Draw an Impossible Cube

An impossible cube (sometimes called an irrational cube) is an illustration of a cube that could never exist in real life. One is present in M.C. Escher's lithograph, Belvedere, but fortunately, you don't have to be an accomplished artist to draw one. This article will teach you how to make a similar cube.

Steps

Parallelogram to impossible cube

  1. Draw a skinny, vertical parallelogram with the lower left corner open; from there, draw two lines going horizontally, shown in red.
  2. Add two connecting lines on the right side of the parallelogram. They should form an "L".
  3. Add another two lines which continue from the corner of the parallelogram but pass beneath its right edge. The two lines then separate vertically, one going up and another going down to meet with the end of the "L".
  4. Draw a wide "L" that follows where the two previously drawn lines part ways.
  5. Connect the bottom end of the wide "L" with the upper right-hand corner of the parallelogram by drawing a line that goes up and then left (forming a right angle) and passes underneath any lines it comes across.
  6. Draw a line that begins by following the top of the parallelogram and then follows the horizontal part of the line drawn in the previous step, also passing underneath any lines it comes across.
  7. Complete a parallelogram at the top of the cube, this one with its upper right-hand corner open and connected to double lines drawn earlier.
  8. Add a border around the whole thing.

Erasing square to impossible cube

  1. Draw a square.
  2. Create a slightly larger square around the first.
  3. Draw another square, lower left corner in the center of the first square.
  4. Create a square around the new square as well.
  5. Erase each corner of both squares. Connect each corner with the same corner on the other square.
  6. At the parts where the left of square 2 and the top of square 1 overlap each other, erase a bit to make the line horizontal, erase the vertical parts.
  7. At the parts where the right of square 1 and the bottom of square 3 overlap, erase the horizontal parts and keep the vertical parts.

Tips

  • If you have trouble, try looking at the pictures to get some visuals on how it's done.
  • Remember, practice makes perfect.
  • You can use a ruler if you need to.
  • This can be done by drawing the cube as a whole and reconnecting the cube legs, if you have an eye for detail.

Things You'll Need

  • Pencil
  • Paper
  • Time and practice
  • (Optional, ruler for exact measurements)
  • Eraser for mistakes

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