How to Draw 3D Sketches

Drawing illustrations in three dimensions is something that every beginning illustrator should aspire to. While many tutorials feature basic cubes as a method for drawing realistically in three dimensions, these shapes can be layered together to create a human figure. One of the easiest ways to draw something complicated like a sketch of a human figure in 3-D is to limit the drawing to single-point perspective. This means that your lines will all point toward one basic vanishing point. You can create many dynamic 3-D sketches with one simple perspective point.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Black ink pen
• Eraser

1. 
    

   Draw a small point near the bottom of the page. This will be your perspective point. Draw a trapezoid for the top of the torso cube. The top line should be longer than the bottom line. The side lines should extend all the way down to the point. Draw a horizontal line about halfway between the top of trapezoid and the perspective point. This will separate the torso from the legs and act as the waist line. Draw another horizontal line halfway between the point and the waist line. This will mark the bottom of the legs.

2. 
    

   Add an oval on top of the torso cube for the head. Add two small curves lines on the sides of the torso for the shoulders. Add a diagonal line on each side the extends from the shoulder to the perspective point. This will mark out the arms. Add two curved lines inside the arms. Place these lines just below the waist. This will mark out the hands.

3. 
    

   Draw a curved line that starts at the center back of the head and curves down and across the center of the face. Add a horizontal curved line across the middle of the face as well. These lines will help you mark out the details of the face. Add a diagonal line to the right-hand side of the head. This line should connect to the torso and will act as a neck guideline. Add a ring around the neck, shoulders and waist for the character's ringer T-shirt. Add two small ovals at the bottom of the legs for the feet.

4. 
    

   Draw a small circle on the middle right-hand side of the head for the ear. Add two ovals on the horizontal face guideline for the eyes. Add two eyebrows with curved lines just above the eyes. Add the nose with a small triangle between the eyes and the chin. Add the mouth with a small curved line between the nose and the chin. You can create the hair with a large downward-facing "C" shape on top of the head. Add locks of hair with small triangular-shaped curves.

5. 
    

   Erase all the guidelines very carefully. Ink the entire illustration. Let the ink dry and erase your pencil line.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use a ruler to make sure that your pencil strokes line up with the perspective point.
• Let the ink dry before you erase the pencil or the illustration will smudge.

Resources

• Harold Olejarz: Tuturial on single-point perspective