How to Draw Dice — Free Practice Sheets

Drawing dice is a good way to practise simple perspective. A dice is a cube, but a convincing drawing shows three faces at once: top, left, and right. This page explains how to build that shape with rounded corners, separate the front faces with a center line, and place pips so they sit on the surfaces rather than float beside them. The printable sheets offer tracing, grid, and partial-reference practice.

Build the cube shape first

Begin with the overall silhouette before adding any pips. A dice drawing reads clearly when the outline suggests a cube seen from slightly above and to one side. That means three visible faces: a top face, a left front face, and a right front face. Keep the corners rounded rather than sharp; real dice have softened edges, and rounded corners make the drawing look less like a plain box.

Work lightly at first. The outline is a guide, not a final line. Check that the top face is wider than it is tall, and that the left and right faces meet along a vertical line near the center. If one face looks much larger than the others, adjust the outline before continuing.

1. Draw a rounded-corner cube outline showing three faces: top, left, and right.
2. Add a vertical center line separating the left and right front faces.
3. Check that the top face reads as a shallow diamond or parallelogram.
4. Lightly erase and redraw any edge that makes the cube look flat.

Place the pips on the faces

Pips are the dots on a dice face. Draw them as small ovals rather than perfect circles, because an oval suggests a dot sitting on a tilted surface. Keep each pip inside its face and leave a small margin from the edges. On the top face, a row of pips is easy to read. On the left and right faces, a scattered arrangement avoids the look of a rigid grid.

The number of pips is a design choice for practice. What matters is that each pip belongs clearly to one face and that spacing looks deliberate. If two pips touch or overlap an edge, move them inward.

1. Place oval pips on the top face in a row.
2. Place oval pips on the left and right faces in a scattered pattern.
3. Keep a small gap between each pip and the face edges.
4. Compare pip sizes across faces so no single dot dominates.

Use the practice sheet that fits your goal

Tracing helps you feel the contour of the cube and the placement of pips. Grid copying helps you match proportions by using intersections as landmarks. A bounding frame with a center guide helps you position the silhouette before adding details. A partial reference asks you to complete the missing portion using the full reference as a guide.

Each sheet has a separate full reference, so you can compare your drawing with the finished example after you finish rather than copying line by line. Different drawings can be correct. Assess the visible features and proportions instead of aiming for a pixel-perfect match.

1. Choose tracing, grid, frame, or partial-reference practice.
2. Complete the drawing without repeatedly checking the full reference.
3. Compare your result with the separate full reference sheet.
4. Note one feature to adjust next time, such as corner rounding or pip spacing.

Check the drawing as a whole

Step back and look at the drawing from a short distance. The cube should read as a solid object with three faces, not as three separate shapes. The center line should separate the front faces without cutting through the top face. Pips should sit on the surfaces and follow their tilt.

If the drawing looks uncertain, redraw the outline first and add pips afterward. Keeping the outline and the pips as separate stages makes corrections easier.

1. Confirm three visible faces are present.
2. Confirm corners are rounded, not sharp.
3. Confirm the center line separates only the front faces.
4. Confirm every pip sits inside a face with even spacing.

Check your work

• The outline shows three visible faces: top, left, and right.
• Corners are rounded rather than sharp.
• A vertical center line separates the left and right front faces without crossing the top face.
• Pips are drawn as ovals and sit inside their faces with clear spacing.
• The drawing reads as a solid cube rather than a flat square.

Worked example

dice: Trace the reference outline, then practise the contour independently. Compare with the separate full reference sheet.

Common mistakes

• Drawing a flat square and adding pips to it. Redraw the outline as a cube with a top face and two front faces before placing any pips.
• Making pips perfect circles that look pasted on. Draw small ovals that follow the tilt of each face and keep them slightly inside the edges.
• Letting the center line run through the top face. Stop the vertical line where the two front faces meet and leave the top face clear.

Questions and answers