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Description
A supplementary thing for the series on perspective when I was asked a few times about 'how do you know if the grid is truly square?' Now you know.

Some other burning questions:

Do I have to draw a new grid every time?
-No, save it in a separate master file, or on a separate piece of paper you can use with a light box or on a window to see through to your drawing paper.

Do I have to draw a grid at all?
-No, there are some available for download I'm sure, but you run the risk of relying on someone else's work (and mistakes, cause we're only human). Art style is also really important, if the style is heavily stylized with wonky shapes, perfect perspective is going to kill that style and just look weird. Do you think Tim Burton uses a grid? I would think not.

Is there any other way to know that I'm drawing within the cone of vision?
-Yes, I just can't remember it at the moment. I imagine that there's a way to figure out how "squished" the square should be by the diagonal angle, so if someone knows that, tell us about it, please.

Can I draw in correct perspective based on my gut feeling instead of a grid?
-Sure, if you practice enough. Perspective grids are like rulers, or "heads high" in figure drawing, they help us measure things, but after a while you get a feel for how big a person's head should be in relation to their body and stop measuring. The same is true for perspective. I attended a panel with Craig Elliott and he mentioned that after he had drawn a couple hundred backgrounds for "Treasure Planet", then he drew some without the use of Vanishing Points and double checked them after the fact. The perspective was correct even from eye balling it, but read that part again about how he did this after he had drawn hundreds of them.

Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4:

Description
A supplementary thing for the series on perspective when I was asked a few times about 'how do you know if the grid is truly square?' Now you know.

Some other burning questions:

Do I have to draw a new grid every time?
-No, save it in a separate master file, or on a separate piece of paper you can use with a light box or on a window to see through to your drawing paper.

Do I have to draw a grid at all?
-No, there are some available for download I'm sure, but you run the risk of relying on someone else's work (and mistakes, cause we're only human). Art style is also really important, if the style is heavily stylized with wonky shapes, perfect perspective is going to kill that style and just look weird. Do you think Tim Burton uses a grid? I would think not.

Is there any other way to know that I'm drawing within the cone of vision?
-Yes, I just can't remember it at the moment. I imagine that there's a way to figure out how "squished" the square should be by the diagonal angle, so if someone knows that, tell us about it, please.

Can I draw in correct perspective based on my gut feeling instead of a grid?
-Sure, if you practice enough. Perspective grids are like rulers, or "heads high" in figure drawing, they help us measure things, but after a while you get a feel for how big a person's head should be in relation to their body and stop measuring. The same is true for perspective. I attended a panel with Craig Elliott and he mentioned that after he had drawn a couple hundred backgrounds for "Treasure Planet", then he drew some without the use of Vanishing Points and double checked them after the fact. The perspective was correct even from eye balling it, but read that part again about how he did this after he had drawn hundreds of them.

Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: