How to Draw

With Perspective
Created exclusively for Craftsy
by Paul Heaston

TABLE OF CONTENTS

01
02
05
09
13
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Meet the Expert

One-Point Perspective: Drawing a Room
Two-Point Perspective: Understanding Space
The Basics of Three-Point Perspective
Dividing Space in Perspective
Drawing Ellipses in Perspective

MEET THE EXPERT

Paul Heaston
Paul Heaston was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He received
his BFA in painting from the University of Texas, San Antonio, in
2002 and his MFA from Montana State University in 2008, where he
continued on as a faculty member. He is an obsessive sketchbookkeeper and spent 6 months between 2008 and 2009 meticulously
drawing every building in downtown Bozeman, Montana, in a pocketsized sketchbook. Heaston is a correspondent for Urbansketchers.org,
an internationally known website showcasing visual journalism all over
the world, and in addition maintains his own sketch blog, Three Letter
Word for Art (http://paulheaston.blogspot.com/). He lives in Denver,
Colorado with his wife, Linda, and their dog Freddie.
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ONE-POINT PERSPECTIVE
Drawing a Room
Until artists figured out perspective, there was no accurate system
for drawing architecture or other geometric space. In fact, linear
perspective was only discovered about 500 years ago, long after
humans had figured out algebra and geometry.
Drawing in one-point perspective is one of those things that seems
complicated if youve never done it before, but if you follow a set of
simple rules, its actually quite easy.

Perspective drawing comes in a few different flavors, with one-, twoand three-point being the most common. However, the principles are
essentially the same. All perspective drawings utilize the horizon line
(HL) and the vanishing point (VP). The horizon line is a horizontal line
that not only represents the horizon, but also the viewers eye level.
No matter where it is placed on the page, anything above the HL is
also above the viewers eye level, and anything below the HL is below
the viewers eye level. A rule of thumb in one-point perspective is that
straight lines will usually either be vertical, horizontal or recede toward
the vanishing point.
The vanishing point is a point on the horizon line where lines that are
parallel to the viewers line of sight appear to meet. In other words, any
set of lines that is going the same direction as the viewer is looking will
meet at the VP. These receding lines are called orthogonal lines.
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Seem confusing? Dont worry, it will make sense soon.

With the terminology out of the way, heres how to draw a simple
room in one-point perspective.
Step 1
Draw your HL first, anywhere on the page, though closer to middle
works best for this exercise. Dont establish a VP just yet. Now, draw
the back wall of your room, using only horizontal and vertical lines,
making sure at least part of it overlaps the HL. Add any elements you
choose a door and a window should work just fine. The back wall
can be square or rectangular, but keep it small enough that you will
have room on the page later to add side walls, floor and ceiling.

Step 2
Now comes the fun part. You can add your vanishing point anywhere
inside the room along the HL. The VP will represent the viewers point
of view. From the VP, draw your orthogonal lines out, making sure
they go through the corners of the room. Dont worry that this is not
a perfect X that would only happen if your back wall was a perfect
square and the VP sat directly in the center of it.

Step 3
At an arbitrary point along one of the orthogonals, draw a new box,
using only vertical and HLs that intersect at each orthogonal. Youve
already created a room in one-point perspective! At this point you can
erase the HL inside your room, making sure to leave the VP.
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Step 4
Of course, a room needs furniture, so you can use the same principles
to add them to the room. This time you will work from the front back
toward the VP. Draw the front face of the furniture first, then add
orthogonal lines back to the VP from every corner.
Step 5
Set the depth of your chair by choosing a point along an orthogonal
line (closer to the chair than the VP is best). Work your way around all
the orthogonal lines, making sure each line is perfectly parallel to its
corresponding line on the front face of the chair. You have now drawn
the back face of your chair.
Now add the lines across. You can also use this method to set the
depths of the individual legs, etc.
Step 6
Do the same for any other piece of furniture youd like to add.
Windows are even easier: just draw a set of vertical lines connected by
orthogonals to make a rectangle in one-point perspective on the wall.
When youre done, erase the orthogonal lines and VP and there you
have it. A perfect one-point perspective room!

