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How to Draw a Building in Two-Point Perspective

Intermediate8 min readUpdated

A building in two-point perspective is a tall box seen at its corner. Once the box is right, floors, windows and doors are just subdivisions of its two faces, each running to its own vanishing point.

In short

  • Start with one tall vertical corner and two wide vanishing points.
  • Floor lines on each face run to that face's vanishing point.
  • Space window columns with diagonals, not a ruler.
  • People's eyes sit on the horizon at street level.
A six-storey building with windows, a door and pedestrians whose eyes sit on the horizon.
A six-storey building with windows, a door and pedestrians whose eyes sit on the horizon.

Steps

  1. Set horizon and vanishing points. Put the horizon at about 1.6 m on the building if the viewer is standing on the street. Place the two vanishing points wide apart.
  2. Draw the corner and the box. Draw the nearest vertical corner, run its top and bottom to both points, and close the two faces with verticals.
  3. Mark floors. Divide the near corner into equal floor heights and run each mark to both vanishing points.
  4. Divide the faces. Use diagonals to find the centre of each face, then subdivide for window columns.
  5. Add windows and the entrance. Draw window tops and bottoms toward the correct vanishing point; keep sides vertical.
  6. Add people and context. Place figures with eyes on the horizon, then add pavement, kerbs and street furniture.

Placing windows accurately

Floors are easy: mark equal heights on the near vertical corner (it is not foreshortened) and run each mark to both vanishing points. Columns of windows are harder because the faces recede. Divide each face with diagonals — the X across a rectangle always crosses at its true centre in perspective — and repeat for quarters and eighths. See dividing and multiplying space.

Scale with people

If the viewer stands on the street, everyone else standing on the street has their eyes on the horizon. Use that to check the height of doors: a door is usually a little taller than a person, so its top should sit just above the horizon when the viewer is on the same ground.

Going further

Frequently asked questions

How do I stop my building looking like it is falling over?

Keep every vertical edge truly vertical, and keep the vanishing points far apart.

Should the horizon be on the building?

If the viewer stands at street level, yes — at about eye height on the ground floor.

Two-Point PerspectiveTwo-Point Perspective, Step by StepLearn two-point perspective by drawing a box from one vertical edge and two vanishing points, and see how vanishing point spacing changes the look.Two-Point PerspectiveDrawing a Room in Two-Point PerspectiveDraw a room interior looking into a corner in two-point perspective, with a floor grid, window, bed and side table.Perspective FundamentalsThe Horizon Line Is Your Eye LevelWhere to put the horizon line in perspective drawing, why it always equals eye level, and how its height changes the mood of a scene.Three-Point PerspectiveDrawing a Skyscraper from Below (Three-Point Perspective)Draw a skyscraper from street level in three-point perspective with floors, window columns and a person for scale.Techniques & ConstructionInclined Planes: Roofs, Ramps and StairsDraw roofs, ramps, stairs and hills in perspective using auxiliary vanishing points above and below the horizon.

References and further reading

Diagrams are original illustrations generated with a true perspective projection.