Jan 20, 2007 at 12:23 pm

One-point perspective worksheets

Below are worksheets I created in Adobe Illustrator for teaching one-point perspective. Walk your students through the first two (boxes and room.) Show them the techniques used since the Renaissance to create a realistic illusion of space and form.

First introduce them to the terms “horizon line”, “vanishing point” and “orthogonal line”.

  • Horizon Line: The line in a perspective drawing where the sky meets the ground. It also represents the viewer’s eye level. That is, the placement of the line on the picture plane depends on the vantage point of the artist. For example, if the artist is low to the ground, the horizon line is low on the picture plane. You can see the top of an object if it is below eye level, below the horizon line. If an object is above eye level, above the horizon line, you can not see its top.
  • Vanishing Point: The point on the horizon line at which lines or edges that are parallel appear to converge.
  • Orthogonal Line: Literally, a line which is at right angles to another. In linear perspective drawings, it is the line you draw from the corner of an object to the vanishing point. It establishes the illusion of a perpendicular line going into the distance. Orthogonal lines should always be drawn lightly at first. Usually, most of an orthogonal will be erased.

A couple of technique details, along with further resources:

  • When drawing the back edges of the boxes in the first worksheet, the artist lines the ruler up with a front edge, then slides the ruler toward the vanishing point a little ways, without twisting the ruler in any way. This is where the student draws the back edge between two orthogonal lines. Cyber Oregon Online has a great step-by-step demonstration for the teacher.
  • The floor tiles in the room worksheet are especially tricky. Check out this interactive lesson from olejarz.com to see how to draw tiles in perspective (in this case, on the ceiling.) This part was the most difficult for my students to capture. If you are new to one-point perspective, I recommend starting from the beginning.

Once you walk the students through the first two worksheets below, they should be able to do the others on their own with a little guidance. Click on the images below for individual PDFs.

Going through all four worksheets took me two class periods of 50 minutes each.

If afterwards you want to move on to two-point perspective, check out my two-point perspective worksheets.

Filed in Lessons: Art at 12:23 pm.

65 Comments to “One-point perspective worksheets”

  1. Lisa, on February 2nd, 2007 at 3:25 pm, said:

    Your worksheets are great. Your site is pretty funny too. I’ve been teaching middle school art for ten years and I’m always trolling for new ideas. Thanks!!!

  2. dawn, on February 5th, 2007 at 8:30 am, said:

    Thank you, Lisa!

  3. kristin, on February 5th, 2007 at 7:48 pm, said:

    wow…these worksheets are terrific!
    i teach elementary art, and these are easy, step-by-step examples for fifth graders.
    thanks for posting them!

  4. Dawn Pedersen, on February 5th, 2007 at 8:23 pm, said:

    You’re welcome, Kristin! Thanks for stopping by!

  5. Dawn, on April 11th, 2007 at 12:29 am, said:

    Hey Dawn
    these work sheet are great i just started teaching in fact i’m still training and these work sheets are so adaptable that i can use them with almost any age group. cheers from a greatfull teacher in the uk… ps it was the name that made me come to your website

  6. Dawn, on April 12th, 2007 at 7:19 am, said:

    Hi Dawn! I’m glad I’m making your life a little easier.

  7. Alli, on November 12th, 2007 at 10:00 am, said:

    Hi, Dawn!
    Thank you so much for sharing! I am a first year middle school art teacher, and things have been very overwhelming! I had my kids do the torn paper collage and I used your templates, along with a few that I made up myself. Now I am going to go over perspective, and these worksheets will be very helpful.
    Thanks again!

  8. James Ray, on December 11th, 2007 at 4:44 pm, said:

    I have been trying to make worksheets students could use for 10 years. Thank you for sharing these with everyone.

  9. orlaith, on January 12th, 2008 at 5:53 am, said:

    thank you thank you thank you
    its so difficult to simplfy perspective drawing you did it perfectly
    life saver!!!

  10. Robin, on February 6th, 2008 at 9:15 am, said:

    I was using a different method with my 7th graders last semester and it took a while for them to grasp. I just started using your worksheets and the kids picked it up right away. They’re great!

  11. s. williamson, on February 25th, 2008 at 8:02 am, said:

    Love the worksheets! What great work.

  12. Sarah, on August 19th, 2008 at 4:40 pm, said:

    Thanks so much for taking the time to share your worksheets and lessons. I am a new art teacher and these were truly a lifesaver. You are very creative!

    Keep it Up!!

  13. Amanda, on September 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am, said:

    Thank you for the wonderful worksheets! They were a very helpful and fun way to explain one-point perspective.

  14. Sarah, on October 24th, 2008 at 12:31 pm, said:

    I have my 7th grade students draw castles in one point perspective with the addition of making them fairy tale castles or castles under attack (by whatever they want!). Then they have to write a 1 page narrative to tell me the story of what is happening. It helps with their writing skills and imaginations.

  15. Amy, on November 2nd, 2008 at 5:46 am, said:

    Thanks for these sheets, they are great and realy suitable for my art classes. Amy

  16. Gina Beca, on November 6th, 2008 at 7:58 pm, said:

    You are amazing! This is exactly what a first year art teacher needed! Thank you.

  17. Aimee, on April 2nd, 2009 at 2:07 pm, said:

    Thank you so much for such great ideas on one-point perspective. I am a high school art teacher and drawing is not my specialty (sculpture is!) and I’m always looking for new ways to teach drawing. Great worksheets!

  18. Bryce, on May 9th, 2009 at 4:07 pm, said:

    these are awesome! i grabbed the 2-point handouts too. thank you!