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TWO-POINT PERSPECTIVE
Understanding Space
Understanding perspective is fundamental to depicting space in a
drawing. Whether youre working on a landscape or a still life, knowing
the rules of two-point perspective in particular can be the difference
between drawing a believable, realistic space and creating a space that
just doesnt work.
Here are some useful guidelines and tips to help you understand and
master drawing in two-point perspective.

2009 Paul Heaston

Vanishing points
As we discussed earlier, in linear or graphical perspective, a vanishing
point (or VP) is where any set of parallel lines appears to meet on the
horizon line. In a one-point perspective drawing, a good rule of thumb
is that sets of parallel lines must either be horizontal, vertical or meet at
the VP. While we know that parallel lines dont actually meet in reality,
they get so far away that the distance between them is no longer
visible to the naked eye, as in the two rails of a railroad track.
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One-point perspective works well for situations like the above, where
the viewer is oriented directly in front of a set of parallel lines like
railroad tracks or a long hallway. But what if you want to show the
viewer something from an angle?
Two-point perspective uses two vanishing points
set well apart on the horizon line. The rule of thumb
here is sets of parallel lines must be either vertical or
recede toward one of the two VPs. The exception
would be sloped or curved surfaces, such as the
roof in the example to the left.
Lets go through some simple steps to draw basic
shapes in two-point perspective.
Step 1
Draw your horizon line (HL) with a straight edge. You can place it
anywhere on the page, keeping in mind the HL always is the same as
the viewers eye level. That means that anything above the HL is taller
than the viewer, and anything below the HL is shorter than the viewer.
Step 2
Establish your two vanishing points on the HL. Make them as far apart
on the page as possible. You can even place one or both VPs off
the page, so long as they are still on the horizon. If you place them
too close together, and the object you are drawing isnt completely
between them, it can lead to a very distorted image like below.

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Step 3
Draw a vertical line anywhere youd like between the two VPs. For the
best view of both faces, establish your line closer to the middle than to
either VP. This line will be the closest vertical edge of your object.

Step 4
From this line, draw lines receding from the top and bottom ends to
both VPs.

Step 5
Establish where each face will end in space by drawing vertical lines
connecting the two sets of receding lines. Since this is a made-up
object, you can determine this arbitrarily.

Step 6
From the tops of the back vertical edges, draw lines to the opposite
vanishing points. Where they cross establishes the back corner of
your object.

These are the basics of two-point perspective. From here you can add
doors, windows, steps, etc.
Tip: A peaked roof can be added easily. First, find the center of any two
walls on opposite sides by drawing an X in them from corner to corner.
From the center of one X, draw a vertical line as high as youd like
the peak to go. Then draw a line toward the opposite VP. Where this
passes over the center of the opposite X, draw another vertical line.
This is the end point of the roofs peak.
Connect each end of the peak to the top four corners of the initial box
and youve drawn a perfectly peaked roof.

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THE BASICS OF
THREE-POINT PERSPECTIVE
One-point perspective and two-point perspective are excellent
methods for drawing when you are looking out toward the horizon
line. But what if you are looking toward the ground or up into the sky?
These are situations when the rules of one-point
and two-point perspective begin to break down and
distortions starts to happen. But there is a solution!
Three-point perspective gives you the ability to
make far more dynamic drawings.
Here is a useful tutorial to help you understand the
basics of three-point perspective.
The biggest difference in three-point perspective
is that there are three vanishing points (VPs). Two
are along the horizon, just like two-point, but the
third VP is located either above the horizon (at the
zenith) or below the horizon (the nadir), depending
on the area you intend to draw.

