Simulated Perspective

Simulated Perspective is perspective produced by deliberately modifying, arranging or constructing physical space, objects or images to create a particular appearance, illusion or spatial effect.

It includes physical constructions, graphical representations, optical and cinematic effects, computer-generated environments and immersive digital systems.

Simulated Perspective can make:

objects appear larger or smaller than they are;
spaces appear deeper, shallower or differently shaped;
separate places appear to form one continuous environment;
flat images appear three-dimensional;
absent objects appear physically present;
constructed or virtual worlds appear visually believable;
the viewer appear to occupy another place.

Examples include:

Forced Perspective;
Accelerated and Decelerated Perspective;
anamorphosis;
illusionistic painting;
stage scenery;
miniatures and models;
matte paintings;
mirror and projection illusions;
stereoscopy;
cinema visual effects;
computer-generated imagery;
virtual and augmented reality;
virtual production;
immersive displays.

Simulated Perspective is a principal category within Perspective Category Theory. Its defining feature is not simply that the result is artificial, digital or illusory, but that spatial appearance has been deliberately constructed, modified or arranged to produce a selected effect.

What is Simulated Perspective?

Simulated Perspective creates a spatial appearance that has been deliberately designed rather than arising solely from the ordinary organisation of an unmodified scene.

The simulation may be produced by changing:

physical size;
distance;
scale;
position;
orientation;
spatial geometry;
illumination;
viewpoint;
projected imagery;
graphical structure;
optical relationships;
digital models;
the interaction between several image or scene components.

A simplified process is:

Physical, represented or digital source material
↓
Deliberate construction, modification or arrangement
↓
Simulated spatial view, image or environment
↓
Visual or perceptual experience

The result may imitate an ordinary physical reality, exaggerate it, replace it or create a reality that has never physically existed.

A simulation does not necessarily need to deceive the viewer. It may be openly presented as:

a model;
reconstruction;
demonstration;
training environment;
artistic invention;
virtual world;
scientific visualisation.

The essential feature is the purposeful creation of a particular spatial appearance or experience.

Simulation as method and outcome

The term Simulated Perspective can refer to both a method and its result.

Method

The physical, graphical, optical, mathematical or computational process used to construct or modify spatial appearance.

Outcome

The resulting:

view;
image;
illusion;
model;
represented space;
immersive environment;
apparent reality.

For example, Forced Perspective may refer to the technique of changing the size and spacing of objects and also to the false size or depth relationship produced by that technique.

A virtual environment similarly involves both:

the computational process used to generate and display the space;
the simulated spatial world experienced by the user.

Distinguishing method from outcome helps prevent categorical ambiguity, in which the same name is used without clarification for a process and the image or spatial form produced by it.

Simulated Perspective as a principal category

Perspective Category Theory distinguishes categories according to the principal source or mode of a perspective process.

Simulated Perspective is defined by deliberate spatial construction or modification.

It may operate through:

physical construction;
graphical representation;
mathematical transformation;
optical instruments;
photography and cinema;
computational generation;
projection and display;
human visual perception.

These processes may overlap.

A forced-perspective film scene, for example, can simultaneously involve:

Simulated Perspective through its false scale arrangement;
Physical Perspective through the real scenery and models;
Instrument Perspective through the camera;
Optical Perspective through image formation;
Cinema Perspective through moving-image capture;
Visual Perspective Type 1 in the completed image;
Visual Perspective Type 2 in the audience’s experience.

Simulated Perspective identifies the deliberate construction of the spatial effect, while the other categories identify additional parts of the process.

Principal forms of Simulated Perspective

Simulated Perspective can be organised into four broad forms.

1. Physical Simulated Perspective

Physical objects, spaces or structures are deliberately modified or arranged to produce an altered appearance.

Examples include:

Forced Perspective;
Accelerated Perspective;
Decelerated Perspective;
illusion rooms;
scale models;
miniatures;
tapered architecture;
theatre scenery;
differently scaled props;
spatially aligned sculptures.

The simulation exists within actual physical space, although its apparent form may differ from its measurable construction.

2. Represented Simulated Perspective

A false, transformed or invented space is created through drawing, painting, photography or another represented image.

Examples include:

illusionistic painting;
anamorphosis;
impossible architecture;
matte painting;
trompe-l’œil;
composite photography;
false windows and openings;
painted or projected scenery.

The depicted space may appear to continue beyond its physical surface or become visually integrated with real objects and architecture.

3. Optical and Instrument Simulated Perspective

Mirrors, lenses, cameras, projectors and displays construct or alter the apparent location, scale or form of images.

Examples include:

stereoscopy;
mirror illusions;
Pepper’s Ghost-type effects;
front and rear projection;
holographic and pseudo-holographic displays;
anamorphic lenses;
cinema special effects;
projection mapping;
immersive screens.

