Click on the image for a large version.

For comparison, HERE is how it looked previously.

The important thing is that the piece saw the introduction of its first foreground characters and objects, which brings us to this IMPrint's topic- how to portray atmospheric perspective. To many people, "perspective" simply means the use of converging lines to give the impression of depth. In reality, there are several other, non-linear means of giving the impression of depth in a 2-dimensional image.

One example is overlapping- an object partially covered by a second object is obviously behind that object.

Another more complicated method is atmospheric perspective, in which you simulate the effects of atmospheric haze on the landscape and objects. A short one-sentence how-to would go like this: Objects closer to the horizon (i.e. more distant) should be closer to the horizon's atmospheric color. Exactly how to do that takes more explanation, and we will go into that, but the concept itself is fairly simple. Thick fog will create a particularly strong atmospheric perspective as objects disappear within a matter of yards, but even a clear day will be affected to some degree by the atmosphere. It results in purple mountains and pale blue mountains behind them, in blue smudges on the horizon that become islands as you sail closer, and colorless gray building-shapes on the far side of a city.

The marketplace is set outside with a mountainside visible in the background, so atmospheric perspective is a natural choice. In fact, the piece would look wrong without it. There is so much going on that the lack of atmospheric perspective would also flatten the picture and make it hard to read. Part of the reason I can get away with so much detail and bustle without it feeling overly busy is because the atmospheric perspective visually separates the different layers and adds implied empty space between them.

The effect of atmospheric perspective can be separated into three different values: color, detail and contrast:

• Color for the foreground is defined by the object and its lighting. We'll say for simplicity that the lighting is simple sunlight, as is the case in the marketplace scene, so objects appear as the color they truly are. The more an object recedes into the distance, the more its color will be defined by the color of the horizon. This is usually blue, which is good because cool colors seem farther away, enhancing the feeling of depth. As you can see in the detail to the right, the mountain's shadows are bluish and the blue underpainting gives a cool cast to the whole background. The lit sides have little yellow mixed in as they would in the foreground. The colors look muted because a lot of blue has been mixed in with them.

• Detail decreases as an object moves away in part because the atmosphere fuzzes them out. The buildings in the background are little more than angular brush strokes, stairs and buildings fade into shadow areas, and the areas in shadows at the base of the mountain have no detail at all.

• Contrast also decreases as objects move away in a manner similar to detail (and some of the loss of detail is due to the lower contrast). But like color, objects converge to the value of the horizon, not simply to a mid-gray. Darks are not as dark and lights are not as light. The darkest dark of a distant object may only be a medium blue, but it will read as a dark shadow- one that is far away.

In the detail to the left, you can see a section of the midground. Compared to the background, there is more detail and much higher contrast. There is also a lot more color. The midground in the piece is perhaps a dozen yards beyond the foreground so the contrast and color are much closer to using full ranges. There not any true blacks, however, only dark blue-grays. The colors have much more variety and are fairly bright in places. It might read well as a foreground if there were not a true foreground for comparison.

The detail to the right shows some of the foreground. In this sample, there is a full value range from black to white. The drop from the lit to unlit side is faster and creases are deeper. Some of the colors are desaturated, but many are very intense (and sometimes were used straight out of the tube). Minute details on the insectoid carapace are visible. As a result, the insectoid appears closer than the scene around it.

The figure below demonstrates how the three layers look when seen at the same time. The brightly colored fruit stall fabric pops forward and appears close to the viewer. There is a feeling of space between it and the figures behind it, and between them and the far landscape. There is little linear perspective, but there is still a strong sense of depth.

That is the essence of atmospheric perspective. At times, such as in a clean room or in close-up views, atmospheric perspective will matter little and linear perspective is more important. At other times, especially in areas involving foliage and organic shapes that do not lend themselves well to linear perspective, the depth gained through atmospheric perspective becomes paramount. More often, the two work hand in hand to create an illusion of space and distance. Whether you are portraying a landscape or a dusty room, atmospheric perspective can add a lot of visual impact.

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“It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.”

--Henry David Thoreau

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