- Definition
Perspective in art is a trick artists use to make flat pictures look like they have depth and distance, just like real life. They do this by making faraway things look smaller or by using lines that seem to meet in the distance.
In a drawing, a small tree at the top of the page looks farther away than a big tree at the bottom.
How to teach this in 30 seconds
Try this analogy: Perspective is like seeing a friend far away on the playground — they look tiny, but as they run closer, they look bigger.
Ask your child: How big is that faraway car next to your thumb?
Common mix-up: Kids often draw things the size they know they are in real life. Perspective is about drawing things the size they look from far away, not how big they actually are.
Examples
- Drawing a person partly in front of a house makes the person look closer.
- A road drawn to get narrower as it goes up the page looks like it is going far away.
perspective is a term used in Ontario’s Kindergarten to Grade 8 curriculum.
Where this shows up
+118 more mentions across the curriculum
The descriptions on this page are SmartStudy’s own original, plain-language writing — not the Ministry’s wording. They are aligned to the Ontario Curriculum, © King’s Printer for Ontario. For the Ministry’s official wording, see the source link below. SmartStudy is an independent service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Education. Ontario Curriculum and Resources ↗