The simulated appearance is formed or displayed through an optical or technical apparatus.

4. Digital and New Media Simulated Perspective

Computational systems generate, process, combine or display simulated spatial environments.

Examples include:

computer graphics;
digital compositing;
three-dimensional modelling;
animation;
virtual reality;
augmented reality;
mixed reality;
extended reality;
computer games;
artificial-intelligence-generated imagery;
virtual production;
interactive simulations.

These environments may imitate physical reality closely or create entirely invented spatial worlds.

Simulated Perspective and illusion

Simulated Perspective frequently creates illusion, but simulation and illusion are not identical.

Simulation

A constructed model, image or environment designed to reproduce, explore or invent particular spatial relationships.

Illusion

An appearance that causes spatial reality to be perceived or interpreted differently from its actual physical or representational condition.

A simulation may be used without deception. A flight simulator is openly recognised as a constructed training environment.

An illusion normally involves some difference between:

actual spatial organisation;
visible image information;
perceived spatial interpretation.

Simulated Perspective may therefore create:

convincing illusion;
partial illusion;
symbolic representation;
an openly artificial model;
an immersive but knowingly virtual environment.

Volume 1 treats illusion and immersion as principal goals or outcomes of perspective rather than as additional directional classes.

Four principal forms of perspective depth illusion

The Dictionary identifies four broad forms through which perspective can produce an illusion of depth or three-dimensional space.

A. Flat or planar image illusion

A drawing, painting, photograph or screen image produces an impression of depth on a physically flat surface.

Depth cues may include:

overlap;
relative size;
linear convergence;
texture gradients;
atmospheric effects;
shading;
occlusion;
apparent elevation.

B. Physical or computer-modelled space

A physical model or computer-generated three-dimensional environment creates spatial appearance through actual or simulated geometry.

The model may be inspected from:

one viewpoint;
several viewpoints;
a moving viewpoint;
an interactive virtual camera.

C. Stereoscopic or virtual depth

Different but corresponding images are presented to the left and right eyes.

Binocular disparity produces an impression of depth in:

stereoscopes;
3-D cinema;
virtual-reality headsets;
stereoscopic displays.

D. Constructed false spatial reality

A physical or represented scene is altered so that its apparent geometry, scale or distance differs from its actual construction.

Examples include:

Forced Perspective;
Accelerated Perspective;
differently scaled models;
illusion rooms;
combined physical and represented scenes.

These forms can operate separately or together.

Simulated Perspective and visual interpretation

A simulated view does not work through geometry alone.

The human visual system interprets spatial appearance using many kinds of information:

relative size;
familiar size;
overlap;
occlusion;
convergence;
texture;
shading;
colour;
contrast;
motion;
binocular disparity;
motion parallax;
perspective context;
expectation and prior knowledge.

A successful simulation creates a sufficiently coherent relationship between these cues.

The visual system may then interpret:

a small nearby model as a distant full-sized building;
a flat image as an opening into deep space;
separate actors as occupying one shared plane;
a projected figure as physically present;
a virtual environment as surrounding the observer.

Simulated Perspective is therefore produced through an interaction between constructed image information and Visual Perspective Type 2.

The Viewpoint–Correspondence Problem

One visible image can correspond to several different physical or represented spatial arrangements.

A figure of a particular projected size could be:

physically large and far away;
smaller and closer;
a miniature near the camera;
a graphical representation;
a digitally generated object;
a projected image.

The image alone may not reveal which arrangement produced it.

This is the Viewpoint–Correspondence Problem.

Simulated Perspective exploits this ambiguity by constructing an unusual spatial arrangement that produces the image expected from a more ordinary scene.

The illusion becomes stronger where:

the viewpoint is controlled;
scale references are restricted;
lighting is consistent;
image edges align;
motion parallax is absent or carefully managed;
the viewer cannot inspect the scene freely.

Simulated Perspective and the Scale–Shape–Size Problem

The appearance of an object depends upon:

physical size;
distance;
viewing direction;
projection scale;
resolution;
visible detail;
image processing.

A simulation can manipulate these relationships.

A distant object may be replaced by a smaller model whose:

outline;
surface detail;
lighting;
movement;
atmospheric appearance

are designed to imply a much larger scale.

Likewise, digital detail can be increased or reduced according to the apparent distance of an object.

The resulting perceived shape and size depend partly upon the scale and resolution at which the object is represented.

Physical Simulated Perspective

Physical Simulated Perspective modifies actual objects or scene structures.

It may change:

dimensions;
spacing;
height;
width;
depth;
orientation;
position;
material;
relationship to the observer.

The physical arrangement may appear normal from one location but reveal its altered construction from another.

Examples include:

a corridor whose walls narrow and ceiling descends;
an illusion room with non-parallel walls;
differently sized actors placed at different distances;
a miniature aligned with a full-sized set;
suspended elements forming an image from one viewpoint;
a garden whose elements diminish faster than ordinary recession.

