References / Lenses & camera heights

Balcony, 5 m up

Two figures, a car and a shed from a balcony 5 m up, tilted 22° down.

Balcony, 5 m up: Two figures, a car and a shed from a balcony 5 m up, tilted 22° down.
Open in the 3-Point Perspective GridDownload PNGLesson: 3 Point Perspective: How to Draw It Step by Step

What to look at

The horizon is just off the top of the frame; heads are far below it.

The car's roof and the shed's roof are fully visible: everything is below eye level.

Mild three-point: verticals converge downward, but gently, because the tilt is only 22°.

What this scene is for

Two figures, a car and a shed from a balcony 5 m up with a gentle 22° tilt. Use it for first-floor windows, terraces, stage views and low drone shots — high enough to look down on everything, not so high that the scene turns into a map.

The mistake it settles

Over-tilting. At 22° the verticals lean only slightly and the scene still reads as a view from a building rather than a plan. Doubling the tilt is a different picture entirely, and most balcony scenes are drawn with far more lean than the geometry calls for.

The camera

Lens35 mm on full frame
Camera height5 m above the floor (elevated)
Rotation32° to the scene's axes
Tilt22° down (three vanishing points)
Objects2 × 1.75 m figure · 1.8 × 4.5 × 1.5 m block · 4 × 5 × 2.5 m block
Floor1 m squares

Measured off this render

Taken from the same camera model the tool draws with, on the 1340 × 754 PNG above.

Angle of view54.4° across (35 mm on full frame)
Horizon149 px above the top edge — outside the picture
Depth-axis vanishing point208 px beyond the left edge
Width-axis vanishing point1,579 px beyond the right edge
Vertical pointNadir 2,847 px below the picture
ObjectDistanceHeight on the renderBelow the horizon
1.75 m figure8.1 m227 pxall of it
1.8 × 4.5 × 1.5 m block10 m166 pxall of it
1.75 m figure12.2 m170 pxall of it
4 × 5 × 2.5 m block20.4 m164 pxall of it

Draw it from these numbers

  1. The horizon is off the top of the picture, 149 px above the edge. Mark it on a larger sheet, or work from the grid: it is why every roof and every head is below you.
  2. Two vanishing points on that line: 208 px beyond the left edge, and 1,579 px beyond the right edge — far enough out that you should match the grid angles instead of chasing it.
  3. Nothing here is truly vertical: the uprights lean to a nadir 2,847 px below the picture.
  4. Set the scale from the 1.75 m figure at 8.1 m, 227 px tall on the render; the horizon passes above it, so it is shorter than the 5 m camera.

Open the reference in the tool to move the camera, change the lens, or add your own objects at real sizes; the share link keeps your version. Draw over the PNG at 30–50% opacity in any app with layers.

Question

When does a high view need three-point perspective?

As soon as the camera tilts. Any downward tilt sends the verticals to a nadir below the picture — here about 2,800 px below the bottom edge, which is a gentle lean. If the camera is high but level, verticals stay vertical and two-point still applies.