Learn how to draw a room in one point perspective. Lots of parallel lines make it easy to spot the vanishing point.

One point perspective is a drawing method that shows how things appear to get smaller as they get further away, converging towards a single ‘vanishing point’ on the horizon line. It’s a way of drawing objects upon a flat piece of paper so that they look three-dimensional and realistic.

One point perspective can be as dramatic as train tracks converging in the distance or it can be subtle, showing a slightly straight row of trees or group of people. In this tutorial, the example is a simple room with a door and windows. The view outside helps to establish where the horizon line and vanishing point is, so students can see where all the parallel lines converge.

Older elementary students love to learn how to make drawings look more dimensional, so a lesson in one point perspective is a good way to teach them some new concepts. The only catch is that these kinds of drawings usually work best when some kind of guide is in place before getting started.

Template Guides for One Point Drawing

Rather than have students measure out and draw their own guide, which in my experience made class progress come to a crawl and leaves many behind, I created a light template that teachers can print so everyone can get right to drawing. After all, it’s hard for anyone to learn the concept if most of the class is spent trying to draw the perfect guide. Below is a preview of the template, included in the PDF, which includes the outline of the room.

Draw a Room in One Point Perspective — Preview of the One Point Perspective template, included in the PDF

And just for some extra guidance, I added this outline drawing of my sample. It helps to show how all those parallel lines point right to one vanishing point.