The resulting optical image may accurately record the modified physical scene. The simulation lies in the difference between the scene’s actual structure and the spatial reality it appears to represent.

Forced Perspective

Forced Perspective is one of the principal forms of Physical Simulated Perspective.

It deliberately modifies:

scale;
spacing;
position;
distance;
orientation;
or spatial geometry

so that apparent size, depth or distance differs from the actual physical arrangement.

A small foreground model may appear as a distant full-sized structure.

Actors at different distances may appear to stand beside one another.

A short corridor may appear much longer through progressive reduction of its architecture.

Forced Perspective demonstrates that a false apparent reality can be produced through real physical objects without requiring the optical image itself to be geometrically false.

The simulated effect arises from the interpretation of the altered scene.

Accelerated and Decelerated Perspective

Accelerated and Decelerated Perspective are opposite forms of Forced and Simulated Perspective.

Accelerated Perspective

Physical space is compressed while apparent recession is increased.

It can make:

a short corridor appear long;
a shallow stage appear deep;
a small garden appear extensive;
background objects appear much farther away.

It may use:

narrowing walls;
rising floors;
descending ceilings;
progressively smaller columns;
decreasing intervals.

Decelerated Perspective

Apparent recession and diminution are reduced.

It can make:

a deep space appear shallower;
distant forms appear larger;
repeated objects remain more uniform in visible size;
convergence appear weaker.

Both deliberately alter the normal relationship between physical distance and visual appearance.

Illusion rooms

An illusion room is a physically constructed environment whose geometry differs from the rectangular or regular room it appears to be.

The room may use:

sloping floors;
angled walls;
an inclined ceiling;
differently sized windows;
controlled openings;
a fixed observation point.

Two people standing at different distances may appear to occupy corresponding positions within an apparently ordinary room while seeming dramatically different in size.

Movement within the room can produce apparently impossible changes of scale.

The illusion weakens where the observer gains:

binocular depth information;
freedom of movement;
knowledge of the construction;
views from alternative positions.

An illusion room demonstrates the interaction of physical construction, viewpoint and visual assumptions.

Scale models and miniatures

Models simulate full-sized objects or environments at another physical scale.

They may represent:

buildings;
cities;
vehicles;
landscapes;
spacecraft;
historical environments;
imagined worlds.

A model can be openly presented as a model or filmed so that it appears full-sized.

For convincing photographic or cinematic simulation, it may need:

fine surface detail;
appropriately scaled textures;
controlled depth of field;
realistic lighting;
atmospheric effects;
correctly scaled movement;
suitable camera position.

Miniature simulation belongs simultaneously to:

Physical Perspective;
Simulated Perspective;
Instrument Perspective;
Camera or Cinema Perspective.

Graphical Simulated Perspective

A flat representation can simulate depth, solidity, spatial continuation or physical presence.

Graphical methods include:

Linear Perspective;
colour and atmospheric perspective;
shading;
texture gradients;
overlap;
anamorphosis;
trompe-l’œil;
illusionistic architecture;
matte painting;
impossible perspective.

The surface remains physically flat, but its image can appear:

recessed;
projecting;
transparent;
open;
continuous with surrounding architecture;
occupied by three-dimensional forms.

Graphical Simulated Perspective can imitate physical space or create a spatial order that cannot exist.

Trompe-l’œil

Trompe-l’œil uses highly illusionistic painting or representation to make depicted objects and spaces appear physically present.

It may create the appearance of:

architectural openings;
shelves and objects;
curtains;
windows;
cracks or recesses;
projecting figures;
continuation beyond a wall or ceiling.

The effect depends upon:

viewpoint;
scale;
lighting;
shadow;
colour;
edge treatment;
integration with the physical surface.

Unlike ordinary pictorial depth, trompe-l’œil frequently aims to conceal or destabilise awareness of the supporting surface itself.

Anamorphic Simulated Perspective

Anamorphic Perspective deliberately transforms an image so that it becomes coherent only:

from a selected viewpoint;
through a cylindrical, conical or spherical mirror;
on a particular surface;
or through another correcting system.

The directly viewed image may appear:

stretched;
compressed;
fragmented;
abstract.

The intended view reconstructs the concealed form.

Anamorphosis is simulated because the final coherent appearance depends upon a deliberately transformed image, object or spatial arrangement.

It can also be Graphical, Mathematical, Optical and Instrument Perspective.

Impossible Perspective

Impossible Perspective creates images or environments whose spatial relationships cannot coexist consistently within ordinary three-dimensional reality.

Examples may include:

contradictory stairways;
looping architectural structures;
inconsistent gravity;
objects simultaneously viewed from incompatible directions;
locally plausible but globally impossible spaces.

Each part may appear geometrically believable in isolation.

