Short answer
Draw the horizon at your eye level and put two vanishing points on it, far apart. Draw the nearest building corner as one vertical line, run its top and bottom to both points, and close each wall with verticals. Windows, doors and rooflines all follow lines to the same two points.
A building corner in four steps
Step 1 of 4
Horizon, two points, one corner
Draw the horizon at your eye level. Mark a vanishing point near each end of it. Draw one vertical line for the nearest corner of the building, crossing the horizon.
Step 2 of 4
Edges to the points
From the top of the corner, draw lines to both vanishing points; do the same from the bottom. Draw two more verticals to end the walls. The building is a box now.
Step 3 of 4
Windows follow the lines
For each row of windows, mark heights on the corner line and run them to the vanishing points. Window edges are verticals, spaced a little closer together as the wall goes away.
Step 4 of 4
Shade one face
Shade the wall facing away from the light. Add the street line and a lower building beside it using the same two points.
Blue lines: added in that step. Gray: already drawn.
Eye level changes everything
The horizon line is your eye level, and it moves when you stand up or sit down (Open Oregon drawing text). Look up at a tall building and its top edges slope down to the horizon; the horizon may be below the building’s first floor. From a high window, rooftops slope up to a horizon above them. Proko’s eye level exercises are a good way to practice this (Proko).
Simplify the city
- Big boxes first. Draw each building as a plain box before adding a single window.
- Suggest windows. Draw every window on the near wall, then only a few, then a texture of lines farther back.
- Leave out wires and signs until the end, then add only the ones that help the drawing.
- Use value for depth. Nearer buildings darker and sharper, the far skyline pale. See atmospheric perspective.
The rules behind this are in perspective in landscape drawing. For quick street sketches in ink, see pen and ink.
Questions people ask
How do you draw a city skyline?
From far away, a skyline is a row of flat rectangles of different heights along the horizon, with no perspective needed. Vary the heights, put the tallest off center, and make the farther buildings lighter.
Where do I put the vanishing points?
On the horizon line, which is your eye level. Put them far apart, even off the edge of the page, to avoid distorted, too steep corners. Points close together make buildings look small or warped.
When do I use one point perspective in a city?
When you look straight down a street. The fronts of the buildings face you, and only the lines going away from you meet at one vanishing point in the middle.
Sources
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. Product lines and listings change; check the details before you buy.