Freehand Drawing and Discovery: Urban Sketching and Concept Drawing for Designers

Part 3

Concept Sketching

Rescued from the cutting room floor, this quick concept sketch explored village character for an urban design proposal that did not go forward.

Chapter Seven

Capturing the Idea

Figure 7.1: These “serial vision” sketches, rapidly drawn from imagination with Pilot Fineliner on white tracing paper, envision a pedestrian’s sequential views while moving through an imagined campus environment.

Part 1 has laid a foundation of skills and techniques that allow you to create sketches that are a convincing illusion of three dimensions on paper. Part 2 has introduced you to the creative play of urban sketching, which sharpens your eye, trains your hand, and develops speed and confidence as you discover more of the world around you. Part 3 makes the leap from deeply seeing and drawing the world as it is, to envisioning and sketching the world as it could be.

Freehand concept sketching is an increasingly valuable skill. On any given design assignment, it’s typically the first tangible expression of an idea, whether it occurs in the studio, on a city street, or at a conference table full of clients looking on. It’s very often the designer’s first fundamental act of creation. The ability to sketch quickly from imagination frees you from not being able to change ...