The impossibility becomes apparent when the parts are interpreted as one continuous structure.

Impossible Perspective demonstrates that local visual coherence does not guarantee global physical possibility.

It can be created through:

drawing;
painting;
model construction;
photography;
computer graphics;
interactive environments.

Optical Simulated Perspective

Optical devices can alter apparent:

position;
scale;
shape;
orientation;
depth;
transparency;
continuity.

Simulated optical effects may use:

plane or curved mirrors;
semi-transparent glass;
lenses;
prisms;
projection;
stereoscopic systems;
reflective enclosures;
multiple images.

An apparently present object may be a reflection or projection.

A real object may appear absent, displaced or multiplied.

The optical image may be physically formed by light while producing a false interpretation of the spatial source.

Mirror illusions

Mirrors can construct virtual spaces and apparent objects.

They can:

duplicate a scene;
extend a room;
conceal an object;
transpose one space into another;
make an object appear suspended;
create infinite image sequences;
combine reflected and directly viewed realities.

A mirror illusion may create a convincing apparent space behind or within the reflecting surface.

Its classification may include:

Optical Perspective;
Instrument Perspective;
Simulated Perspective;
Visual Perspective Type 1 and Type 2.

Stereoscopic Simulated Perspective

Stereoscopic systems present different but corresponding images to the left and right eyes.

The images contain binocular disparities that produce an impression of depth.

Stereoscopic simulation includes:

stereoscope cards;
3-D photography;
stereoscopic cinema;
head-mounted displays;
virtual reality;
autostereoscopic screens.

The images themselves may be flat, but the visual system interprets their disparity as three-dimensional structure.

Stereoscopy can represent:

a real captured scene;
a modified physical scene;
a fully computer-generated environment;
a spatial reality that could not physically exist.

It is not always Forced Perspective, although it can be combined with forced or false spatial arrangements.

Volume 1 explicitly treats stereoscopy, VR, AR and XR as simulated-perspective systems that may overlap with Forced Perspective without necessarily being forms of physical forced perspective.

Cinema and Simulated Perspective

Cinema has developed extensive methods for creating simulated spatial realities.

These include:

sets;
miniatures;
Forced Perspective;
matte paintings;
glass shots;
mirror shots;
front projection;
rear projection;
anamorphic lenses;
optical printing;
green-screen compositing;
digital visual effects;
computer-generated environments;
virtual production.

The completed moving image may appear to show one continuous spatial reality even though it is assembled from:

different scales;
different locations;
different times;
physical and represented elements;
several image-generation systems.

Cinema Perspective is therefore often Composite, Synthetic, Blended and Simulated.

Matte paintings and glass shots

A matte painting replaces or extends part of a physical scene with a painted or digitally generated environment.

It can create:

distant cities;
monumental architecture;
landscapes;
skies;
inaccessible locations;
imaginary worlds.

A traditional glass shot places painted imagery on glass between the camera and physical scene.

The painted and physical areas align from the camera viewpoint and become one image.

The process may involve:

Physical foreground
+
Graphical background or extension
+
Camera image formation

= One simulated environment

Front and rear projection

Projection systems can combine live performers with recorded or generated backgrounds.

Rear projection

A background image is projected onto the rear of a translucent screen while foreground action is filmed from the opposite side.

Front projection

An image is projected from the camera side onto an opaque or highly reflective background.

The performer and projected environment can appear to occupy one spatial scene.

These techniques combine:

physical space;
projected image space;
camera space;
represented environmental space.

Their apparent unity depends upon matching:

viewpoint;
scale;
illumination;
focus;
motion;
horizon;
spatial direction.

Projection mapping

Projection mapping transforms physical surfaces into image and display structures.

Projected content may be pre-warped to correspond with:

buildings;
sculptures;
stages;
vehicles;
irregular objects;
moving surfaces.

It can make physical architecture appear to:

move;
collapse;
open;
transform;
become transparent;
reveal impossible interiors;
change material or scale.

The simulation is produced by aligning digital image geometry with actual physical form.

Projection mapping combines Mathematical, Instrument, Graphical, New Media and Simulated Perspective.

Digital Simulated Perspective

Computer graphics creates spatial views from mathematical models and digital scene descriptions.

A digital environment may define:

objects;
surfaces;
materials;
lights;
cameras;
motion;
atmosphere;
reflections;
shadows;
spatial behaviour.

The resulting image may imitate physical optics or depart from them deliberately.

Digital Simulated Perspective can create:

realistic reconstructions;
architectural visualisations;
animated films;
game worlds;
scientific models;
imaginary environments;
impossible geometries;
interactive spatial systems.

The digital model need not correspond to any existing physical object or scene.

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery can simulate:

physical objects;
landscapes;
architecture;
people;
natural phenomena;
lighting;
camera effects;
atmosphere;
motion.

