Orthographic drawing maker
Build a shape from cubes. Its front, top and side views are drawn as you go. Print it as a worksheet, or send it to a class to draw.
Also called orthogonal drawing or multiview drawing.
Build it
back
front
This is the floor, seen from above. Tap a square to stack a cube on it, up to 4 high. The number is how many cubes are on that square.4 cubes
How an orthographic drawing works
One object, three views
Each view is the object seen flat from one direction: straight in front, straight above, and straight from the side.
The views line up
The top view sits in line with the front view, and the side view level with it. A corner can be followed from one view to the next.
Hidden edges are dashed
An edge you can see is a solid line. An edge behind something is still drawn, as a dashed line. Here a low step hides behind the front wall.
First angle or third angle
The same three views, placed differently. Third angle puts the top view above the front view. First angle puts it below.
Questions people ask
- What is the difference between an isometric and an orthographic drawing?
- An isometric drawing is a picture: it shows three sides of an object at once. An orthographic drawing shows one side at a time, flat, so its sizes can be measured straight off the page.
- How do you turn an isometric drawing into orthographic views?
- Choose the front. Count the squares you can see from there and draw that outline. Do the same from above and from the side. Add a line wherever a surface steps up or down, and a dashed line for an edge that is hidden behind something.
- What is the difference between first angle and third angle projection?
- The views themselves are the same. What changes is where they go on the sheet. In third angle the top view sits above the front view and the right-hand side view on its right. In first angle the top view sits below, and the view from the right goes on the left.
- What do the first angle and third angle symbols look like?
- Both show a cone with its tip cut off, drawn twice: from the side, and from its narrow end as two circles. In the third angle symbol the circles are beside the cone's narrow end. In the first angle symbol they are beside its wide end. The sheet on this page draws the one you choose, in its title block.
- Which one should I use?
- Third angle is the usual choice in the United States, Canada and Australia, and first angle in most of Europe and in India. Use the one your course or exam board asks for, and show it with the symbol in the title block.
Want ready-made shapes? Practise with 32 of them, from simple blocks to slopes and curves. In a StudioLoom lesson the teacher chooses the object, and students hand in a photo of their own sketch. More free tools · Use it with a class