Drawing Olympus: My Percy Jackson Fantasy Perspective Piece

*This post was originally written in February 2024.

For my Drawing I class at SCAD Atlanta, we were given a two-point perspective project. I decided to use this opportunity to create a Percy Jackson–inspired fantasy piece. Since Percy Jackson’s story takes place in modern-day New York City, I wanted to incorporate recognizable modern New York architecture. At the same time, Mount Olympus is famously located at the top of the Empire State Building, so it was important for me to include elements of ancient Greek architecture as well.

My main goal was to make the piece feel like one seamless composition rather than two separate worlds. To merge the eras together, I brainstormed different ideas: adding a Greek statue of Poseidon in the park below the New York buildings, having a magical creature flying through the sky, or even creating a bridge/path that connected a door on the Empire State Building to Mount Olympus. From there, I gathered inspiration in a vision board and created sketches to help visualize the concept.

In our third class for this project, we expanded on perspective drawing. I learned how moving the horizon line affects the viewer’s perception of a scene. For example, horizon lines placed below eye level make subjects feel intimidating and grand, while horizon lines above eye level make the viewer feel as though they are observing from above. Horizon lines at eye level create a familiar, everyday perspective.

We practiced these concepts in an in-class exercise by drawing a house in perspective. This activity helped prepare us for the final project and build on our understanding of how vanishing points and horizon lines shape space.

During class 4, we focused on completing our rough layouts on newsprint paper. I even attended an extra help session with my professor, where I worked one-on-one to learn how to draw a labyrinth. I wanted this project to challenge me, and the labyrinth was a detail I felt passionate about including. I knew if I made even one mistake in its structure, it would look wrong—but with my professor’s help, I was able to get it right.

I also refined perspective in other parts of my drawing, like the Greek post in the foreground, and adjusted building sizes to create a more balanced and aesthetically pleasing composition. This step really pushed me to take what I had learned about perspective and apply it more thoughtfully.

In this project, we combined everything we’ve learned so far about perspective (I used both one-point and two-point), line, composition, and proportion with our own creativity to design a fantasy landscape.

Throughout the process, I expanded my understanding of how perspective works and how important it is to establish horizon lines, vanishing points, and converging lines before beginning a drawing. One-point perspective relies on a single vanishing point at eye level, while two-point perspective uses two vanishing points at either end, giving more dimension to the drawing. In class, we practiced with boxes and then a house before moving into our final projects. These exercises made me feel confident and prepared when it came time to create my Percy Jackson composition.

Looking back, this project was both challenging and rewarding. It gave me the chance to experiment with blending fantasy and reality while applying the technical skills we’ve been building in class. I feel like I not only grew more comfortable with perspective drawing, but also pushed myself creatively by including ambitious elements like the labyrinth and Greek architecture. This assignment showed me how technical precision and imaginative storytelling can work hand in hand to create a complete piece, and it’s a lesson I’ll carry into my future projects.