CGI may be combined with photography or cinema so completely that its contribution becomes visually inseparable from captured physical reality.

It may also create deliberately stylised or abstract spatial worlds.

CGI belongs to New Media Perspective, but it becomes Simulated Perspective where its geometry, imagery or environment is purposefully constructed to produce a selected spatial appearance or effect.

Virtual Perspective and virtual environments

Virtual Perspective concerns spatial appearance within a computer-generated or otherwise artificially constructed environment.

A virtual world may allow the user to:

move;
turn;
look in all directions;
interact with objects;
change scale;
occupy several viewpoints;
experience simulated depth and movement.

Unlike a fixed picture, the virtual environment can generate new local views in response to the observer’s position and direction.

The environment may follow ordinary physical rules or contain:

impossible architecture;
variable scale;
non-Euclidean space;
teleportation;
altered gravity;
multiple spatial realities.

Virtual Perspective is therefore a major form of New Media and Simulated Perspective.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality uses computational modelling, tracking and head-mounted display to create an interactive spatial environment around the observer.

A typical process includes:

Digital model or spherical environment
↓
Tracked head and body position
↓
Real-time perspective calculation
↓
Separate left- and right-eye images
↓
Optical display
↓
Stereoscopic and immersive experience

The simulated environment changes as the user moves.

Visual immersion may be strengthened by:

wide field of view;
stereoscopic imagery;
head tracking;
hand and body tracking;
spatial sound;
haptic feedback;
interactive objects.

VR produces an experience of place without requiring the corresponding physical environment to surround the observer.

Augmented reality

Augmented reality adds represented or simulated content to a view of physical reality.

The digital content may appear:

attached to a surface;
positioned in a room;
floating in space;
integrated with physical objects;
responsive to movement.

The system must calculate the relationship between:

camera or eye position;
physical environment;
digital object;
projection;
display;
changing viewpoint.

AR is a form of Combined Perspective because real and represented views remain present within one image or experience.

It is also Simulated Perspective where the inserted content creates a designed spatial appearance or effect.

Mixed and extended reality

Mixed reality allows physical and virtual objects to appear to interact within one spatial environment.

Extended reality is a broad expression encompassing:

virtual reality;
augmented reality;
mixed reality;
related immersive systems.

These technologies combine:

physical space;
instrument capture;
environmental tracking;
mathematical modelling;
digital rendering;
projection or display;
visual perception.

Their perspective systems are dynamic: the representation is recalculated as the user, device or objects move.

Virtual production

Virtual production combines physical sets and performers with digitally generated environments displayed or composited in real time.

A system may include:

cinema cameras;
camera tracking;
lens calibration;
computer-generated scenes;
virtual cameras;
real-time rendering;
large LED walls;
interactive lighting.

As the camera moves, the displayed background changes to preserve a corresponding viewpoint.

The camera records the physical foreground and displayed virtual background as one apparent scene.

Virtual production is a clear example of:

Simulated Perspective;
Instrument Perspective;
New Media Perspective;
Composite Perspective;
Synthetic Perspective;
Blended Scene Perspective.

Simulation and immersion

Simulation becomes immersive when the represented space begins to surround, involve or respond to the observer.

Immersion can be created through:

panoramic scale;
stereoscopic imagery;
wide fields of view;
dome projection;
spherical screens;
motion tracking;
spatial sound;
interaction;
physical movement;
responsive imagery.

An immersive environment may produce a strong sense of presence: the impression of being located within the simulated world.

Immersion does not require the user to believe that the environment is physically real.

It requires the visual and spatial system to provide sufficiently coherent and responsive information to sustain involvement.

Simulated place and presence

Simulated Perspective can create an impression of place as well as size or depth.

A user may feel situated within:

a historical reconstruction;
distant landscape;
architectural proposal;
imagined world;
scientific model;
training environment;
remote real-world location.

The experience of place depends upon:

surrounding visual information;
viewpoint control;
continuity;
movement;
scale;
interaction;
perceptual consistency.

The simulation may therefore change not only what objects look like but where the observer appears to be.

Simulated transparency and invisibility

Perspective simulation can also change the apparent visibility of objects and surfaces.

It may create the appearance of:

transparent walls;
hidden internal structures;
invisible objects;
openings into another place;
objects seen through other objects;
layers occupying the same apparent space.

Methods include:

graphical cutaways;
multiple exposure;
semi-transparent mirrors;
digital compositing;
augmented reality;
medical imaging;
wire-frame models;
projection.

These techniques can reveal real structures, create fictional visibility or combine several spatial layers.

Simulated Perspective and Natural Perspective

Natural Perspective arises from the physical organisation and visible appearance of ordinary spatial scenes.

Simulated Perspective deliberately modifies, constructs or represents those relationships.

