: What do you call this type of top down, not really 3D, perspective? It's not isometric, it's not one point, maybe top down? I want to Google it and don't know how. Thanks

@Bryan765

This is plain perspective.That's, how i know it!

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@Candy945

If you are just looking for a common term, this might be called bird's eye view.

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@RJPawlick971

It's not truly perspective. It's an artistic interpretation of a 3D element, but not adhering to any mathematical perspective grid.

The closest to a true type perspective would be one point perspective.

It could also be considered foreshortening outside of the perspective context.

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@Alves566

I don't think this illustration follows any of the strict formal Cartesian perspective models. If you try to find a vanishing point using edges that would have been parallel in the "real world" you will notice that there is none.



The front of the car seems to follow, loosely, a one point perspective model. The rest of the car, though, follows an isometric projection, since most edges are almost parallel when they are in the same plane.

I think the illustrator might have taken the liberty to mix and match the projection method to add energy and quirkiness to the illustration. Isometric projections make objects looks small, sort of like toys, which might have been his intention. Maybe (guessing) he modified it a bit to suggest movement, since if the car was moving, you would not would have been able to see all the parts of the car at once. Or maybe he just played with it until he liked it : )

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@Murphy569

It's closest to a view called a three-quarters view, a type of axonometric projection, in between a side view and top down one. It's "[a] method of portraying three dimensional space in a two-dimensional plane ... [very] popular during the 16-bit era for JRPGs." source.



It's still used in games today because of the high performance and artistic draw.

The style is also part of a more broad category of 2.5D, which comes in many forms. For more guidance on types of projection, check out this article.

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