  19. Rudy, on September 10th, 2009 at 5:53 am, said:

    Thank you for these. I’ve been doing art for so long but now I am teaching it and these are the perfect launching pads for getting whats in my head to the kids. Awesome!

  20. Lisa, on February 9th, 2010 at 4:34 pm, said:

    I can’t wait to give these a try. These worksheets are kind of like some things I have tried to create, but your presentation is so much better!

  21. Lisa, on February 15th, 2010 at 6:17 am, said:

    Thanks for sharing these great worksheets!

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  23. Alicia, on April 12th, 2010 at 5:59 pm, said:

    Dawn,
    Thank you for these informative and beautifully designed worksheets. They have been very useful during my perspective lessons.

    -Alicia

  24. Katie, on August 24th, 2010 at 6:28 am, said:

    Oh my gosh this is amazing! Thank you so much, I just started perspective with my kids and these are going to be so helpful!!!

  25. Tracy, on October 24th, 2010 at 9:16 am, said:

    Hi Dawn,

    Thank you so much for posting these worksheets! I’m so glad I stumbled upon your website/blog, because it is SUPER helpful. This is my first year teaching (on my OWN) and my students will be learning perspective this week. I was trying to think of a fun way to show them perspective and I think your worksheets are really gonna help!

    Once again thanks so much! :)

  26. Sarah, on December 13th, 2010 at 6:32 am, said:

    Thank you so much Dawn for posting these worksheets! These are great, and simple enough for the students to follow on their own. A lot of help! Thanks again!

  27. Leigh Siegfried, on February 16th, 2011 at 5:00 pm, said:

    I have been using your perspective sheets a lot in my high school classroom in TN, thanks for the great resource!

  28. Exploding Shapes vs. One point perspective room: Choose your own project! – 8th Grade | Mrs. Jones Artroom, on February 26th, 2011 at 7:22 am, said:

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  29. Annette, on February 28th, 2011 at 11:32 am, said:

    Great, great, great worksheets. This will save so much time. Do you teach 3 point perspective as well??

  30. Annette, on February 28th, 2011 at 11:33 am, said:

    Great worksheets, these will save so much time. Do you teach 3 point perspective also???

  31. Erin, on April 25th, 2011 at 12:28 pm, said:

    Thanks a bunch for posting these! Very helpful for students who are absent.

  32. Schedule « Art, on October 11th, 2011 at 4:56 am, said:

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  33. Beth Fuller, on October 11th, 2011 at 6:29 am, said:

    Thanks a million times over for sharing this! I teach 6th graders 1 point perspective and it’s tough stuff for them. The room print out is PRICELESS!!!!!

  34. D'Ann, on October 17th, 2011 at 2:21 pm, said:

    These worksheets were exactly what I needed to teach step by step perspective drawing. Thank you!

  35. Gem Domaille, on October 20th, 2011 at 12:46 am, said:

    this is wicked thank you

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  37. ejeo, on November 7th, 2011 at 4:21 am, said:

    This is exactly what I was looking for to prepare students for a field trip to draw the local cityscape, thanks for the great resource!!

  38. Denise Tanaka, on November 15th, 2011 at 9:24 pm, said:

    Thanks so much for these worksheets, Dawn!! Well done!! Me and my students thank you….

  39. Emily Berry, on December 15th, 2011 at 8:29 am, said:

    Thank you for your generosity in sharing these great instructional worksheets! Our school does not offer art, so I started an art club but do not remember much of the foundational techniques. These worksheets have made the kids incredibly focused and inspired!

  40. Pamela Porter, on December 15th, 2011 at 3:49 pm, said:

    These are incredible, love the step by step and my students do to.

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  43. Ms. J, on January 5th, 2012 at 11:35 am, said:

    Terrific!! These really help my Middle School and beginner high school students learn perspective!

  44. Donald Campbell, on January 24th, 2012 at 11:45 am, said:

    Found your site through Google. The into sheets to one and two point will be very useful for my Intermediate 2 class who have not done any drawing like this since S2 (they are now in S5). Thanks for posting them.

  45. Chris Slauson, on February 2nd, 2012 at 12:26 pm, said:

    These worksheets are fantastic! I was looking for perspective guides for my beginning drawing students- Thank you so much for posting them

  46. denise, on February 5th, 2012 at 1:25 pm, said:

    Thanks for sharing! Great stuff.

  47. Audra, on February 16th, 2012 at 4:15 am, said:

    This is a great site! I’m excited to see how my students do, I think these worksheets will make learning about perspective a breeze! Thanks!

  48. Audrey, on March 19th, 2012 at 12:05 pm, said:

    Thanks so much – I really appreciate your clear handouts as a jumping off point for my lesson!

  49. Cara, on April 9th, 2012 at 12:49 pm, said:

    Hey Dawn, earlier I was trying to open your links and print them and it worked just fine. Now however, I am having difficulties. When I click on the links (just the one point) I get a series of symbols and functions. Any ideas?

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    I love these worksheets! Genius! They are a fantastic resource. Love your site :)

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  53. Shanae, on November 1st, 2012 at 9:00 am, said:

    Thank you so much for the worksheets! I taught 1 & 2-point perspective to my middle school students last year, but this is much clearer!

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  58. Sarah, on March 11th, 2013 at 5:42 pm, said:

    Your worksheets are a great teaching tool and I can not thank you enough. I’ve used them with my middle school group and they are perfect visual instructions for the kids to learn 1 pt perspective. Ver inspiring!

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