Isometric and perspective drawing in Vectornation by Zaweba

Flat artwork is the default in any vector program, but plenty of jobs need depth: an isometric map of a town, a product shot drawn as a box, a shop front in perspective, a game background. Vectornation by Zaweba has two families of tools for that, isometric grids with projection, and a full perspective grid.

Isometric and dimetric grids

In the View menu you'll find Isometric and Dimetric (2:1) grids, both with snapping. An isometric grid lays lines at matching angles so that the three faces of a cube look equal. The dimetric 2:1 grid is the style often used in pixel art and games, where lines step two across for every one up, giving crisp diagonal edges. Pick the one that matches the look you want and draw with snapping on, and your lines fall naturally onto the grid.

Isometric drawing has a big practical advantage: measurements stay true along each axis. That makes it ideal for technical illustrations, exploded diagrams, room plans and infographics, where people want to see three sides of something without the distortion of real perspective.

Putting flat art on a cube face

Object > Projection takes flat artwork and puts it on a cube face. Draw a label, a logo or a window design flat, which is far easier, then project it onto the side, front or top of an isometric box. This is how you put branding onto packaging illustrations, signs onto isometric buildings, or a pattern onto a tiled floor without drawing every slanted shape by hand.

The perspective grid

For true perspective there is a perspective grid with one, two or three vanishing points. One point suits a corridor or a road heading straight away from you. Two points suits buildings and boxes seen from a corner. Three points adds a vertical vanishing point for dramatic views looking up at a tower or down from above.

Two tools work with the grid. The Depth grid tool, on Shift+P, sets up and adjusts the grid. The Depth picker, on Shift+V, puts artwork on the planes and moves it within them. Artwork placed on a plane takes on the perspective of that plane, shrinking and slanting as it heads towards the vanishing point.

The detail that makes it practical is that text, images and symbols stay live on the grid. You can place a shop sign in perspective and still correct a spelling. You can put a picture on a wall and swap it later. Symbols placed on a plane, such as windows on a building, still update when you edit the master symbol. That makes perspective scenes far easier to revise than ones where everything has been flattened into distorted outlines.

Choosing the right approach

Use isometric or dimetric grids when clarity and measurement matter more than realism, and when you want a consistent, tidy style across many drawings. Use the perspective grid when the scene should look the way the eye sees it, with things shrinking into the distance. Either way, start with simple boxes and planes to block the scene out, then add detail, colour and type once the geometry is right.

A few habits help. Keep each face of an object on its own layer or group, so you can colour and adjust faces separately. Set the grid up before you draw much, because changing vanishing points after the scene is full means repositioning a lot of work. And check the scene at 100% now and then, since fine lines on steep planes can become thinner than you expect.

With these grids and live artwork on planes, Vectornation gives you a way into isometric and perspective illustration without needing a separate 3D program for every scene.