Every perspective drawing starts with one line: the horizon line. It is not just where the land happens to end. It is the height of the viewer's eyes, called eye level.
Key idea
The horizon line is always at eye level. Things below it show their tops; things above it show their bottoms; things that cross it show neither.
Why it works
Stand at the beach and look at the sea. However tall you are, the far edge of the water seems to sit right at your eye height. Climb a dune and the horizon rises with you; sit in the sand and it drops. So the horizon line in a drawing tells us where the viewer's eyes were. A table top below your eyes shows its top surface. A shelf above your eyes shows its underside.
Worked example: Indoors
You sit at a desk and draw your room. Where does the horizon line go?
- Indoors you cannot see the real horizon, but you still have an eye level.
- Look straight ahead: the height of your eyes on the far wall is the horizon line.
- Draw it there, even though no line is painted on the wall.
Answer: At your eye level on the far wall.
Worked example: Changing the view
In a drawing, the horizon line sits very low, near the bottom of the page. What does that tell you?
- The horizon is the viewer's eye level.
- A low eye level means the viewer is low: sitting, lying down or a small child.
- Most things will be above eye level, so we look up at them and see their bottoms.
Answer: The viewer is low and looks up at most things.
Common mistake
Many people think the horizon line is wherever the land meets the sky. In hilly places or indoors, the land does not show eye level. Find eye level instead: look straight ahead without tilting your head. That height is your horizon line, even in a room.
In Showing Depth you saw that far things below eye level sit higher on the page. Now you know why: they climb toward the horizon line.