A simulated landscape may imitate:

natural diminution;
overlap;
atmospheric colour;
shadows;
reflection;
motion;
optical depth.

The closer these relationships correspond to expected natural appearance, the more believable the simulation may become.

However, Simulated Perspective can also deliberately violate natural relationships to create:

fantasy;
visual paradox;
exaggeration;
impossible space;
symbolic or expressive imagery.

Simulated and Artificial Perspective

Artificial Perspective is the broad grouping of human-made methods, images, systems and representations.

It includes:

Mathematical Perspective;
Graphical Perspective;
Instrument Perspective;
Simulated Perspective;
New Media Perspective.

Simulated Perspective is therefore often artificial, but the terms are not synonyms.

A technical orthographic drawing is artificial but is not necessarily simulated in the relevant sense.

A mathematical projection formula is artificial but may simply calculate spatial relationships without creating a particular illusion or simulated environment.

Simulated Perspective specifically involves the deliberate construction or modification of spatial appearance.

Simulated and Synthetic Perspective

Simulated Perspective and Synthetic Perspective are closely related but different.

Simulated Perspective

Identifies the deliberate construction or modification used to produce a particular spatial appearance, illusion or effect.

Synthetic Perspective

Describes a visually or perceptually unified outcome produced through two or more perspective categories or processes.

A forced-perspective scene may be Simulated Perspective because its scale relationships are deliberately altered.

It becomes Synthetic Perspective where physical scenery, graphical imagery, camera optics and perception combine into one visually unified view.

A simulation can therefore also be synthetic, but not every synthetic perspective is simulated.

A normal direct view can be naturally synthetic because Natural, Optical and Visual Perspective operate together without the scene being deliberately simulated. Volume 1 explicitly distinguishes Synthetic Perspective’s unified outcome from Composite Perspective’s formal multi-category arrangement.

Simulated and Composite Perspective

Simulated Perspective

Identifies the constructed spatial appearance or effect.

Composite Perspective

Identifies the involvement of several perspective categories, processes, images or scene components.

A cinema scene containing a miniature, matte painting and live performers may be:

simulated because it creates a false apparent environment;
composite because several perspective processes and image sources are involved.

Composite Perspective describes how many and which systems participate.

Simulated Perspective describes the constructed appearance or spatial effect they produce.

Simulated and Combined Perspective

Combined Perspective contains both direct or physical views and represented views within one depicted space.

Examples include:

a performer standing before a projected background;
an augmented-reality object within a live camera view;
a painting integrated with architecture;
physical scenery joined to a screen image.

The physical and represented elements may remain visually distinguishable.

The completed result becomes Simulated Perspective where their relationship has been deliberately constructed to produce a selected spatial appearance or effect.

Simulated and Mixed Perspective

Mixed Perspective describes combinations or physical interactions between image and projection processes.

Examples include:

reflected and directly viewed objects;
projected images interacting with surfaces;
optical and graphical images combined in one apparatus;
physical objects intersecting with virtual images.

Mixed Perspective emphasises the interaction of different perspective modes.

Simulated Perspective identifies the designed appearance or illusion resulting from that interaction.

Blended Scene Perspective

Blended Scene Perspective combines two or more separate spatial scenes or geometries so that they appear to form one environment.

The source scenes may differ in:

scale;
viewpoint;
location;
geometry;
time;
physical or digital origin.

Examples include:

a physical foreground joined to a matte-painted background;
separately filmed actors placed in one scene;
miniature architecture combined with full-scale performers;
a virtual background integrated with a studio set;
multiple camera views stitched into one panorama.

A blended scene is often:

Composite Perspective;
Synthetic Perspective;
Combined or Mixed Perspective;
Simulated Perspective.

Double Perspective

Double Perspective can combine two separate spatial systems or falsely receding metric grids into one apparent scene.

Each system may be internally coherent, while their visual combination creates:

false scale;
spatial ambiguity;
impossible depth;
an illusion of continuity;
contradictory recession.

Double Perspective may occur through:

Forced Perspective;
mirrors;
projection;
compositing;
differently scaled sets;
graphical construction.

It is a specialised example of Combined and Simulated Perspective.

Manifold images and repeated space

A manifold image contains several overlapping, reflected, transparent or repeated images.

Examples include:

infinity mirrors;
multiple reflections;
transparent overlays;
repeated screen images;
recursive images;
mirrored enclosures.

These systems may create:

apparently infinite space;
repeated objects;
multiplied viewpoints;
spatial ambiguity;
several visible layers.

They demonstrate that simulation can operate through the multiplication and superimposition of image spaces rather than by constructing one conventional continuous environment.

Category chaining in Simulated Perspective

A simulation may pass through many perspective stages.

For example, a virtual-production scene may involve:

physical performers and props;
a mathematically modelled environment;
computer-generated imagery;
camera and lens calibration;
a tracked viewpoint;
a projected or LED-displayed background;
camera image capture;
digital processing;
screen display;
visual perception.

