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Technology: Engineering Our World
Isometric Sketching
In isometric sketching, three sides of the item are shown in a single g g
view. Vertical lines show the height of the item. Lines representing the
width and depth of the item are set at 30° from the horizontal. Refer again
to Figure 3-8. Isometric sketches can be made on plain paper. However,
when you are first learning to make isometric sketches, it is helpful to use
isometric paper. This type of paper contains lines at the proper isometric
angles to make sketching easier.
To sketch an isometric box that is six squares long, three squares wide,
and four squares high:
1. Draw the front edge of the block. This is line 1 in Figure 3-10.
2. Draw lines 2 and 3 to show the bottom edges of the box. The three
lines you have drawn represent the isometric axes.
3. Mark off the height, width, and depth of the object on the three
axes, as shown in Figure 3-11. For this sketch, we are measuring in
squares. You could also use inches, centimeters, or any other unit of
measurement.
4. Draw the left and right vertical edges of the box, as shown in
Figure 3-12.
5. Draw the top edges of the box. See Figure 3-13.
6. Darken the outline of the box. You may also want to add color to
define the box more clearly. For a neater sketch, you may also want
to remove construction lines that extend beyond the boundaries of
the box. See Figure 3-14.
Whatever the shape of the object to be drawn, it is usually easiest to
begin by drawing a box. In most cases, however, you will have to remove
parts of the box to create the shape. See Figure 3-15.
Line 1 Line 2
Horizontal
Line 3
gure 3-10. To begin an isometric sketch, make
these three lines to set up the isometric axes.
4 Squares
6 Squares
3 Squares
gure 3-11. Establish the three dimensions
of the object. In this case, height = 4 squares,
width = 3 squares, and depth = 6 squares.