3D Name Drawing

3D Name Drawing

Learn a simple way to understand drawing in perspective by writing your name in 3D!

What's going on?

You've just used a common artistic technique, called "one point perspective," to create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional piece of paper. By drawing lines from your original letters back to the perspective point, you're setting up boundaries that show how much smaller your block letters would look if you slid them into the distance. Connecting the lines between your original and distant block letters makes it look like the letters are taking up 3D space. This technique can be used to draw even more complicated 3D objects and scenes - experiment with it and see what happens! You can also use a second perspective point, or shadows, to add even more depth to your drawings.

5 - 16
Est. Time:
<1 hour

How we did it:

Materials List

  1. pencil
  2. ruler
  3. markers - colored
  4. eraser
  1. Draw your name in block letters in pencil. Then, trace each of the letters in marker. 

  2. Make a small mark in pencil anywhere on your paper. This mark will be the vanishing point of your perspective drawing. 


    What is a vanishing point?

    A vanishing point is the point where all parallel lines in a perspective drawing intersect. 

  3. Draw a line in pencil connecting every point of every letter to the vanishing point. Make sure these lines are light as you will erase them when you have finished your drawing. 

  4. Trace these lines with marker any distance. Keep in mind that these lines will dictate how long your letters are. 

  5. When you have finished, connect each of these lines with a horizontal or vertical line. Notice that these lines run parallel to the original letter you drew. 


    Notes: Some letters, like B and Y, have lines where it doesn't make sense to draw horizontal lines. In these instances, draw a line that is parallel to the line in the original letter you drew. 

  6. Erase the pencil lines and then color in your name! If you want more of a challenge, try making your name into a cityscape.