Printable drawing template
Three A4 pages: the Great Pyramid at the correct angle with base line, center, and height; the three pyramids staggered for tracing; and one page with only the base line and apex point for freehand drawing.
- PDFDrawing template, three pagesPDF · 5 KBDownload
A4, labeled in German and English. Base side 230.3 m, height 146.6 m, angle 51.9 degrees, plus the incorrect equilateral triangle for comparison.
Outline with stone layersSVG · 2 KBDownloadAs vector graphics, scalable to any size, for tracing or coloring.
The three pyramids staggeredSVG · 1 KBDownloadThe group in correct proportions, as a silhouette.
License: CC0, freely usable, including in classrooms and commercially, without attribution.
Anyone who wants to draw the Pyramids of Giza almost always reaches for an equilateral triangle. It is the obvious shape, it can be constructed with a compass, and it is wrong.
An equilateral triangle has 60 degrees at the base. The Great Pyramid has around 52. This sounds like little, but it is the reason why even careful drawings look sharp and narrow instead of broad and grounded. Eight degrees make all the difference in the overall impression.
Incidentally, the Egyptians never thought of the angle as an angle. They worked with a ratio, the seked: how far a surface recedes horizontally while rising by one cubit. This method of calculation is recorded in practice problems on a papyrus in the British Museum.
For your drawing, this means: you do not need a protractor, but a ratio. And that is easier to remember than it sounds.
The measurements that matter for drawing
- Base side
- Height, around 64 percent of the base side
- Slope angle around 52 degrees
- For comparison: equilateral, 60 degrees
The height figures are reconstructed original heights. Today, all three structures lack their caps; the Great Pyramid is missing around ten meters.
Three mistakes when drawing the group
How do you draw the Pyramids of Giza so that the group looks right? Here are the three most common errors, all of which are easy to avoid.
The first concerns size. The two large structures are almost identical in height, separated by only three meters. The third, however, is dramatically smaller: Menkaure reaches barely half the height of the Great Pyramid. If you draw all three similarly sized, you haven't seen the site.
The second concerns the sense of height. Khafre, the middle pyramid, appears taller than the Great Pyramid in almost every photo, but it is not. It stands on bedrock that is around ten meters higher, and it is steeper, at around 53 degrees rather than 52. Together, these two factors create the illusion. If your drawing captures this effect, it is correct.
The third concerns arrangement. The three pyramids do not stand side-by-side on a line parallel to the viewer, but are offset along a diagonal from northeast to southwest. Therefore, they overlap from most viewing angles, rather than standing neatly next to each other.
Entrance ticket for the plateau as a QR code
If you want to draw from your own templates, you need your own photos. The entrance can be booked separately; the viewpoint in the southwest provides a shot showing the staggering of all three structures in one image.
This is the order in which a coherent drawing emerges
- Base line and center
Draw the base line and mark its center. Everything else depends on these two points.
- Mark the height
Measure vertically upwards from the center about 64 percent of the base length. For a ten-centimeter base, that is six and a half centimeters of height.
- Draw the edges
Connect the apex to the two base points. The bottom angle forms naturally and is around 52 degrees.
- Place the neighbors
The second pyramid slightly offset behind, almost equally high, slightly steeper and sitting higher. The third significantly smaller, further back.
- Indicate the surface
Not a smooth surface, but horizontal layers. Draw them closer together towards the apex so the staggering effect works.
- Decide on the surroundings
Sand alone gives the postcard image. If you hint at the city outskirts to the east, you are drawing the place as it is.
Two rules of thumb without a ruler
If you want to draw pyramids simply, without a compass and ruler, two rules of thumb will get you through.
The first: The height is just under two-thirds of the width. If you estimate the base and place the apex slightly below two-thirds of that length, you are close enough to the 64 percent that no one will notice the difference.
The second concerns the surface, and it is the real trick. The structures do not look smooth today, but stepped, because the smooth casing is missing. A few horizontal lines, denser towards the top, turn a geometric triangle into a structure immediately. If you want to draw the smooth version, you are drawing the original state, and that is a conscious decision, not a simplification.
And a warning about the Sphinx, because he regularly ends up too large in drawings. He is around 73 meters long and about 20 meters high, so lower than one-seventh of the Great Pyramid, and he lies in a pit below the plateau, significantly to the east. If you place him next to the pyramid at the same size, you are drawing two structures that never stood together in the image.
Which state the drawing shows
What makes a drawing convincing in the end is rarely precision, but the decision about which state it depicts.
Three states are available. The current one, with a stepped surface, missing cap, and city in the background. The original one, with smooth casing and a cap that exists only in reconstructions. Or the schematic one, where it is only about the form, such as for a diagram.
All three are legitimate, but they do not mix. Smooth casing with a missing cap is a contradiction, as is a stepped surface with an untouched pyramid tip. If you decide beforehand, you draw more coherently than someone who collects details.
For the current state, a look at the official description of the site helps; for the original state, the reconstructions from research. Both beat any template from image search, which usually contains an equilateral triangle anyway.
Frequently asked questions
What angle does the Great Pyramid have?
Around 51.9 degrees at the base. An equilateral triangle would have 60 degrees and therefore looks too sharp.
How high should I draw the pyramid?
About 64 percent of the base length, so just under two-thirds. For a ten-centimeter base, that is around six and a half centimeters.
Which of the three is the tallest?
The Great Pyramid, with a lead of around three meters. The middle one appears taller because it is steeper and sits on higher rock.
Why do the pyramids look stepped?
Because the smooth outer skin is missing. The rough core masonry in horizontal layers is visible.
How big is the Sphinx in proportion?
Around 20 meters high compared to just under 147 meters, so about one-seventh, and it lies lower and further east.