1. Start with your sketch

Anamorphic drawings are an optical illusion. They appear distorted from the wrong perspective, but from the correct perspective, the two-dimensional drawing can look 3D!

The first step is to choose what to draw. I recommend drawing objects that don’t move. Like a Rubik’s cube. If you draw a lighter, avoid drawing the lighter without a flame, because flames move.

These two apps can help you get the right perspective, Photo Perspective Pro and Da Vinci Eye. Or you can use the painful time consuming grid method.

2. Cut away some of the paper

An X-Acto knife works great on thick paper. I use Ohuhu’s heavyweight paper. I use a metal ruler that has a ridge protecting me from accidentally cutting myself with the X-Acto knife. I have cut myself with the X-Acto knife before while using a slippery ruler. This part of the drawing may seem boring and tedious and that’s because it is but it’s worth it! Grandma will proudly hang this on the fridge with fruit magnets.

3. Add color

Roll a Kneaded eraser over your sketch lines to make them fainter, before coloring over them. The vivid colors of these Ohuhu markers are perfect for this. You can use a white gel pen for highlights and colored pencils on top of the markers for fine details. If you want me to check out your 3D drawing illusion, tag me on TikTok, @PencilShark