Architecture and Urban Sketching

Urban sketching means drawing cities on location: streets, buildings, cafés, markets and the people in them. It's one of the most enjoyable ways to practice perspective and observation, and it fills your sketchbook with memories.

Find the eye level first

Before drawing anything, find your eye level (the horizon line). Hold your pencil horizontally at eye height and see where it crosses the buildings. Draw it lightly across the page. Everything else follows from it.

Simplify buildings into boxes

Every building is a box, or a group of boxes. Find the main box, determine whether you see it in one- or two-point perspective (see two-point perspective), and draw its main edges. Then:

1. Divide the facade into floors and bays (vertical divisions), following perspective.
2. Place the windows and doors as smaller rectangles in the grid.
3. Add depth: windows are recessed, balconies stick out, roofs overhang. Small shadows under them make the facade three-dimensional.
4. Suggest materials (bricks, tiles, stone) only in a few spots.

Working on location

• Sit or stand comfortably with a clear view. A small folding stool helps.
• Choose a size and a time limit: 15–40 minutes is typical.
• Start with the focal point and let the edges of the drawing fade out (a "vignette" composition). You don't need to fill the whole page.
• Pen first is a great urban sketching tradition: it forces you to commit and keeps sketches lively. A wash of watercolor afterward adds atmosphere.
• People and cars: draw them quickly as simple gestures and boxes. They give scale and life.

Measuring angles on location

Use your pencil at arm's length to compare the angles of rooflines and the edges of buildings with a horizontal line (see measuring). Edges above eye level slope down toward the horizon; edges below it slope up.