2007 Paul Heaston

Remember that in basic one-point perspective, lines are either

vertical, horizontal or recede toward the VP. In two-point, lines are
either horizontal or recede toward one of the two VPs. In three-point
perspective all lines recede toward one of the three VPs.
The three VPs make up a triangle, with the viewers center of vision
roughly in the middle.
Try this technique to start making basic three-point perspective drawings.
Step 1
To draw a simple shape in three-point perspective, start just as you
would in two-point perspective, with a HL and two VPs as close to the
edge of your page as possible. Only this time, rather than in the middle,
place the HL close to the top of your page if the viewer will be looking
down, or the bottom of your page if the viewer will be looking up.
Then, as far from the horizon as possible, place a third VP. It can fall
anywhere between the horizon VPs, though closer to the middle is
better for our purposes.
Then, draw lines connecting the three VPs.
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Note: This triangle is very important. In order to avoid distortion, you

must try to keep your drawing within this triangle. Anything outside
the triangle wont look right, but everything inside should appear
normal. The two shapes below are the same box drawn inside and
outside the triangle.

Step 2
To begin, draw a line anywhere youd like within the triangle toward
VP3. It doesnt have to be vertical. You can make this line any length
as well. It can end before it reaches VP3 so long as it will end up
there if extended.

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Step 3
Draw lines from both ends of this line toward both of the horizon VPs,
just as you would in a two-point perspective drawing.

Step 4
To determine where your shape ends in space, draw lines from VP3
through both sets of lines receding toward the two horizon VPs.

Step 5
Draw lines from the back corners toward the opposite horizon VPs and
youve completed a simple shape in three-point perspective. You can
erase any construction lines as needed.

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From there, its easy to explore making more complicated shapes, so

long as you remember that all lines should recede toward one of the
three VPs.

Tip: By constructing your vanishing points outside your picture plane,

you can easily avoid the problem of accidentally drawing outside
the triangle.
There are a few ways to do this:
You can tape down your paper to keep it stationary, then place
pieces of tape on your work surface outside of your paper to locate
your VPs.
Or you can keep your VPs on the page, place a rectangle within the
triangle and only draw within that rectangle. Later, you can crop
your image to the size of this smaller rectangle.

2007 Paul Heaston

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DIVIDING SPACE IN PERSPECTIVE

One of the trickiest parts of drawing in perspective is figuring

out how far apart regularly-spaced objects should be. If youve
ever tried to draw windows on a
building, the arches under a bridge,
or telephone poles along a road,
youve encountered this problem.
Regularly-spaced objects should get
closer together the closer they are
to the horizon line, but how do you
determine how close?
Heres the best way to solve the
conundrum of dividing space
in perspective.
Step 1
As with any perspective drawing, first draw a horizon line (HL) and
establish your vanishing point (VP). Draw your first object (in this
case, a utility pole) as tall as you want. Then draw lines from the top
and bottom of your object to the VP. Draw your second object any
distance from the first, making sure it also falls between the two
perspective lines youve drawn.

Tip: You can add a second VP to determine the angle of anything

perpendicular to the row of objects, like the cross-braces on the top
of these utility poles.
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Step 2
Using a ruler, find the exact center of the first pole, and draw a line
from that point to the main VP.

Step 3
From the top of the first pole, draw a diagonal line through the center
of the second pole until it meets the bottom perspective line. That
point represents the base of your third pole, which you can now draw,
making sure it doesnt extend higher than the top perspective line.

Step 4
Continue these steps for each successive pole, as far as youd like. The
space between each pole should get smaller every time.

Tip: As the objects get further away, they should also get progressively
skinnier. If your furthest telephone pole is just as fat as the closest,
things wont look right.
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For columns, windows and other regularly spaced objects that

require you to consider both the width of the objects and the width
of the spaces between the objects, the process is a bit trickier.
Step 1
Instead of one vertical line, draw two (1A and 1B) to represent the
width of the column.

Step 2
Then continue the previous steps for 1A and 1B separately. That
means, start dividing space for the line 1A as you would normally, while
ignoring 1B for now. Establish a new vertical (2A) for the next column,
find the center of 1A and use the diagonal line method from above to
find the third vertical (3A).

