• Attached below you will find a simple 2-point perspective initial and final sketch, and a Design Notebook page you can print and use to draw the sketch.  It is very important to use a sharp pencil and a long straight edge (or the edge of a textbook) too draw each line.  You should eventually learn that neatness counts!

     

    To begin, students need to draw the initial sketch just like I did (using page 1 of the attached).  Count the grid lines and draw the two horizontal lines which divide the the paper into three separate drawing areas.  Then, draw the left and right vanishing points (dots) for each drawing area.  The middle drawing vanishing points are on the left and right edges of the paper in the mid-point, and they are in the left and right corners of each page for the top and bottom sections of the drawings.  Then, count the grid lines to establish the location of the vertical front edges, 6-grids tall, for each shape.  Then, LIGHTLY draw the four diagonal lines to draw the front edges of each shape to the left and right vanishing points.

     

    Next, using the final drawing sample as a guide (page 2 of the attached file), students need to count six grid lines to the left of the center vertical lines and draw the left vertical edges of each object. Then, count to the right 9-grid lines to draw the right vertical edges of each object. Then, on the bottom drawing, LIGHTLY draw the two diagonal lines, using the vanishing points, to establish the bottom rear edges of the object. On the top object LIGHTLY draw the two diagonal lines to establish the rear edges of the top of the object.

     

    Now that the object is drawn, students should darken the edges of the object to make all lines the same darkness.  This will make the object more pronounced and it will help to make it stand out.

     

    And finally, using LIGHT guide lines to the vanishing points, students should neatly label the right side, Front, Top, and Bottom of each drawing, as applicable.  Many designers use all capital letters to label their drawings.

     
    If these directions are not clear, feel free to e-mail me with suggestions.
     
    When you study the finished drawing, I am attempting to demonstrate the effect the location of the vanishing points has on a finished drawing.   If you want to draw an object, and you want to show the top of the object, the vanishing points need to be up and above the object on either side of the paper, possibly in the upper corners. If you want to show the bottom of the object, like the object is floating over your head, you want the vanishing points to be low, possibly in the lower corners of the paper.   If you want the object to appear in front of you at eye level, like possibly you want to draw a house on a street, the vanishing points need to be at the left and right, at the same level as the middle of the object.
     
     
     

    Notice the horizontal and vertical lines of a design notebook page are universal in design.  However, using the technique I am demonstrating here, you can easily draw 2-point perspective sketches in your Design Notebook.