Urban Sketching Handbook: Architecture and Cityscapes

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Good composition and proportions are the pillars of sound

architectural sketching, but they aren’t enough to make believable

sketches of the urban space. Remember those drawings of a flat-

looking house and a tree we used to do as kids? They are beautiful

compositions and to scale, but they lack a key ingredient that makes

urban sketches pop: depth.

Creating the illusion of depth on a flat piece of paper may

seem like magic, but it is a very achievable task with a basic

understanding of perspective that can be gained from keen

observation.

The quality of my sketches went up several notches when I sat

down to learn some fundamental notions, such as finding the horizon

line and establishing vanishing points.

KEY III

DePTH

skeTch here!

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Architecture and Cityscapes

Remember the foreground.

Don’t ignore that car or streetlight within arm’s reach

just because you are drawing the buildings farther

away. The illusion of depth is almost guaranteed

when your sketch includes elements close to you, a

little farther away, and very far away.

Á The busker in the fore-

ground not only adds liveliness

to this urban space, it estab-

lishes depth in relation to the

people far into the alleyway.

SUHITA SHIRODKAR

Music in the Barri Gòtic,

Barcelona

9” x 12” | 23 x 30.5 cm; Pen,

ink, and watercolor on Stillman &

Birn Beta sketchbook; ab out 45

minutes.

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Remember the foreground.

Don’t ignore that car or streetlight within arm’s reach

just because you are drawing the buildings farther

away. The illusion of depth is almost guaranteed

when your sketch includes elements close to you, a

little farther away, and very far away.

à RÓISÍN CURÉ

The Long Walk from the

Claddagh, Galway

18” x 13” | 45.7 x 33 cm; Pencil,

waterproof ink, and watercolor.

Winsor & Newton watercolors and

Platinum Carbon pen on Daler

Rowney 300 gsm watercolor

paper; 2 hours.

Á The busker in the fore-

ground not only adds liveliness

to this urban space, it estab-

lishes depth in relation to the

people far into the alleyway.

SUHITA SHIRODKAR

Music in the Barri Gòtic,

Barcelona

9” x 12” | 23 x 30.5 cm; Pen,

ink, and watercolor on Stillman &

Birn Beta sketchbook; ab out 45

minutes.

Key III: Depth

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Architecture and Cityscapes

Silhouette for simplicity and depth.

Obstructed views are a common annoyance for the

urban sketcher. If only those trees or cars weren’t

blocking that beautiful façade. A useful technique

is to silhouette everything in the way of the subject.

The welcome side effect of this approach is an

enhanced sense of depth in the composition.

à BRUNO AGNES

Pâle soleil

9” x 8.3” | 23 x 21 cm; Fineliner

Staedtler 0.2 and 0.5 mm and

Winsor & Newton watercolors on

Moleskine sketchbook; 40 minutes.

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Ä A simple outline of the

building in the background

resolves the composition and

adds depth.

EMILY NUDD-MITCHELL

Paris rooftops

11.5” x 8.2” | 29.2 x 21 cm; Ink

gel Pilot pens (black, white, and

gold), watercolor and watercolor

pencils on A5 sketchbook; 3 hours.

Key III: Depth

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à BRUNO AGNES

Pâle soleil

9” x 8.3” | 23 x 21 cm; Fineliner

Staedtler 0.2 and 0.5 mm and

Winsor & Newton watercolors on

Moleskine sketchbook; 40 minutes.

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