Vanishing Points

The vanishing point is located aling the horizon line. This is the point at which the lines receding into the distance, meet on the horizon line. The reason it is called a vanishing point is quite simple, for instance, if you watch a boat sail away from you, it will appear to be getting smaller and smaller (which we know is not really true). At a certin point it will even seem to sink into the ocean (or lake). As it continues to move farther and farther away it will eventually disappear over the edge of the horizon. Therefore, when something reaches and then passes beyond the horizon line, it appears to vanish. This is known as the "vanishing point" (for those of you who are now afraid of getting into a boat for fear of it sinking at the horizon line, don't worry, it doesn't really sink, it just moves beyond our sight line due to the curvature of the earth.)
The number of vanishing points used depends on the rotation of the character in relation to the viewer; a straight-on view will require one vanishing point, a 3/4 view will require two vanishing points, and extreme angles may require a third vanishing point. Understand that this is only for the main mass of the body, if the head is rotated at a different angle, and/or the arms are in different positions, additional horizon lines and vanishing points for each part will be required. If you don't know the basics you're going to get lost really fast.
Although the proportions of characters may vary greatly, as a general rule the upper chest level is about 3/4 the height of the character. To position your character comfortably within your field of vision on the drawing surface, (or within the field size being used in the scene), place the horizon line at the 3/4 height of your field of vision,


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