Step 3
Now for the tricky part. Draw a diagonal line from the top of 1B to
the base of 3A. Then draw a line from the top of 2A through the point
where the new diagonal intersects the middle perspective line. Where
that line hits the bottom perspective line is the base of 2B, and you
have now defined the width of the second column.

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Step 4
From there, just continue on as you normally would for each set of
vertical lines separately. Be careful not to confuse your A lines from
your B lines!

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DRAWING ELLIPSES IN PERSPECTIVE

Any artist can tell you how tricky it is to draw ellipses in perspective.
The top of the flower pot, the lid on a jar, the base of the barn silo
whether its a still life or a landscape, youre bound to encounter the
challenge of depicting a foreshortened circle, or ellipse, in just about
any drawing or painting. Most of us try to eyeball it in the hopes that
itll be good enough, but theres an easier and more correct way of
getting it just right.
So what is an ellipse? In geometry, its a closed curve, like a circle, but
with a long axis and a short axis an oval. In terms of perspective
drawing, an ellipse is what we see when we view a circle from its edge,
rather than from directly overhead.

When drawing an ellipse in perspective, there are two common

mistakes often made. One is to draw a football shape where the
outside edges taper almost to points, and the other is to draw two
parallel lines connected with curves at each end.

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In order to avoid these problems, it helps to think outside the ellipse.

If you can draw a square in perspective, its easy to turn it into an
ellipse following these steps.
Most of the ellipses we encounter are at the top and bottom of
cylinder shapes, like glasses, flower pots, barrels and buckets, etc. If
you think of the cylinder as being within a box, drawing the top and
bottom ellipses becomes much easier.
Step 1
Draw a box in one-point or two-point perspective that is big enough
to contain your cylinder. The top and bottom planes of the box will be
the location of your ellipses.

Step 2
Well start with the bottom square plane. Using a straightedge, draw
diagonal lines connecting each corner to create an x..

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Step 3
Draw a line from the VP through the center of the x all the way to the
outside edge of the square.

Step 4
Draw another line through the x that is parallel to the front and
back edges of the square. In one-point perspective, this line will be
horizontal, and in two-point perspective, it will recede toward your
second VP. Now you have a cross shape that perfectly divides your
square into four smaller squares in perspective.
Note: It is important that you do Step 3 first, or you will not have found
the true center of the square in perspective. This is one you cant eyeball.

Step 5
Erase the diagonal lines from your initial x.

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Step 6
Carefully draw your ellipse in four segments, connecting each point
where the cross meets the edges of the square.
This takes some practice, but be patient. It will definitely look better
than if you freehand it.

Step 7
Repeat Steps 1-6 for the top square of your box.

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Step 8
Erase your perspective lines and the vertical lines in your box, being
careful not to erase your ellipses!

Step 9
Using a straightedge, draw vertical lines between the right- and leftmost edges of your ellipses. DONT simply connect the points where
the cross meets the edges of the ellipse, as these arent necessarily the
outermost edges.

Step 10
Now you can erase the crosses on both
ellipses and the rear curved edge on the
bottom ellipse.
Congratulations! Youve just drawn two
perfect ellipses in perspective to make a
cylinder, which you can use in still lifes,
landscapes, architectural drawings you
name it. And these steps even work if the
ellipse or cylinder is on its edge or on a wall
(clocks, mirrors, windows and more)!

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This is truly just the beginning! Enjoy more in-depth, step-by-step

guidance from expert artists on the drawing techniques you love
most with Craftsys growing selection of online drawing classes.
If youd like to master drawing realistic, riveting landscapes, sign up
for Perspective in Landscape Drawing with expert instructor Patrick
Connors today!
Or, if youd like to dive deeper into the art drawing perspective,
check out The Art & Science of Perspective, taught by celebrated
architectural illustrator Jeff DiCicco. Youll learn how to draw
depictions of depth so convincing, you feel as though you could
step inside.

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