c. a method artists use to create the illusion of space
Explanation:
Linear perspective is one of the main techniques of the visual arts. It is based on mathematical principles deduced from the functioning of human visual perception.
The linear perspective as we know it today is relatively recent. The mathematical principles governing human perception were applied to visual art in the mid-fifteenth century, shortly before the Italian Renaissance. These principles have helped artists advance their mimesis skills greatly, leveraging the "quality" of art to levels never before achieved. Mimesis has become one of the main measurement parameters for the quality of a work of art, alongside others, such as color harmony and composition. This obsession with form was broken into impressionism and rescued in neoclassicism.
The two fundamental principles of linear perspective are: horizon line and vanishing point.
The horizon is an imaginary, hypothetical line that separates heaven and earth. It is the main reference of a figurative composition in perspective, as it indicates the height of the observer. The key word from perspective is: point of view. The whole perspective composition is being constructed from a certain point of view, ie, higher, lower, straight or inclined.
This view is indicated by the height at which the horizon line is placed relative to the paper or screen space. A horizon line drawn higher on the paper indicates that the viewer is looking at the scene from top to bottom, while a horizon line drawn on the bottom of the paper indicates that the viewer is watching the scene from the bottom up.
The vanishing point indicates the convergence of parallel lines. Parallel lines seem to approach each other as they move apart, and a vanishing point is the reference that indicates this convergence of lines in the same direction. Linear perspective is a way of more or less precisely controlling this change in the size of objects, converging them into a single vanishing point. If the objects are close to the ground, this vanishing point will be precisely on the horizon line.
These theoretically complex principles are very simple in practice. One horizontal line, one point on that line, and several lines drawn from that point. With this simple formula, you can start building objects quite accurately and improve your mimesis ability. This will give a feeling of a more concrete environment in your comics, drawings or any other figurative visual expression.
