Isometric drawing basics

How the axes work

In an isometric drawing the three axes are drawn 120° apart: one runs up the page, the other two run down to the left and the right at 30° from the horizontal. In the Isometric Drawing tool X points to the lower right, Y to the lower left and “Up” is the height above the floor, all measured in grid squares. Parallel edges stay parallel and nothing shrinks with distance.

Build a scene from simple solids

Almost every object can be made from boxes, cylinders, pyramids, thin floor tiles and stairs. Start with a floor, add the big blocks, then the small details. To put one object on top of another, give the upper object an “Up” value equal to the lower object’s Up plus its height.

Overlap and drawing order

Objects nearer the viewer (larger X and Y) hide objects behind them, and higher objects sit in front of lower ones. The tool sorts overlapping objects automatically. If a special case looks wrong, give an object a “drawing order” number: higher numbers are drawn on top.

Common mistakes

Using 45° lines instead of 30° (that is a different projection), mixing perspective with isometric, and forgetting that rotations are in steps of 90°. Keep colours distinct between neighbouring objects so the shapes read clearly.

Export

Move objects by dragging them across the floor or by typing numbers into the object card, then download a PNG for slides and posts or an SVG for further editing. The scene is a flat 2D projection, not a 3D model, and nothing is uploaded.

Tools used in this guide