Draw a 3D Pyramid in Perspective

01
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Start With the Horizon

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Once you're confident with drawing basic boxes in one-point perspective and two-point perspective, drawing a pyramid is quite easy.

Begin with a horizon line, vanishing point, and draw the front edge of the pyramid base. Draw your vanishing lines then add the back edge of the pyramid base, just judging by eye how far back it ought to go. Make sure it is parallel to your horizon line.

02
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Finding the Center of the Base

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To find the center of the base, you simply draw a line between each pair of diagonal corners. Depending on where your pyramid base is in relation to the horizon line, this might look quite odd - one line may be quite a bit shorter than the other - but rest assured that where they cross is the center of the pyramid base.

03
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Draw the Vertical Center of the Pyramid

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Now draw a vertical line straight up from the center, where the lines cross, up to the top of your pyramid - as short or tall as you'd like it to be. As always, make sure it's straight and perpendicular to your horizon line.

04
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Draw the Pyramid Sides

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Now you just draw a line from each corner of the base to the top of the center line. It's as simple as that!

05
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Finishing the Pyramid Drawing

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Finish off your drawing by erasing the vanishing lines. You can erase any lines inside each triangle to make your pyramid look solid, or leave them visible to make it transparent.

06
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Draw a Pyramid in 2-point Perspective

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Begin by drawing your horizon line and placing the front corner of your pyramid. (Remember, in two-point perspective, the object is turned at an angle, so we begin with a front corner rather than a parallel side). For best results, make your vanishing points as wide apart as possible. Draw the vanishing lines from the front corner to the vanishing points.

07
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Completing the 2-point Pyramid Base

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Judge by eye how far along the vanishing lines you think the back edges of the pyramid ought to begin, and draw a line from there to the opposite vanishing point. These lines form a diamond shape; where they intersect (cross) is the back corner of the base. Then draw the diagonal lines connecting the opposite corners as shown. Though they might be nearly at right angles, the important thing with these lines is that they connect exactly to the corners. They are NOT supposed to be parallel or at right angles to the horizon line (though they may happen to be so).

08
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Set the Height of the Two-Point Pyramid

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Now you need to draw a vertical line to the top of the pyramid. Just imagine how high you want it to be, and draw the line that far. This line DOES need to be perpendicular (at right angles) to the horizon line. Straight up-and-down.

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Finishing the 2-Point Perspective Pyramid

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Now you simply draw a line from the top of your vertical line to each corner of the base.

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The Completed Two-Point Perspective Pyramid

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If you're drawing a solid pyramid, erase any lines hidden by the front two faces - the two biggest triangles - to make them look opaque. Erase your vanishing lines. Add sand, sphinxes, T.E. Lawrence, the Australian Light Horse....