The stages form a perspective chain.

The completed image should not be classified only by its final appearance. Its process may include:

Natural Perspective;
Mathematical Perspective;
Graphical Perspective;
Optical Perspective;
Instrument Perspective;
Simulated Perspective;
New Media Perspective;
Visual Perspective Type 1 and Type 2.

This multi-stage structure is central to modern perspective systems.

Simulation and correspondence

A simulation can be evaluated by comparing it with:

a physical source;
a measured model;
an intended design;
a known optical appearance;
a perceptual goal.

The simulation may aim for:

Physical correspondence

Matching dimensions, distances or geometry.

Optical correspondence

Matching the image that would be formed by a particular camera, eye or instrument.

Visual correspondence

Matching how a scene is expected to appear.

Functional correspondence

Reproducing the behaviour or purpose of a system.

Experiential correspondence

Creating a comparable sense of place, scale, movement or immersion.

A simulation may succeed in one form of correspondence while departing from another.

A virtual environment may look convincing without obeying every physical law. A technical simulator may prioritise functional accuracy over visual realism.

Simulated Perspective in art

Artists use Simulated Perspective to:

construct imaginary space;
create illusion;
extend architecture;
combine viewpoints;
alter scale;
conceal or reveal images;
create impossible structures;
immerse the viewer;
question visual certainty.

Methods include:

perspective painting;
anamorphosis;
trompe-l’œil;
panoramas;
sculptural alignment;
mirror installation;
projection mapping;
virtual and interactive art.

Simulation can imitate reality or expose the processes through which reality is visually constructed and interpreted.

Simulated Perspective in architecture

Architecture can employ simulation through:

illusionistic painting;
false windows;
domes;
accelerated corridors;
altered scale;
mirrors;
lighting;
projected surfaces;
immersive media.

Architectural Simulated Perspective may make a space appear:

larger;
deeper;
higher;
more open;
differently proportioned;
connected to another environment.

Contemporary architecture can also incorporate:

media facades;
LED walls;
responsive projections;
augmented-reality overlays;
digital twin environments.

Simulated Perspective in theatre

Theatre creates simulated environments through:

scenery;
painted backdrops;
flats;
miniatures;
Accelerated Perspective;
lighting;
mirrors;
projection;
moving scenery;
digital screens.

A shallow stage can appear as:

a long street;
vast palace;
forest;
distant landscape;
imaginary world.

The audience occupies a limited viewing region, allowing the geometry and imagery to be designed for a controlled range of positions.

Simulated Perspective in photography

Photography can create simulated relationships through:

Forced Perspective;
scale models;
multiple exposure;
compositing;
controlled viewpoint;
reflected images;
constructed sets;
altered depth of field;
image manipulation.

The camera reduces the scene to one bounded projection and removes much of the direct binocular and movement information that could reveal its construction.

This makes photography especially effective for scale, position and depth illusion.

Simulated Perspective in education and training

Simulated environments are used to teach and practise tasks that may be:

dangerous;
expensive;
rare;
inaccessible;
difficult to repeat.

Applications include:

flight simulation;
medical training;
architectural navigation;
emergency response;
vehicle operation;
scientific demonstration;
military training;
remote collaboration.

The simulation may reproduce:

physical layout;
instrument behaviour;
visual conditions;
movement;
decision-making;
changing viewpoints.

Here, accuracy and functional correspondence may be more important than artistic illusion.

Simulated Perspective in science

Science uses models and simulations to represent systems that cannot always be observed directly.

Examples include:

molecular structures;
astronomical environments;
geological processes;
climate systems;
fluid dynamics;
anatomy;
microscopic and subatomic structures.

The visual result may combine:

measurement;
mathematical modelling;
artificial colour;
three-dimensional reconstruction;
animation;
interactive viewpoints.

Scientific Simulated Perspective can reveal relationships while also introducing assumptions from the underlying model.

Its status as simulation should remain clear so that generated structures are not confused with direct optical observation.

Simulated Perspective and artificial intelligence

Artificial-intelligence systems can generate or modify spatial images from:

text;
photographs;
sketches;
depth maps;
three-dimensional models;
other training data.

AI-generated imagery may simulate:

rooms;
landscapes;
architecture;
people;
optical effects;
camera viewpoints;
artistic styles;
physically impossible scenes.

The result may appear photographically convincing without corresponding to one actual photographed event or physically coherent environment.

AI imagery therefore raises important perspective questions involving:

viewpoint consistency;
object correspondence;
scale;
geometry;
reflection;
shadow;
continuity;
spatial plausibility.

It belongs to New Media Perspective and becomes Simulated Perspective where spatial appearance is deliberately generated or modified to create a selected result.

Realism and plausibility

A simulation does not need to duplicate every aspect of physical reality to appear convincing.

