How to draw a city in 1-point perspective, by Ombarart on YouTube. 10 min 21 s.
- Video length
- 10 min 21 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Draw a horizontal line across the middle of your paper. This is the horizon line, and it sets the eye level of the viewer.
Mark one dot in the centre of the horizon line. This is your single vanishing point, and every receding line will meet here.
Draw two lines from the bottom corners of the page up to the vanishing point. These form the edges of the road.
Add a second pair of lines just outside the road lines for the sidewalks. Keep them parallel to the road edges.
Draw the front face of a building on each side as a plain rectangle. Its top and bottom corners should sit on lines running to the vanishing point.
Connect the top and bottom corners of each building to the vanishing point to create the side walls. Stop where the next building begins.
Repeat along both sides, making each building smaller as it gets closer to the vanishing point. This creates the depth.
Add windows and doors as rectangles that also follow the lines to the vanishing point. Keep the spacing tighter as they recede.
Sketch a few trees and street lamps along the sidewalks, shrinking them as they near the vanishing point.
Shade the building sides and road with your pencil to show light and shadow, then erase the guide lines you no longer need.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep the horizon line straight and level, because a tilted line makes the whole drawing look wrong.
Draw all guide lines lightly at first so you can erase them cleanly once the buildings are in place.
Make objects smaller and closer together as they approach the vanishing point to sell the depth.
Use a ruler for the first few lines, then draw freehand once you trust the angles.
Questions
Where should the vanishing point go?
Put it in the centre of the horizon line for a straight street view. Moving it left or right turns the view into a corner street.
Do I need a ruler?
A ruler helps at the start to get the angles right. Once the main lines are in, you can draw the details freehand.
What is the difference from 2-point perspective?
One-point uses a single vanishing point and suits a street seen head-on. Two-point uses two points on the horizon and suits a building corner.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
