How to Draw 3D Triangles
A triangle is a two-dimensional polygon with three sides. Adding a third dimension to the triangle turns it into a pyramid. This means you must consider depth as wells as height and width. Artists call this "perspective." What perspective does is take the plane or base of a figure and depict it in a way that allows the viewer to see it as having width and depth. For example, a cube is made up of six squares, but in perspective, those squares will be manipulated to look like a combination of diamonds, trapezoids and squares depending upon what angle the cube is drawn at.
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Instructions
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Decide where your pyramid is going to be. Because this is a figure with depth, one side of the figure will be closest to the observer, so figure out where that is going to be and draw a vertical line there. This line determines the height of your pyramid and will serve as one of its edges. For future reference, label the point at the top of this line as "A" and bottom of the line as "B."
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Draw a lightly dotted line from the top of your vertical line in an acute angle. This line is not meant to be a side of your pyramid, it is meant to help you define your perspective.
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Draw a point somewhere along your dotted line. The point should not be any higher or lower than the vertical line. This point is a "vanishing point."
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Draw a dashed, horizontal line starting at your point that crosses past your vertical line. This is the horizon line, which will help you give your pyramid some depth.
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Draw a light line from your vanishing point to Point B. Part of this will be the bottom of one side of the pyramid.
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Draw a point on this bottom light line. This will be the point of the pyramid closest to the vanishing point (Point C). Using a ruler, draw a solid line from this point to Point A and Point B. This should give you one solid side of the pyramid.
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Draw another solid line that extends horizontally from the bottom B. This will be the bottom edge of the pyramid side that faces the observer. To determine the width of the pyramid, draw a dot somewhere on this line where you want the side to stop. This will be Point D.
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Draw a solid line from Point D to Point A. Now there should be two solid sides of a pyramid facing the observer that show height, width and depth. Some people like to use shading in order to further clarify the three dimensions; others prefer to make the sides seem transparent. Continue on to the next step for making the sides "transparent."
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Lightly draw a line from Point D to the vanishing point. Draw a solid line from the pyramid's Point C to the new lighter line. The point at the end of the line is Point E, and if the pyramid were solid, it is hidden away from the observer. A solid line can be drawn from Point E to Point A to determine the shape of the back side of the pyramid, and another solid can be drawn over the line from Point E to Point D, which should define the edges of the base and remaining side.
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References
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