Basic Shapes for Beginners: Learn to Draw 2D & 3D Shapes

Draw tall, wide, or short triangles.Too Long; Drew & Rendered 😄 (TL;DR)?

 

Yes, TL;DR is a pun. Today, we will start your first drawing lesson for your YouTube channel! You will learn to break everything around you into four simple shapes – square, rectangle, circle, and triangle. These will help you create characters, banners, and profile photos. You’ll also get three fun homework activities to practice 2D and 3D shapes – the foundation of all animation.

(If you haven’t read the previous post yet – ‘How to create a YouTube channel‘ – check it out first! Once your channel is ready, this lesson will prepare you for visuals.)

 

Welcome Back, Future Cartoonists!

 

Now that your YouTube channel is all set up and optimized, it’s time to focus on the visuals that make your channel unique:

1. Your channel profile photo.
2. Your banner image.
3. Your first character designs for your story-time animation.

And to make all of these, you need one super-important skill: seeing the world as a collection of shapes. 🖊️

 

What You Need:

 

For today’s lesson, you’ll need:

• Pencil and paper (any type works)
• Or a digital drawing tool/tablet
• Or even a wall (permission recommended!)

Don’t worry about fancy tools. Whatever you have is perfect – the goal is to train your hand and eyes.

 

LESSON i

Seeing the World Like an Artist

 

Everything you’ll draw for your characters, banners, or profile photo can be broken into four basic shapes:

1. 🔵 Circle
2. 🟦 Square
3. 🟧 Rectangle
4. 🔺 Triangle

Look around your room. Notice how objects are made from these shapes?

• Clock → Circle
• Pillow → Square
• TV → Rectangle
• A pizza slice → Triangle
• Lamp → Circle + Triangle + Rectangle

By seeing objects as shapes, you are training your brain to simplify complex designs, which is the secret behind drawing characters and objects for animation.

 

Fun Activity A

Dot-to-line Challenge

1. Draw a bunch of dots on one side of your paper to the other.
2. Connect them with straight lines.

PRO TIP: Draw using your arm, not just your wrist, for long, straight lines. ‘Ghost’ your line first = hover above the paper before putting pencil down.

💡 Every shape you draw for your character, banner, or profile photo starts with dots and lines!

 

Fun Activity B

2D Shape Practice

 

You will need four sheets of paper:

 

Page 1

Square

 

1. Draw squares using four dots.
2. Fill the page with squares of different sizes.

 

Page 2

Rectangle

 

1. Stretch your squares into rectangles.
2. Practice evenly and carefully.

 

Page 3

Triangles

 

1. Use three dots for each triangle.
2. Draw tall, wide, or short triangles.
3. Turn your page if lines feel awkward – smart drawing is allowed!

 

Page 4

Circles

 

1. Move your hand in the air to practice circular motion.
2. Draw circles lightly, going over them 2–3 times.
3. Overshoot slightly – perfect circles aren’t necessary.

💡 These shapes are the building blocks for every channel element – from characters to backgrounds! Look at my character’s body (@TakziTales), it is an oval with a circle under it.

 

LESSON ii

Turning 2D Shapes into 3D Forms

Now that you have practiced 2D shapes, it is time to understand 3D objects, because the characters, props, and backgrounds you draw will have depth.

Basic shapes become:

1. 🔵 Circle → Sphere and Cylinder
2. 🟦 Square → Cube
3. 🟧 Rectangle → Cuboid
4. 🔺 Triangle → Pyramid and Cone

Drawing Examples for Your Channel Designs

Number 1

Cube

1. Front view: square
2. Side view: add angled lines to form depth
3. Alternate: diamond shape with lines going down from the corners

Number 2

Cuboid

1. Draw two rectangles, connect corners – think of a book or box for your toys.

 

Number 3

Sphere

1. Draw a circle
2. Add horizontal and vertical ovals in the center
3. Erase unnecessary parts – like creating a ball for a character’s head

Number 4

Cone

1. Draw a circle base, lines meeting at a point above
2. Longer ovals show top-down perspective – great for hats, trees, or props

Number 5

Pyramid

1. Draw a triangle + lines from top/back to base corners

 

Number 6

Cylinder

1. Draw rectangle + ovals on top and bottom
2. Adjust oval length to show perspective – useful for cups, cans, or other props

 

Fun Activity A

Dot-to-line Challenge

Draw at least 5–7 of each 3D shape – cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder, sphere.

Try applying them to your character elements: heads, bodies, props, or parts of your banner.

 

What’s Coming Next?

 

Great job! You’ve just taken your first real step in character and channel art. These shapes form the base of:

• Your characters for your story–time animation channel
• Your banner designs
• Your profile photo designs

👉 Next Blog: Learning About Construction in drawing – where we will learn how to combine these shapes to make real characters and scenes for your channel!

 

Keep practicing your shapes until next week, and remember:

Every character, every prop, and every background starts with just a few simple lines.