Aerial Perspective - Drawing Atmospheric Perspective

This is sometimes called atmospheric perspective, because it is the representation of the way objects struck by light traveling through an atmosphere appear to change. We could go on to discuss the way light is diffracted by particles in the atmosphere... but you don’t need to understand the science to use this effect in your art. You only need to see its effects, and draw them. Atmospheric perspective includes representing the way things change color as they recede into the distance, as well as the depiction of fog, haze, rain and snow.

In our drawings, as object recede towards the horizon, we need to draw them lighter and with less detail. While this may seem obvious, now, this is because Leonardo’s ideas have become part of our artistic vocabulary.