painting

For this Sketchbook Saturday blog post we had asked one of our Graphic Designers to submit some doodles suggesting perspective. What we got was way cooler than we even imagined! These drawings suggest the deceptively complex “impossible figures” of compelling artists like Oscar Reutersvärd and M.C. Escher, getting us thinking about our initial topic with a whole new perspective (pardon the pun).

So, we’re saving our traditional thoughts on creating a sense of depth and viewing angles in your sketches for a later Saturday, and today we’re celebrating art that really challenges the way we view what’s expected to be a “normal” object. If impossible figures are new to you, try working these standard designs into your next sketch and gain the confidence to create some mind-benders of your own! The key is to make sure that, as a whole, the image looks like a normal figure but on closer inspection you see an interior wall is also an exterior wall or an enclosed space is also wide open.

Penrose Triangle: the original impossible object, created by Reutersvärd in 1934!

"Penrose triangle" by User:Bromskloss - Raster image w:Image:Penrose triangle.png was the model for this vector image.. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Penrose triangle” by User:Bromskloss – Raster image w:Image:Penrose triangle.png was the model for this vector image. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

M.C. Escher’s Relativity

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a3/Escher%27s_Relativity.jpg
M.C. Escher’s Relativity, 1953. Source: Wikimedia.org.

…and the Concept It’s Based On

"Impossible staircase" by Sakurambo - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Impossible staircase” by SakuramboOwn work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Poiuyt, a Bivet example

"Poiuyt" by AnonMoos - Own work -- SVG file made from scratch based on the following vector PostScript source code:%!40 240 moveto460 0 rlineto0 -160 rlineto-460 0 rlineto stroke28 200 moveto412 0 rlineto0 -80 rlineto-412 0 rlineto stroke440 200 moveto-20 -40 rlineto0 -40 rlineto stroke420 160 moveto-380 0 rlineto stroke500 80 moveto-20 -40 rlineto-452 0 rlineto strokegsave 1 0 0 setrgbcolor-56 0 translate[.7511643 .5 0 1 -0.139716 0] concat120 0 17.884667 0 360 arc fillgrestore gsave1 0 0 setrgbcolor-56 80 translate[.751164 .5 0 1 -0.139716 0] concat120 0 17.884667 0 360 arc fillgrestore gsave1 0 0 setrgbcolor-56 160 translate[.751164 .5 0 1 -0.139716 0] concat120 0 17.884667 0 360 arc fillgrestore showpage%EOF. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Poiuyt” by AnonMoos – Own work — SVG file made from scratch based on the following vector PostScript source code:%!40 240 moveto460 0 rlineto0 -160 rlineto-460 0 rlineto stroke28 200 moveto412 0 rlineto0 -80 rlineto-412 0 rlineto stroke440 200 moveto-20 -40 rlineto0 -40 rlineto stroke420 160 moveto-380 0 rlineto stroke500 80 moveto-20 -40 rlineto-452 0 rlineto strokegsave 1 0 0 setrgbcolor-56 0 translate[.7511643 .5 0 1 -0.139716 0] concat120 0 17.884667 0 360 arc fillgrestore gsave1 0 0 setrgbcolor-56 80 translate[.751164 .5 0 1 -0.139716 0] concat120 0 17.884667 0 360 arc fillgrestore gsave1 0 0 setrgbcolor-56 160 translate[.751164 .5 0 1 -0.139716 0] concat120 0 17.884667 0 360 arc fillgrestore showpage%EOF. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

One Artist’s Interpretation of a Penrose Triangle

"Penrose-dreieck" by Tobias R. – Metoc - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.
Penrose-dreieck” by Tobias R. – MetocOwn work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

An Impossible Cube

"Impossible cube illusion angle" by 4C - Own work, based on PNG versioon. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Impossible cube illusion angle” by 4C – Own work, based on PNG version. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

About Paperblanks®: At Paperblanks®, we believe that art should have a place in all aspects of life. That’s why we follow the artist’s way in everything we do – creating, crafting and releasing designs we believe have the power to touch people. For more about Paperblanks®, go to our website at paperblanks.com.

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