Examples of Create Depth in Pencil Drawings: 3 Core Examples (Plus 5 More Ideas)

If you want the best examples of how to create depth in pencil drawings, start with the basics: a sphere and a cube on a table. These simple shapes are like a mini training ground for everything else you’ll draw.

Picture this: you lightly sketch a ball and a box sitting on a flat surface. At first, it looks like a coloring-book outline. Flat. Boring. Then you add three things—light, shadow, and cast shadow—and suddenly you’ve got your first real example of depth.

Here’s how to turn that flat sketch into one of your go-to examples of create depth in pencil drawings: 3 examples are built from this same idea.

Step one: Choose a light direction.
Imagine a lamp shining from the top left. The top-left side of the sphere and cube get the lightest values. The bottom-right sides get darker.

Step two: Build a value scale directly in your sketchbook.
Before shading the shapes, draw a small rectangle and divide it into five boxes. Shade from very light gray to very dark. This gives you a quick reference so your drawing has a full range of values instead of timid mid-tones.

Step three: Shade the form shadow.
On the sphere, the darkest part of the form shadow sits opposite the light source, then softly transitions into lighter tones. On the cube, the planes facing away from the light are darker, but the change is more abrupt because the surfaces are flat.

Step four: Add a cast shadow on the table.
This is where depth really wakes up. The cast shadow anchors the objects to the surface so they don’t float. Make the area of the cast shadow closest to the object the darkest, then fade it out.

In this single setup, you’ve already created:

• Depth from value contrast (light vs dark)
• Depth from overlap (the sphere slightly in front of the cube, or vice versa)
• Depth from cast shadows (objects actually sitting in space)

Many of the best examples of depth you’ll see in professional work are just more complex versions of this simple exercise.

2. Still Life on a Table: Examples of Create Depth in Pencil Drawings from Everyday Objects

Once you’re comfortable with basic forms, move to a small still life. This is a classic example of how to create depth in pencil drawings using everyday objects.

Set up something simple on a table: a mug, an apple, and a folded cloth. Arrange them so one object overlaps another. Right there, you already have one example of depth: overlapping shapes show what’s in front and what’s behind.

To turn this into one of your best examples of create depth in pencil drawings, focus on three things.

A. Vary the values as things recede

Use your value scale again. The object closest to you (say, the mug) gets the strongest contrast: bright highlights and deep shadows. The apple behind it has slightly softer contrasts. The cloth at the back is lighter overall and less detailed.

This mimics what happens in real life: as things move farther away, contrast and detail gently drop. Landscape painters call a version of this atmospheric perspective. The same idea works beautifully in pencil drawings.

For more on how our eyes perceive light and contrast, the basic explanations of vision and contrast sensitivity from the National Eye Institute are surprisingly helpful when you’re thinking about value in art.

B. Sharpen edges in front, soften edges in back

Try this tiny experiment: draw the front rim of the mug with a crisp, sharp edge and the far edge of the cloth with a slightly blurred, blended line. Your eye will naturally snap to the sharper edge first.

This is an easy example of depth: edge control. Hard edges come forward; soft edges sink back.

C. Use detail like a spotlight

Add little texture details—chips in the mug, pores on the apple’s skin, subtle folds in the cloth—mainly on the object you want to feel closest. Fade those details as they move away from you.

When you combine overlap, value contrast, edge control, and selective detail, your still life becomes one of the clearest examples of create depth in pencil drawings. 3 examples we’ll cover in this article all share these same ingredients, just arranged in different ways.

3. Street Corner Scene: A Perspective-Based Example of Depth

Now let’s zoom out. Imagine standing on a sidewalk, looking down a street where the buildings shrink into the distance. This is a textbook example of depth created by linear perspective.

Sketch a simple street corner: a building on the left, a building on the right, and the sidewalk stretching away from you. Use one-point or two-point perspective so all your receding lines converge toward a vanishing point on the horizon.

Here’s how this becomes one of the best examples of create depth in pencil drawings:

• The sidewalk lines get closer together as they move toward the vanishing point.
• Windows and doors on the buildings get smaller and closer together as they recede.
• Streetlights or trees along the sidewalk shrink in size and spacing with distance.

To push the depth even further:

• Make the foreground building darker with stronger shadows under window ledges and along door frames.
• Keep the far buildings lighter and softer, with less detail.
• Add tiny figures: a person close to you with more detail, and another person far away drawn as a small, simple silhouette.

This street scene becomes a powerful example of how perspective, value, and scale all work together to create depth in pencil drawings.

If you want to go deeper into perspective basics, many art departments share free resources. For instance, the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Arts & Media and other university art programs often outline perspective fundamentals in their drawing course descriptions and syllabi.

4. Portrait Depth: Bringing a Face Forward

So far, we’ve talked about objects and buildings. But some of the best examples of create depth in pencil drawings are portraits.

Think of a head turned slightly to the side. One eye is closer to you, one is farther away. The nose projects forward, the ears sit back.

Here are a few real examples of how to create depth in a pencil portrait:

• Eye sockets and cheekbones: Shade the eye sockets a bit darker and leave the top planes of the cheekbones lighter. That contrast makes the cheeks feel like they’re catching light and pushing forward.
• Nose bridge and tip: Use a soft gradient from dark at the side of the nose to light on the bridge. The highlight on the tip of the nose, surrounded by mid-tones, is a classic example of a form popping toward the viewer.
• Jawline and neck: Darken the shadow under the jaw so the head separates clearly from the neck. This little value jump adds instant depth.

