References / Streets & buildings

City from a rooftop

Five blocks seen from 40 m up, tilted 35° down: the bird's-eye view.

28 mm · camera 40 m · turned 30° · tilted down 35°
City from a rooftop: Five blocks seen from 40 m up, tilted 35° down: the bird's-eye view.
Open in the 3-Point Perspective GridDownload PNGLesson: 3 Point Perspective: How to Draw It Step by Step

What to look at

Verticals converge downward to a nadir below the picture.

The horizon is near the top of the frame; roofs are all visible because they are below eye level.

Streets between the blocks read as the ground grid, foreshortened toward the horizon.

The camera

Lens28 mm on full frame
Camera height40 m above the floor (elevated)
Rotation30° to the scene's axes
Tilt35° down (three vanishing points)
Objectsbox 10 × 14 × 18 m · box 12 × 12 × 12 m · box 14 × 16 × 24 m · box 10 × 12 × 16 m · box 16 × 14 × 30 m · box 8 × 8 × 8 m
Floor1 m squares

Open the reference in the tool to move the camera, change the lens, or add your own objects at real sizes; the share link keeps your version. Draw over the PNG at 30–50% opacity in any app with layers.