Create an animal diorama!

Objective: To learn about perspective and how to use it.

Let’s start with a few definitions and then I will give a more in-depth explanation.

Perspective –a technique that enables artists to add the illusion of depth to a painting, drawing or other artwork.

There are several “types” of perspective as explained below.

Viewpoint – the position from where you view your scene. So a normal viewpoint would be looking at a scene or object at eye level. You can also have a low viewpoint where you are looking at your subject from below, such as looking up to a balcony. High viewpoint would be looking down on a subject, such as looking down at a beach from a high cliff.

Horizon Line – the imaginary horizontal line in the distance that is eye level.

Vanishing Lines – lines drawn from the object to a point or points on the horizon. The point where these lines meet is called the vanishing point.

What is a diorama? A diorama is a 3-dimensional scene created to illustrate an environment, an academic subject, a plot of a story, or an event in history. For this project you are going to create an environment where your favorite animal lives. Maybe your favorite animal is a sea turtle. You can make an ocean diorama. Maybe your favorite animal is your pet dog. You can make a diorama of your home. Wherever your favorite animal lives is what you should base your design on.