How to Draw 3-D Art

Drawing 3-D, or three-dimensional, art requires many techniques, all of which focus on adding dimension. While it is difficult to explain how to draw 3-D art in its entirety, exploring how to draw elemental shapes in a three-dimensional way is the first step toward drawing 3-D art. By understanding how to draw a box, one can expand to draw buildings and city scapes. When one learns to draw a three-dimensional triangle, one can combine them to illustrate three-dimensional polygrams. Drawing a sphere makes parts of the body, the Earth, pebbles and stones possible to illustrate in a three-dimensional way.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pencil Paper Eraser

1. 
    
   Draw an equilateral triangle.

   Draw an equilateral triangle.

2. 
    
   Draw two parallel lines from the peak and bottom right corner of the triangle.

   Extend a line at a 60- to 75-degree angle from the bottom right corner of the equilateral triangle. Draw a parallel line of the same length from the peak of the triangle. This begins to add the third dimension to the triangle.

3. 
    
   Draw a line connecting the ends of each of the lines you drew in Step 2 and shade in the side.

   Draw a line connecting the ends of each of the lines you drew in Step 2. You have now drawn a 3-D triangle, or a pyramid. Using a series of dense, straight lines, shade in the side of the 3-D triangle. Also, shade in the right side of the front of the 3-D triangle.

4. 
    
   Draw a square.

   Draw a square. A square is made up of four sides of equal length, joined at 90-degree angles.

5. 
    
   Draw two lines from the right corners of the square.

   Draw a line from the bottom right corner of the square coming out at a 60- to 75-degree angle. Draw a parallel line of the same length from the top right corner.

6. 
    
   Connect the ends of the two lines you drew in Step 5.

   Connect the ends of the two lines you drew in Step 5.

7. 
    
   Draw a line from the top left corner of the square.

   Draw a line from the top left corner of the square parallel and of the same length as the line you drew from the top right corner.

8. 
    
   Connect the end of the line you just drew with the top right most corner.

   Connect the end of the line you just drew with the top rightmost corner of the 3-D square.

9. 
    
   Shade in the 3D square.

   Shade in the top and rightmost edge of the 3-D square the darkest. Also, shade in the right side of the 3-D square and part of the front of the square in a lighter shade, excluding the bottom left corner of the square.

10. Draw a circle.

11. Shade in the right side of the circle in a crescent shape. This is the darkest part of the sphere.

12. Shade the inside of the darker crescent with slightly lighter lines.

13. Draw lines perpendicular to the shading lines you just drew. Leave a circle open on the left side of the 3-D circle.