Illustration of the CIRA plasma wind tunnel facility main room
Technical illustration, ISO A0, brownprint.
Wide-angle perspective.
The wide room required a wide view; an ultra-wide view was even better.
In spite of the common field of view limits, which are usually indicated in about 30 degrees, some ultra-wideangle lenses feature a FOV of more than 90 degrees; this illustration, according to the same principle, embraces about 95 degrees in horizontal: that means the vanishing points fall within the illustration itself.
A careful search for the point of view, and the dimensions of finished illustration, make this view a non disturbing one, and no apparent deformation can be perceived.
Performed in collaboration with my friend Pino Libbri, from Genoa, a designer and a talented amateur photographer, this illustration took advantage from the knowledge we both have about wide-angle cameras such as Hasselblad SWC.
In common rectilinear perspective images are projected on a plane, but this causes deformations to be almost unacceptable over a 120° FOV.
In cylindrical perspective, images are projected over a cylinder, somehow like head turning across the horizon, thus being able to override common limits.
Unfortunately, the geometrical construction is far more difficult, as no fixed vanishing point can be set.
Andrea "Dria" Obinu
