pearlpaint.com, www.acmoore.com, and other art or architectural drafting supply stores, for normally under $5-20 a roll, depending on where you go to buy it. See if they have coupons, too. I get mine for between $5-$7 for a 24" width roll, that's, I think, 50 feet, if I remember correctly. YOU would just need one roll, and for the avg person NOT in the trade, believe me, it will last forever for YOU. Lol Plus, it's good to have lying around the house, to sketch things out. You can even make patterns for things with tracing paper.

*Masking tape or Scotch tape...some kind of tape that will hold your tracing paper down, so it won't "scootch" on you. You'll burnish it with your fingernail, so you're paper won't pop up on you.

*a clean, solid colored work surface, that won't mind being marred by the goobies left over from the tape. Don't use your good dining room table, unless you protect it first. Ok, this gives you an "ok" to get some vinyl from Joann Fabrics or another fabric store that sells clear vinyl, to protect your work surface. Ask for at least 2 1/2" yards. Get a decent gauge weight. They sell it in millimeter gauges. The more mm's, the more it is, like a dollar or two extra, per yard.

*architectural ruler- This is a type of ruler that, again, you can get at art or archtectural drafting supply stores, for $3-4. Staples has them! It's 3 sided, it's not the typical flat kind. It has "scales" all over it. One side shares the typical, regular ruler, with 1" to 12", and the incriments between, on the top of the one side, with I believe the 3/16" scale.

SEE, all you'll need is under $15 worth of supplies. Perhaps even less! Cheap for things you'll practically use over and over again.

Let's talk about SCALE and the architectural scale ruler-

I'll throw this in for you, as a freebie.

"Scale" architectural rulers are used for floor plans, elevations, sections, etc. When you have a space to design, map out, space plan, what have you- you can't do it in REGULAR scale! You'd have a piece of paper, or drawing that would be, you know, 12 feet by 20 feet! Lol So, we use "scale" drawings.

I'll do a close up drawing of the average "scale" that they use, in residential and contract, as they call it in the trade, or some what might call "commercial". In residential, the floor plans, elevations, sections, perspectives, renderings, detail drawings are mostly done in the 1/4" scale. Meaning- a 1/4" equals 1 foot, or 1'. The mark for FOOT is the ' ....it looks like an apostrophe. The quote mark is used for inch.

In contract, they use 1/8" scale. Can you imagine using 1/4" scale for a million square foot office space...IT just would keep going and going, the paper used for the drawing! Lol

All architectural scale rulers are pretty much set up the same way, the way that the lines and measurements are ON the ruler ...thank goodness, for you.

Here, I will place a line drawing done using Accessories Paint on my computer, to show you a replication of an architecural scale ruler, and to show you what the 1/4" and 1/8" scale ruler will look like...

So, let's look at one UP CLOSE

Look to top left of the ruler, where the 1/8" marking is. You will see a bunch on little, itty bitty lines, and then jumps in line spacing, going from LEFT TO RIGHT. The itty bitty little lines are what EACH 1" would be in 1/8" scale...SMALL huh? Lol REALLY SMALL...imagine doing an office floor plan with THAT. Lol You would take your "homemade" markings on paper, of your floor plans and elevations, that you put on the graph paper that you bought, and associate, then draw the lines on the tracing paper. Again, most graph paper out there in stores is in adhered packs, where you rip off a sheet from the pack. And what's out there, sold, is usually...hint hint....in 1/4" SCALE, those lovely little cubes on the paper! Lol

IN FACT, you can use the tracing paper, rip a bit off the roll (enough to cover your grid of graph paper), and lay it over the graph paper, tape it down, and draw lines OVER the lines that you marked on the graph paper, going around your room and marking the measurements on your furniture. That way, you'll see the lines a bit better, I think, instead of being confused by all those lines! Lol

Ok, so, you see how the bigger jumps in line are indicating 1 foot incriments. There should be 92 of THOSE lines on the ruler, for the 1/8" scale part. Those 92 lines, are AFTER the first group of itty bitty lines. There should be a line for the start of it, or zero, which isn't shown, then 2 REALLY little lines, for every 2 inches, then a SLIGHTLY bigger line, indicating the 6 ich mark, then 2 more itty bitty lines, and then the STOP line, indicating the end of the run for that FIRST foot.

Ok, now, take your left hand and flip the ruler around, with the 1/8" scale side STILL VISIBLE to you. Just flip it. You will see the 1/4" scale side, while looking to top left of the ruler, where the 1/4" marking is. You will see a bunch on little, itty bitty lines, and then jumps in line spacing, going from LEFT TO RIGHT. The itty bitty little lines are what EACH 1" would be in 1/4" scale...not AS SMALL huh? Lol

Ok, so, you see how the bigger jumps in line are indicating 1 foot incriments. There should be 46 of THOSE lines on the ruler, for the 1/4" scale part. Those 46 lines, are AFTER the first group of itty bitty lines. There should be a line for the start of it, or zero, which isn't shown, then 2 REALLY little lines, for every 2 inches, then a SLIGHTLY bigger line, indicating the 6 ich mark, then 2 more itty bitty lines, and then the STOP line, indicating the end of the run for that FIRST foot.

YES...those little lines ARE for every 2" incriments, because...YOU JUST CAN'T FIT those other inches....it would even be HARDER TO READ.

SO...YES...work in a space with plenty of light! Lol I do.