• 66 drills

Perspective Exercise

One perspective drawing drill at a time, for one, two or three vanishing points.

Perspective Exercise

Show all 66
  1. Flat shapes pulled back into solidsDraw a square, a triangle and an L facing you. Run every corner to the point, then cut each off with a back edge.

Next step Pick a scene to draw in perspectiveSteady your lines with a line drill

All 66 drills

One point 24

  • A cube, not a brick Draw five boxes that differ only in depth. Tick the one that reads as a true cube, and note how short its sides are.
  • Arches along a receding wall Mark equal bays on a side wall with diagonals. Top each bay with half an ellipse. The far arches get narrower.
  • Box drawn by eye, checked with a ruler Draw a box freehand with no point marked. Extend its receding edges with a ruler. The closer they meet, the better.
  • Clock on a side wall Draw a receding square on a side wall and fit an ellipse that touches all four of its sides: a clock seen at an angle.
  • Converging lines traced off a photo Lay thin paper over a photo of a corridor. Rule along the edges that run away from the camera and see where they cross.
  • Doorway cut into a side wall Mark a door on a receding wall. Its top edge runs to the point. One short level line gives the wall its thickness.
  • Fence posts spaced with one diagonal Run a mid-height line to the point. From the top of post one through where it crosses post two: the foot of post three.
  • Figures of one height along a path Draw one standing figure. Lines from its head and feet to the point make a track that every further figure fits.
  • Five steps seen from the front Stack risers that face you, each one narrower and higher than the last. The side edges of every tread run to the point.
  • Flat shapes pulled back into solids Draw a square, a triangle and an L facing you. Run every corner to the point, then cut each off with a back edge.
  • Frame inside a frame, corners joined Draw a frame and a smaller one of the same shape inside it. Join the corners: all four lines must cross at one point.
  • Halve a wall, then halve the halves Repeat the crossed diagonals in each half for quarters, then eighths. The far slices come out thinner on paper.
  • Middle of a receding wall by crossed diagonals Draw a wall running to the point. Cross its diagonals: an upright through the crossing halves the wall in depth.
  • Nine boxes in a three-by-three block Put the point behind the middle box. Count the faces you can see on each of the other eight: it changes with the place.
  • Pavement slabs repeated into the distance Draw one slab. A line from a near corner through the middle of its far edge meets the side line where the next ends.
  • Ramp rising into the distance A slope that climbs as it runs away from you aims at a spot straight above the vanishing point. Draw one to a door.
  • Road with a dashed middle line Two edges meet at the point. Dash the middle line so that each dash and each gap is shorter than the one before.
  • Same plain room at three eye levels Draw one empty room three times: horizon near the floor, in the middle, near the ceiling. Watch the floor change.
  • See-through box with every hidden edge Draw a box as if it were glass. The back face is a smaller copy of the front, and four lines to the point join them.
  • Table with four legs of one length Draw the top as a receding slab and drop four legs of the same real length. The back pair come out shorter on paper.
  • Three boxes that overlap in depth Stand three boxes on a floor below the horizon, each partly hiding the next. The further back, the higher its foot.
  • Twenty strokes aimed at one dot Mark a dot on a horizon line. Pull freehand strokes to it from every edge of the page. Each is a receding edge.
  • Wall of four equal windows Divide a receding wall into quarters with diagonals and set one window in each. The far windows come out narrower.
  • Your eye level, found in the room Hold a pencil level at arm's length in front of your eyes. What it covers on the far wall is your horizon. Sketch it.

Two points 22

  • A second box the same size, next door Draw one box. A line from a near top corner through the middle of the far upright meets the base where its twin ends.
  • Belt round the middle of a box Cross the diagonals of both visible sides. A line through each crossing to that side's point halves the height.
  • Both points of a street-corner photo Lay thin paper over a photo of a corner building. Rule the roof and pavement lines out each side until each set crosses.
  • Box inside a box Draw a see-through box and set a smaller one inside it, not touching. All its edges share the same two points.
  • Chequer pattern on two faces Divide both visible sides of a box into four by four with diagonals and fill alternate squares. Far squares shrink.
  • Cylinder standing in a box Draw a square-based box, fit an ellipse in its top and one in its base, and join them with two uprights. Erase the box.
  • Fifteen boxes on one horizon Set two points at the page edges. Scatter boxes above, across and below the line, each begun from its nearest upright.
  • Freehand boxes with both points off the page No points marked. Draw ten boxes by feel, then extend the edges with a ruler and see whether each set agrees.
  • L, T and H cut from one block each Draw three boxes and carve a letter-shaped solid from each. Every new edge is upright or runs to one of the two points.
  • Lid at three angles Hinge a lid on a box and draw it shut, half open and thrown back. The free edge of the lid swings through an arc.
  • Notch cut from a top corner Draw a box and take a smaller box out of its nearest top corner. Three new inside faces appear. Shade one of them.
  • One height carried along a wall Mark a height on the nearest upright and run it to a point. That line is the same real height all along the wall.
  • Points close together, then far apart Draw one box with the points a hand apart, then with both off the page. The first looks stretched, the second calm.
  • Posts round a corner Space five posts along each wall of a corner with the diagonal method. Both rows start from the same corner post.
  • Pyramid on a square base Draw a square on the floor in two points, cross its diagonals, and raise an upright from the crossing to the tip.
  • Ramp between a low box and a high one Join the top edge of one to the top edge of the other. The sloping edges meet straight above or below a horizon point.
  • Roof peaks on a row of ten boxes Cross the diagonals of an end wall and go straight up from the crossing to the peak. The ridge runs to the other point.
  • Slide both points to turn a box Draw a box. Move both points the same way along the horizon and draw it again. One side widens as the other narrows.
  • Steps cut out of one box Mark equal heights on the near edge of a box and equal depths along its base with diagonals. Then cut the steps out.
  • Thin slab, tall tower, long beam Three boxes with the same two points and very different shapes. The proportions change; the points do not move.
  • Three boxes on one floor, each turned Give each box its own pair of points. All six points belong on the one horizon, because all three boxes sit level.
  • Wheels on a long box Draw two squares on the side of a long box, one near, one far. Fit an ellipse in each: the far wheel comes out narrower.