Perceptual plausibility may depend upon the consistency of:

viewpoint;
scale;
occlusion;
lighting;
shadow;
texture;
movement;
atmospheric effects;
reflections;
object behaviour.

A spatial scene can contain geometrical or physical inaccuracies that remain unnoticed where the overall image is coherent.

Conversely, a technically accurate simulation can appear unconvincing where:

motion is unnatural;
shadows conflict;
materials lack detail;
scale cues disagree;
viewpoint changes are delayed;
stereoscopic relationships are incorrect.

Simulated Perspective therefore involves both formal construction and perceptual evaluation.

When simulation fails

A simulation may be exposed by:

movement away from the intended viewpoint;
incorrect parallax;
mismatched scale;
contradictory shadows;
inconsistent reflections;
incorrect focus;
visible image boundaries;
delay between movement and display;
errors of geometry;
insufficient resolution;
inconsistent levels of detail.

The viewer may then become aware of:

the flat picture surface;
the miniature;
the projection screen;
the composited edge;
the distorted physical room;
the virtual display;
the separate scene components.

These failures reveal the relationships normally concealed within a successful simulated environment.

Strengths of Simulated Perspective

Simulated Perspective can:

construct environments that do not physically exist;
modify apparent size and depth;
integrate several spatial realities;
create visual illusion;
support artistic invention;
reduce the need for full-scale construction;
reconstruct lost or inaccessible places;
support scientific modelling;
provide training and experimentation;
create interactive and immersive worlds;
extend visual experience beyond ordinary physical limits.

It is one of the central links between perspective, representation, illusion and technology.

Limitations of Simulated Perspective

Its limitations can include:

dependence upon a controlled viewpoint;
restricted movement;
inconsistencies between visual cues;
mismatch between vision and bodily experience;
limited resolution;
latency;
display boundaries;
stereoscopic discomfort;
simplified physical behaviour;
uncertainty about what is captured, represented or generated;
difficulty maintaining spatial consistency.

Every simulation selects and transforms reality.

A visually convincing result should not automatically be treated as:

physically accurate;
optically neutral;
scientifically complete;
historically authentic;
derived from one real event.

Understanding the complete perspective process remains essential.

Why Simulated Perspective matters

Simulated Perspective demonstrates that spatial appearance can be deliberately constructed.

What appears to be:

a deep space;
large object;
distant environment;
physical presence;
continuous scene;
surrounding world

may result from altered geometry, graphical representation, optical projection, computational generation or a combination of these.

It connects:

Physical Perspective;
Graphical and Mathematical Perspective;
Optical and Instrument Perspective;
Forced and Anamorphic Perspective;
cinema and special effects;
computer graphics;
virtual and augmented reality;
artificial intelligence;
illusion and immersion;
Visual Perspective Type 2.

Simulated Perspective is therefore not merely a collection of tricks or artificial images.

It is a principal category concerned with how spatial realities and appearances are deliberately modified, constructed, represented and experienced.

Simulated Perspective in The Art and Science of Perspective

Volume 1, The Past, Present and Future of Visual and Optical Perspective, introduces Simulated Perspective within its theoretical framework and examines its connections with Forced Perspective, illusion, physical applications, cinema, stereoscopy, virtual reality and immersive technologies.

Volume 2, Dictionary of Perspective, defines Simulated Perspective and catalogues its relationships with Forced, Accelerated, Decelerated, Synthetic, Composite, Combined, Mixed, Blended, Double, Anamorphic, Impossible, Virtual and New Media Perspective.

Volume 5, Simulated Perspective and Illusion, will provide the detailed treatment of simulated space, visual illusion, Forced Perspective, anamorphosis, impossible environments, physical and graphical constructions, special effects and immersion.

Volume 6, Instrument and New Media Perspective, will examine the instrumental, computational and technological systems through which many modern simulations are captured, generated, projected, displayed and explored.

Forced Perspective
Anamorphic Perspective
Instrument Perspective
Graphical Perspective
Mathematical Perspective
Linear Perspective
Visual Perspective
Optical Perspective
Perspective Phenomena
Perspective Category Theory
Virtual Perspective
New Media Perspective
The Art and Science of Perspective

Primary Categories

Explore the principal categories through which perspective can be studied and classified.

Natural Perspective →
Perspective arising through natural viewing and the appearance of spatial reality.

Mathematical Perspective →
Perspective based on mathematical, geometrical and projective principles.

Graphical Perspective →
Perspective constructed or represented through drawing and other graphical methods.

Instrument Perspective →
Perspective produced or mediated through cameras, lenses and other imaging instruments.

Simulated Perspective →
Perspective produced through artificial or simulated representations of spatial appearance.

New Media Perspective →
Perspective associated with digital imaging, computer graphics, virtual environments and emerging visual technologies.