Portrait artists also use lost and found edges: the far cheek or jaw might blend softly into the background shadow, while the near eye and lips have sharper edges and more detail. Once you notice this, you’ll see it in many professional portraits.

For understanding facial structure and anatomy, looking at medical or anatomical references can be helpful. The U.S. National Library of Medicine hosts a range of anatomical resources that can support your understanding of the skull and facial muscles, which directly affects how you shade for depth.

5. Forest Path: Atmospheric Examples Include Light, Fog, and Texture

Another beautiful example of create depth in pencil drawings is a forest path that leads away from you.

Imagine standing on a trail. The trees closest to you have dark trunks, rough bark texture, and visible leaves. As the trees recede, they get lighter, less detailed, and closer together.

This is a pencil version of atmospheric perspective:

• Foreground trees: Dark, high contrast, lots of bark texture.
• Midground trees: Medium values, some texture but not as much.
• Background trees: Light gray silhouettes with almost no detail.

You can add a hint of mist or fog by lightly blending the background with a tissue or blending stump, then re-darkening a few front trunks. This contrast between crisp foreground and misty background is one of the clearest examples of depth you can create with simple tools.

6. Simple Object Overlap: Everyday Best Examples You Can Draw in 10 Minutes

If you’re short on time, here are quick examples of create depth in pencil drawings you can do in a sketchbook session:

• A stack of three books, each slightly shifted so you see overlapping corners. The top book has the darkest shadows and sharpest edges.
• Two overlapping leaves, with the front leaf casting a small shadow on the one behind.
• A row of fence posts getting smaller and closer together as they move away.
• A coffee cup in front of a laptop, with the cup’s cast shadow touching the laptop base.

These are small, real examples that train your eye to see how overlap, cast shadows, and scale changes all contribute to depth.

7. How 2024–2025 Artists Study Depth: Blending Traditional and Digital

Artists learning in 2024–2025 often mix traditional pencil practice with digital tools. That mix can give you more and better examples of create depth in pencil drawings.

Here are a few trends you can borrow from:

• Using phone cameras to study depth: Take a photo of a still life or street scene, then convert it to black and white. Study how values and edges change with distance. Then try to recreate that in pencil.
• Digital value studies first, pencil second: Some artists block in values quickly on a tablet, then use that as a reference for a finished pencil drawing. You can do the same with any free drawing app.
• Online museum collections: Many museums and universities now share high-resolution scans of classic drawings, where you can zoom in to see how masters used value and line for depth. Major institutions and educational sites, like Harvard Art Museums, offer searchable collections you can study.

Studying these modern and historical works gives you the best examples of how professionals create depth, which you can then break down and practice in your own sketchbook.

Quick Checklist: Turn Any Sketch into a Stronger Example of Depth

Whenever you’re unsure why a drawing feels flat, run through this mini checklist:

• Is there overlap? Something clearly in front of something else?
• Do you have a full value range, from light to dark, not just mid-gray?
• Are foreground edges sharper and background edges softer?
• Does at least one object cast a shadow onto another surface?
• Do objects shrink and bunch together as they move away from you?
• Is the most detailed area also the area you want to feel closest?

If you can answer “yes” to most of these, you’re already creating depth. If not, pick one of the examples of create depth in pencil drawings—3 examples from earlier (sphere and cube, still life, street corner)—and practice that specific skill for a few days.

FAQ: Real Examples of Create Depth in Pencil Drawings

Q1: What are some simple examples of create depth in pencil drawings for beginners?
Great starter examples include a sphere and cube on a table, a mug in front of an apple, a row of fence posts getting smaller, or a forest path with trees fading into the distance. Each example of depth lets you focus on one main idea: value, overlap, or perspective.

Q2: Can I create depth using only line, without shading?
Yes. You can suggest depth by changing line weight (thicker, darker lines in front; thinner, lighter lines in back), using overlap, and following perspective rules so objects shrink with distance. Shading adds more realism, but line alone can give strong depth.

Q3: How do I know if my values are strong enough to show depth?
Compare your drawing to a five-step value scale you create in the margin. If everything in your drawing lives in the middle three steps, your depth will feel weak. Push your darkest darks in the foreground and keep your lightest lights where the light hits most directly.

Q4: What is one example of a quick daily exercise to improve depth?
Set a timer for 10 minutes and draw any small object on your desk casting a shadow—like a pen, a stapler, or a keychain. Focus only on the relationship between the object and its cast shadow. This tiny exercise gives you a real example of how shadows anchor forms and instantly create depth.

Q5: Are photo references helpful for learning depth in pencil drawings?
Yes, especially if you convert them to black and white first. That removes color distractions and lets you focus on value, edges, and perspective. Use them as study tools, not as a crutch—try to understand why the depth works, then recreate similar conditions in your own still life setups.

If you treat each drawing as a chance to add one more example of depth to your personal “toolbox,” you’ll see your pencil work jump from flat to dimensional much faster than you think. Start with the three core examples—basic forms, a still life, and a street scene—then layer in portraits, forests, and everyday objects. Over time, these small, real examples will quietly transform how you see and how you draw.