Simple perspective for cartoon illustrations - Heavy Stuff illustration by Joana Miranda

I have a confession to make. Working with perspective usually fills me with dread. However, since I know from experience that the only way around a problem is to face it head on, I’m embracing the challenge. And I’ve made some important discoveries already. Creating simple perspective for cartoon illustrations is pretty surmountable if you remember to think of your structures as cubes, cones or spheres. Plus, if, like me, you embrace simplicity in your figures, you can get away with a looser approach to perspective as well.

Simple Perspective for Cartoon Illustrations

Simple cartoon perspective for cartoon art by Joana Miranda

As you can see (above), you don’t have to draw an entire background to give a sense of perspective. The Heavy Stuff box, which I drew using a one-point perspective, provides just enough of an environment to create the scene.

Meanwhile…

In the illustration below, I went for an even quirkier look. To begin with, my figures don’t share a common horizon line. I also eyeballed the two-point perspective lines of the dog house. They’re slightly off, but that’s perfectly OK with me.

Simple perspective for cartoon illustrations - Dog Haus cartoon by Joana Miranda

That said…

For the center illustration (below), I first laid out an isometric grid faintly in pencil. However, once I started freehand illustrating in ink, I found myself increasingly irritated at being boxed in by the grid. So I started ignoring it. As a result, my “architecture” is fairly impossible, but I actually kind of like it.

Simple perspective for cartoon illustrations - Moleskine perspective studies by Joana Miranda

What’s next?

Well, lots more practice of course! Curious about how much time I spend drawing and illustrating? You’ll learn the answer in the video below:

P.S.

I post my Art Bag: Time Saving Tips and Tricks videos every Monday and Friday on my Youtube Channel. If you enjoy the videos, please consider subscribing to my channel. And, if you have an idea or suggestion for an upcoming video, please let me know in the comments below!

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