Urban Sketching Handbook: Architecture and Cityscapes

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skeTch here!

Have you ever stopped to think about the kind of lines you make?

Short, long, straight, curvy, thick, thin, swoopy, hard, and soft.

Lines are the backbone of drawing and are especially important

when sketching architecture. Short, evenly spaced lines can

represent a wall of windows. Long, confident strokes will make that

drawing of the Empire State Building look as grounded and majestic

as the real thing. The architectural details of a baroque building call

for squiggly lines, even dots.

You can’t draw every building with the same set of marks. Vary

the type of lines you make to add interest and richness to your work.

And remember that a line made with assertion, even if it’s in the

wrong spot, is worth a thousand marks made with hesitation.

KEY V

lINe

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Architecture and Cityscapes

Ä Focus on the design of

one window and repeat the

process to complete the row.

TEOH YI CHIE

Purvis Street, Singapore

13” x 17” | 33 x 43.2 cm; Hero

fountain pen, on Daler Rowney

Aquafine watercolor paper

300 gsm; 1.5 hours.

Find patterns and repetition.

Windows. Bricks. Arches. If you pay close attention,

you’ll realize the urban landscape is full of recurring

shapes. Building façades are ideal places to

spot patterns. Draw one shape and you’ll have a

template to fill in the rest.

à PAUL WANG

Shophouses at Club Street,

Singapore

11.5” x 9” | 29.2 x 22.9 cm;

Pencil, water-soluble color pencil,

and watercolor on Cotman 425 gsm

cold press watercolor paper; 1 hour.

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Key V: Line

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Ä Focus on the design of

one window and repeat the

process to complete the row.

TEOH YI CHIE

Purvis Street, Singapore

13” x 17” | 33 x 43.2 cm; Hero

fountain pen, on Daler Rowney

Aquafine watercolor paper

300 gsm; 1.5 hours.

à PAUL WANG

Shophouses at Club Street,

Singapore

11.5” x 9” | 29.2 x 22.9 cm;

Pencil, water-soluble color pencil,

and watercolor on Cotman 425 gsm

cold press watercolor paper; 1 hour.

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Architecture and Cityscapes

Be economical; don’t overwork it.

Unfinished always beats overworked. A sketch

is about suggestion, so you can never go wrong

being too economical or stepping away from it too

early. Make every line count. Too many lines can

muddy the sketch.

Ä Straight lines on the build-

ing contrast with the swoopy

linework on the water.

Madison Park

8” x 6” | 20.3 x 15.2 cm; G-Tec

Pilot pen on Stillman & Birn

Gamma Series sketchbook;

30 minutes

à The idea of being

economical also applies to

watercolor sketches. There’s

no need to draw every

brick—less is more.

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Key V: Line

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Ä Straight lines on the build-

ing contrast with the swoopy

linework on the water.

Madison Park

8” x 6” | 20.3 x 15.2 cm; G-Tec

Pilot pen on Stillman & Birn

Gamma Series sketchbook;

30 minutes

à The idea of being

economical also applies to

watercolor sketches. There’s

no need to draw every

brick—less is more.

CATHY JOHNSON

Saint George Hotel,

Weston, Missouri

8.2” x 7” | 21 x 17.8 cm; Pencil

and watercolor on handmade

journals on Fabriano hot press

watercolor paper; 45 minutes.

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