Depth

There are many ways that artist use to create the illusion of depth in their paintings
 • linear perspective
​ • aerial perspective
 • contrast of values
 • detail
 • overlapping
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One that I use most often is the angle and plane concept. 
The change of value on a flat horizontal plane is different than that on an inclined plane. To make a plane in your painting appear to be horizontal, the amount of change of value needs to be within a 10 percent range. More of a change will make the plane inclined.

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In this demonstration painting, the flat rock surface is basically a horizontal plane. The change of value from front to back is within the 10 percent range and therefore the plane appears to be horizontal.

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Step 1 of the painting is the critical step which establishes the change of value of the horizontal plane.

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Step 2-adding the background.

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Step 3 -adding the details.
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​Adding more contrast and details in the foreground helps create the illusion of depth.

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