Outdoor Sketching (2 of 3): Drawing Urban Spaces (Patreon)

Urban sketching provides us with some unique challenges, as we encounter the geometry of man-made structures. Natural forms like trees are more forgiving, but perspective issues become more noticeable when drawing things like buildings.

The multitude of subject matter in urban spaces can become overwhelming, so we need to think of inventive ways to express and simplify it. This complexity can be asset, as it enables us to select and choose with our drawing.

Main image: Building with Pigeon

Navigating Page Space

Having a clear idea of how we want to use our pictorial space will help us tackle urban subjects. It can be tricky to scale the buildings in our image if we start without some intention of what to include, and how the elements are arranged on the page.

In this scene, I selected out the pub building as a focus. Note that the camera may alter perspective to how the eye sees it.

When starting a sketch, I often start by identifying a few important things. First, what is the extent of my drawing? Deciding where in my field of view I want to end it helps with managing the amount of content.

Starting in the top left and finishing in the bottom right, this street scene starts by a laying out larger buildings and the road, before adding smaller elements like the shop fronts and windows, and finalising the drawing with small details and textures.

Next, it is helpful to identify and mark out the placement of the biggest complete structure. Once you know the height, width and placement of the biggest thing in the picture, everything else can be related to it. In this early stage, I treat the drawing like a jigsaw, indicating how everything fits together.

Alongside this, I also place any roads or paths. These are important for describing space because buildings, and most other subjects are vertical surfaces, whilst roads are horizontal (or close enough to it) – they are the same surface that these vertical structures 'sit' on.

Negative space is created between the 'positive' space of the subjects we are drawing.  It is an abstract shape left behind by the subject.

Negative space is a useful tool in urban sketching, especially when laying out the spaces between structures. The sky can be a useful blank shape that helps us ignore complexity and ensure more consistent proportions.

Perspective Tips

Row of Cottages

Whilst an in depth knowledge of perspective isn't essential for good urban sketches, it is helpful to understand a few basic principles to check for. 

If you consider the eyeline the same as your eye's height, you can often check it. Here it sits part way up a door, roughly at my standing height.

The eyeline of the scene is the same as the your eye level relative to everything else. If a surface is below the eyeline, you can see the top of it (such as the roof of a building below you), whilst anything that is above the eyeline you can see underneath (such as an arch). This is useful to keep in mind when you look at subjects near your height, such as walls or window ledges. Can you see the top of these surfaces or just the side?

All these lines are roughly parallel, and point in the same direction. As they get farther from me, their separation decreases due to foreshortening.

Vanishing points are created when two parallel lines point into the distance. Eventually foreshortening makes the distance between the two lines appear so small, they create a point on the eyeline. Direct perspective lines are everywhere in urban sketching, such as walls, streets, windows and many other forms. They are a useful way of checking the angles in a drawing. 

If you are struggling with the angles in a drawing, try holding up your pencil horizontally or vertically, and comparing them to it. Another important thing to keep in mind is that distant things are always smaller relative to a similar nearer thing. For instance, a building's nearest wall is going to appear bigger than the most distant side. This sounds basic, but it is a very useful check if the perspective is wonky! Generally, as long as nearer things are bigger than the same distant version of that thing, perspective will look convincing even if it isn't accurate.

The constant distance between two parallel lines helps check the figure heights are roughly consistent, as well as provide a comparison to the buildings, doors, etc.

Scale plays an important role in urban drawing because we are often combining multiple objects in a single composition, which we are often familiar with. If the humans walking around the scene appear to be twice the height of the doors of the buildings, things start to look a little off! Double check the height of subjects in your scene, and compare different subjects. 

There are formal perspective techniques for many perspective challenges, but when working from observation, it is often quicker and more naturalistic to use your eyes, and just check major vanishing lines. If you plan to construct any kind of imaginary space, or are really keen to do some long, accurate architectural studies, I highly recommend learning more about perspective.

Drawing Urban Environments

Peter Takal – 'City Roofs' This drawing takes on an almost abstract appearance as it piles different elements on top of each other. The familiar shapes and structures of the rooftops create immediate familiarly, before we look closer.

There are lots of different ways to portray urban environments, as reducing the complexity of the subject matter means we need to come up with our own solutions and styles.

Fabrizio Galliari - 'Street Scene with a Palace Facade and an Arcade' This loose sketch shows the perspective of the arches clearly, and indicates just enough of the ornate detail for us to know it is there.

When working in line, I tend to recommend avoiding rulers, as they create stiff lines, and are hard to use quickly. Slightly wobbly lines tend to add more of your own individual style to the drawing, and give a more dynamic end result. 

Charles Sheeler - 'Delmonico Building' Some artists can work well with very straight lines and sharp edges, creating a more designed overall look.

It can be hard to resist getting over involved with drawing every tile or window, but often this isn't necessary. A drawing needn't be accurate to be convincing. If the shape and proportions of a building are clear, then it is unlikely anyone will notice the way the tiles have been reduced to horizontal hatching lines, or the windows are implied with simple dashes. Look for the character of the building above other features – what makes it recognisable?

Mary Newbold Sargent – 'Tripoli' This image shows efficient simplification of detail by focusing on large tonal shapes, and clumping buildings together.

A more detailed effort represents a greater investment of time. It is still a good idea to start with a simple foundation, as it gives you something to work with if you have to leave early. Try to indicate complex details – how can you use simple marks to express something repetitive in form or texture?

Andrew Fisher Bunner – 'Rothenbury, Germany' Here, Bunner has included indications of bricks and thatch – they don't need to cover the whole area. A hint of texture is just enough.

Over to You

The difference between sketching an urban space from life versus a photo is very pronounced, as we need to interpret angles, navigate space, and simplify a lot of detail. Learning to observe angles correctly is excellent practise for drawing and will really help your observational skills.

Redcross Street

Try to pick out subjects you are interested in drawing; it is a good idea to have a wander before settling down. This also helps you observe the thoroughfare.

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This is the second in Lancelot's 'Outdoor Sketching' series, commissioned using money raised here on the Draw Patreon. 

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