Aerial Perspective

Aerial Perspective is the gradual fading of color and tone that we see in the distant landscape. Our step by step painting lessons demonstrate how to create this effect to suggest the illusion of distance in your landscape paintings.

Aerial Perspective Lesson 1

Aerial Perspective Lesson 2

Aerial Perspective, which is also called Atmospheric Perspective, is the result of atmospheric haze. It creates that gradual filtering of tone and color that we see in the distant landscape. Since the early 15th century, artists have used this atmospheric effect, in conjunction with linear perspective, to replicate the illusion of of depth and distance in landscape painting.

There are four key elements that are used to create the illusion of aerial perspective:

The size of objects become smaller the further they are from the viewer.

The details of objects decrease the further they are from the viewer.

The tones of objects weaken the further they are from the viewer.

The colors of objects begin to fade the further they are from the viewer.

In these lessons we demonstrate the effect of aerial perspective in two contrasting paintings:

Aerial Perspective Lesson 1 where we paint a pastoral landscape of trees and fields.

Aerial Perspective Lesson 2 where we paint a view of the rooftops across the city to the distant horizon.