Draw in Perspective using Procreate Drawing Guides - Explained by an architect.

Hey guys, welcome back! In today's video, I want to show you one of the best tools in Procreate, the Perspective Grid. If you like drawing architecture, interiors, urban scenes, or you know, just sketching any spaces with depth, this tool is a game changer. It is a great help if you struggle to make your drawings look realistic or to get your lines to actually feel like they are going into space. I have mentioned Perspective Guides in previous videos, but I realized I've never really explained them properly or shown you exactly how I use them. So that's what we are doing today. I will show you how to set the grid up for 1pt, 2pt and 3pt perspective, and I will share different examples for each one. But before we jump in, I would like to thank the sponsor of this video, which is Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning platform with thousands of inspiring classes on topics like drawing, design, photography, and so much more. All classes are taught by world-class creatives, from professional illustrators and graphic designers to experienced entrepreneurs. And since you are here, I'm guessing you love learning more about drawing in Procreate. Skillshare actually has tons of amazing classes dedicated to that. I have taken quite a few myself and I have picked up so many tips and techniques from different digital artists. Some even share their brush set and workflows, which is really fun to explore. One class I especially enjoyed is called Composition for Illustration – 10 Drawing Tips in Procreate. What I loved about this class is how clearly it explains what makes a strong and pleasing composition and how to arrange and balance elements in your artwork so everything works together. These are things a lot of beginners struggle with, so it was super helpful to see them broken down in such a simple and practical way. One thing I really appreciate about Skillshare is that it doesn't just encourage you to watch, it motivates you to create, to experiment, and to learn by actually doing. If you would like to explore this kind of creative learning too, the first 500 people to use my link in the description below or scan this QR code will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare. So whether you are curious about a new hobby or want to dive deeper into a specific topic, this is the perfect time to explore everything Skillshare has to offer, completely free for one month. Don't miss out! And now let's jump back to the video. First let me show you how to set up the perspective grid. You will find it by going to Actions, Canvas, Drawing Guide, and then on Edit Drawing Guide. Here you have 4 options, 2D Grid, Isometric, Symmetry, and Perspective. For this video, of course, we will choose Perspective. Once you tap on it, Procreate will ask you to place a vanishing point directly on your canvas. Just tap anywhere, and there you go, you now have your first vanishing point. You can add up to 3 vanishing points, but we will start simple with a 1-point perspective. Once your vanishing point is placed, you will see all the guidelines radiating from it. You can move the vanishing point around by dragging it and you will see your grid update automatically. Just place it anywhere you want, depending on your composition. If you enable Drawing Assist for any layer, Procreate will automatically make your lines snap perfectly to the vanishing point. All your lines will be straight and clean. So 1-point perspective is used when drawing something we are directly facing. This is when we have just one vanishing point on the horizon line. For example, you can use it for drawing hallways, street views, interior views, or anything where you're looking straight ahead and where everything is aligned toward a single direction. Here are some thumbnail drawings I made using the 1-point perspective drawing grid. First I traced my thumbnails, then enabled the drawing guide, and positioned the vanishing point like this. From there I sketched the basic structure of the scene on a separate layer. I usually lower the opacity of this layer since these are just guidelines. They are only there to help me when I go in and trace my final lines. This point is really important. Always use separate layers for different parts of your drawing. For example, keep one layer for building lines, another for ground elements like furniture or people, and a separate one for trees or background details. You can turn Drawing Assist on or off for each layer depending on what you are working on at the time. This gives you a lot of flexibility. You can stay aligned with the grid when you need precision and still keep things loose when adding textures, shadows, or foliage. Basically, if you've watched any of my perspective drawing videos or taken my perspective drawing course, you will know that when we draw by hand, we lightly sketch these guidelines to help ourselves. But digitally, the system of layers makes this process so much easier. You can trace freely, hide or show layers whenever you want, and even adjust the opacity which gives you way more control and flexibility. As I said before, one-point perspective works when you are directly facing something in your scene. In this case, we are facing this wall. And you can see all the hallway lines, which are parallel in real life, converge toward the vanishing point I placed right here. Here's another example, a street view. This type of scene is also perfect for one-point perspective. Just like in the hallway, you can see the main street lines leading straight to the vanishing point. And we are facing the fronts of the buildings. Keep in mind that you can change the position of your vanishing point at any time. Just go back to the drawing guides, grab the vanishing point, and move it wherever you need it. And for this last example, we are looking at an interior where we are facing this wall directly. When sketching, use assisted drawing mainly to block in the foundations of your scene. Start with simple geometric shapes like squares and rectangles. These act as the building blocks for more complex objects. This approach not only helps you simplify complex forms into more manageable parts, but it also ensures that each object sits correctly in perspective. Now let's move on to two-point perspective. To activate it, go back to the drawing guides and tap on your canvas again to add a second vanishing point. Two-point perspective is perfect for drawing building corners, interiors, or any scene where you can see two sides of an object at once. Procreate lets you move these vanishing points freely, even outside the canvas. Placing them farther apart creates a more natural, realistic look, while bringing them closer together gives you a more dramatic, wide-angle distortion. And remember, you can still use drawing assist on each layer, so your lines will automatically align with the perspective you have set, even if it's exaggerated. Street views and building corners, like in this example, are especially easy to draw using two vanishing points. Here I placed the guides fairly close together to make the perspective more dramatic. In this other example, a bedroom scene, I spaced them farther apart for a more realistic feel. When assisted drawing is enabled, all your lines will automatically snap toward one vanishing point or the other, except for vertical and horizontal lines. These guides are very useful for interiors. You can quickly block in walls, ceilings, and basic object shapes, then lower the opacity of that layer. After that, add a new layer on top for your clean outlines, shadows, and background details. And finally, let's add a third vanishing point. Go back to the drawing guides and tap once more on your canvas to place it. Once your points are set up, you can start drawing. Three-point perspective is perfect for drawing tall buildings or aerial views. It's especially useful when you want to create a strong sense of height or depth, making your urban sketches feel more dynamic. In this first thumbnail, I sketched a street scene that emphasizes the height of the buildings. I placed the third vanishing point far outside the canvas because bringing it too close would create too much distortion. In this second thumbnail, I drew another street view, but this time seen from the sky, like your bird's eye view. I positioned the vanishing points like this, then blocked in the buildings using simple box shapes. This stage really forms the backbone of the artwork and sets the foundation for everything that follows. When your perspective is solid from the start, the entire drawing feels more accurate and realistic. If you're not sure where to place the vanishing points, the best thing to do is to experiment with thumbnail sketches. This lets you compare proportions and test slightly different viewpoints without having to redraw everything. It's a great way to explore how a scene feels from different camera angles. And that's it! If you haven't tried Procreate's Perspective Guide yet, I definitely recommend giving it a go. It's one of those quiet features that can seriously level up both the quality and the speed of your sketches. If you would like to learn more about perspective drawing, I have plenty of videos here on YouTube with free downloadable resources. I also have a full perspective drawing course, which I will link down below. Thank you so much for watching, take care and I will see you in the next one. Bye!