Three points 20

  • Box tipped off the floor Draw a box in mid-fall, with no edge level and none upright. Each of its three sets of edges needs a point of its own.
  • Equal storeys up a leaning tower face Divide a tall face into equal storeys with diagonals. On paper the storeys get shorter toward the third point.
  • Fan of uprights to a high point Mark a point high above the page. Pull ten wall edges toward it. Only the one straight under the point stays upright.
  • Five stacked boxes seen from below Each storey is narrower than the one under it as the sides close toward the top point. Floors still run to the horizon.
  • Five towers of five heights, from the air Stand towers on a ground grid seen from above. Tall or short, every wall edge heads for the same low point.
  • Horizon on a strip above the sheet Tape a paper strip above your page and rule the horizon and both points on it. Every box below is seen from above.
  • L-shaped block from above Draw the L-shaped roof first. Drop each corner toward the low point, then close the base with edges to the horizon.
  • One box from below, then from above Keep the same two horizon points. Draw the box with the third point overhead, then underfoot. Note which faces swap.
  • Open crate, looking in From above, draw a crate with no lid. The inside walls show, and the floor of the crate is smaller than its rim.
  • Pyramid seen from the ground Draw a square base, find its middle with crossed diagonals, and raise the tip along a line aimed at the top point.
  • Round tower with a ring at every floor Box a tower seen from below and fit an ellipse at each floor. The rings open wider the higher above your eye they sit.
  • Same box in one, two and three points Draw a box face-on, corner-on, then corner-on from above. Count the sets of edges that converge: one, two, three.
  • Small box on a large one, from above Stand a small box on a big one and look down on both. The sides of the small box aim at the very same low point.
  • Table seen from standing height Look down at a table. Its legs are short lines aimed at a point far below your feet, so they barely close in.
  • Tall block beside a squat one, from below Draw both to the same three points. The tall one shows the lean of its sides clearly; the squat one hardly at all.
  • Third point near, then far Draw a tower with the low point just under the page and again with it far below the desk. Near gives the steeper view.
  • Third point of a photo taken looking up On a photo of a tall building shot from the street, rule along its side edges. They lean together toward a point above.
  • Tiled plaza with one post, from above Rule lines to both horizon points for the tiles. Stand a post on one crossing and aim it at the low point.
  • Tower with true uprights, then with a top point Draw the same tower twice from one low viewpoint: sides parallel, then sides converging. Note which looks taller.
  • Triangle of three points filled with boxes Set two points on a horizon and one far below it. Every edge runs to one of the three, so the uprights lean together.

How it works

A perspective exercise in drawing repeats one construction until the hand does it unasked: aiming edges at a vanishing point, spacing posts as they recede, fitting a circle on a wall. Bring a ruler and a sharp pencil.

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Two terms every drill uses

The horizon line stands for your eye level. A vanishing point is where parallel edges that run away from you appear to meet. Edges below the horizon angle up to it; edges above it slope down.

Why one point comes first

In one point perspective exercises only depth converges. Uprights stay upright and level edges stay level, so every mistake has one cause. Aiming, the see-through box and the diagonal drills all start here.

Two points, then three

Turn the box corner-on and both sets of level edges converge: two points. Look steeply up or down and the uprights converge as well, toward a third point above or below the picture.

  • When a point falls off the page, tape a paper strip beside the sheet and mark the point on the strip.
  • Draw construction lines lightly and leave them in. They are the proof that the box is right.
  • Rule the first ten boxes. Draw the next ten freehand and check them with the ruler afterwards.

Questions and answers

How do you practice one point perspective?

Rule a horizon, mark one point on it and pull every receding edge to that point. For 1 point perspective practice, begin with flat shapes pulled back into solids, then a see-through box, then fence posts spaced with a diagonal.

What is the difference between one, two and three point perspective?

The number of directions that converge. In one point only depth does. In two point both sets of level edges do. In three point the uprights converge too, toward a point above or below the picture.

Where does the horizon line go?

At your eye level in the scene. Set it high on the page to look down on things and low to look up at them. Boxes below it show their tops, and boxes above it show their undersides.

Do perspective exercises need a ruler?

Use one to learn each construction and to check freehand work. Several drills here are drawn by eye first and ruled afterwards, which teaches the eye where the points are.

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