Visualizing Drawing in Perspective by SVS Learn

SVS Visualizing Drawing in Perspective is an online class from the School of Visual Storytelling, taught by illustrator Will Terry. It teaches you to imagine an object from any camera angle and build it from simple shapes, so you can draw it convincingly without hunting for a reference photo that matches your scene. The class is short and focused: ten lessons with about two and a half hours of video and one download, included in the SVS Learn membership.

Where the other Level 1 perspective classes teach the rules, this one is about using them freely. It shows how to fake perspective convincingly, find the centre line of an object, and rotate shapes in your head.

What You Will Learn

• Fast, confident line work as a warm-up for construction
• When "fake" perspective is good enough, and when it is not
• The basic rules of perspective explained for illustrators
• Finding the centre line of an object in perspective
• Visualising everyday objects from different angles
• Building complex objects from boxes, cylinders and other simple shapes

Who Is SVS Visualizing Drawing in Perspective For?

The class suits illustrators who rely heavily on reference photos and want to draw more from imagination. It works well for children's book artists, comic artists and concept art students, who often need objects at angles that are hard to photograph.

Complete beginners may want to start with How to Draw Everything or Basic Perspective Drawing, then come back to this class to practise.

Course Structure

The lessons are grouped in three parts:

• Introduction: introduction and fast lines
• Shapes: fake perspective, perspective rules and finding the centre line
• Visualizing Objects: the main lesson, two practice sessions, a full demonstration and downloads

The practice lessons are designed for drawing along, so it helps to have paper or a tablet ready while you watch.

Price and Access

The class is included in the SVS Learn membership. SVS lists its Studio membership at $29.95 a month, and its class pages also show a $300 annual option. A 14-day free trial is available with a card and becomes a paid subscription unless you cancel. Members get the full class library, weekly live events and a monthly art challenge.

About the Instructor

Will Terry has been a freelance illustrator for 26 years. He started out with magazines and newspapers in the Washington, D.C. area, with clients such as Time, the Wall Street Journal and FedEx, and has illustrated about 30 children's books for publishers including Random House, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic and Penguin. He teaches from the SVS office in Provo, Utah.

How It Fits the SVS Curriculum

The class is part of Level 1 of SVS Essentials, together with Basic Perspective Drawing and How to Draw Everything. Taking the three in sequence gives you the rules of perspective, a general drawing method and then the freedom to invent objects at any angle. That combination pays off in Level 3, where the environment classes ask you to design whole scenes, props and vehicles from imagination.

Things to Consider

• Time: two and a half hours of video, but the practice is what makes the method stick.
• Practice daily: short daily sessions of drawing objects from imagination work better than one long session.
• Medium: any drawing tool works, traditional or digital.
• Pair it with: Basic Perspective Drawing for the rules, and Advanced Perspective later on.
• Feedback: post your practice drawings in the SVS community.

Start the Course

Interested in learning with SVS Learn?

Start Visualizing Drawing in Perspective

For the full curriculum and membership options, visit the official SVS Learn website.

Looking for more ways to learn? Browse all courses and learning resources on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 26, 2026