How To Draw A 3D Square - easy step by step drawing

Most people know how to draw a square, but, let’s be honest… drawing a square isn’t easy and doesn’t always turn out… the best. It’s even harder to draw a 3D square. Here I’ll show you how to draw a square in quick, effective steps. This is an easy step by step drawing guide.

I strongly suggest using a ruler, because it’s QUITE IMPORTANT to draw a perfect square. The human eye is good, but not quite that good. I don’t prefer to use rulers, but a ruler is VITAL in this case.

If you prefer watching rather than reading, watch this:

First of all, you need a sharp pencil, drawing paper, an eraser, a ruler, and a flat surface. 

First, take a ruler and decide a point to start from and to end at. (Ex. 3rd in to 5th in.) This will be point A and point B (these points shouldn’t change). Then put it at whatever angle you prefer and draw a straight line from point A to point B. 

Using the same points, A and B, turn the ruler at an opposite angle, starting at the end/start point of the first line. Draw a line the same length as the first one, creating a corner that should be 90˚. Then repeat twice more until you have a square. Make sure that the parallel lines are at the same angles. When finished, you have finished the top of the square. (It’ll look odd, because you’ll be viewing it from an angle). 

The 3 angles you will draw from.

Next, take a ruler and draw straight lines down from these 3 corners, of course, drawing from point A to point B (Aline point A with the corners). You should draw DIRECTLY down, and, because you are drawing from point A to point B, these lines should be the same length as the ones above.

As a rule, all the lines, because they are all drawn from point A to B, should be the same exact length/height if you measure with the ruler, vertical or horizontal.

Once you have a line drawn down from every of the 3 corners, take your ruler and connect these lines together. Make sure that the line you’re drawing is parallel, and at the same angle and length as the one above it, because you’re simply copying the line above, and putting it down below. Once these lines are connected, your 3D square is done. Now it’s time to shade this square so it looks like a real 3D square.

Draw a triangle, which is the light, coming from anywhere on the page.

If the light is coming from the top, the top of the square will be the lightest. If the light is coming from the bottom, the lightest side will not be seen. I suggest that your light comes from the top. The second lightest side will be the side in between the lightest and the darkest side. In this case, the light is hitting the left front, which we can’t see, so the biggest, main side is the middle-shade side. The opposite side of the lightest is, of course, the darkest side. When you’re shading, keep in mind that on the top you should leave a strip that is just white, and that your shading should be EXTREMELY LIGHT. 

After you’re done shading, the last thing to do is to add the shadow. Your shadow will be as long as your light is low, and the shadow will be on the opposite side of the light. On the edges of the cube the shadow will be darkest. The farther away you get from cube, the lighter the shadow will be. I like to draw a light, angled line from the 3 bottom corners. Make sure all the lines are the same length (the length of the shadow). Then connect all the lines together lightly (these lines should correspond to the parallel lines above them). Then fill the shadow in. Remember, darker around the edges of the cube and the middle, fading until light around the edges of the shadow. When you’re done with the shadow, you’re 100% done with the cube! Congrats!

I hope you enjoyed this guide! If you did, make sure to check out more of this website and our YouTube channel. Enjoy!