Drawing and Illustrating Architecture

An insightful and comprehensive guide to mastering the art of drawing and illustrating architecture.

Inspiring architecture and beautiful buildings are all around us. Artists often gravitate toward building facades, doors, windows, and roofs that tell a story, convey history, and contain intricate detail. But learning to successfully capture these works on paper can be quite a challenge.

Artist and illustrator Demi Lang has been creating beautiful architectural drawings for years. Working in ink and colored pencils and using reference photos in her studio, Demi specializes in creating artwork that is highly realistic, representational, and incredibly detailed. In this book, she shares her knowledge and techniques so that you, too, can learn to create and illustrate your own architectural drawings.

With inspiring illustrations, clear writing, and an encouraging tone, Demi makes the process of learning to draw architecture both approachable and enjoyable. Writing for artists of all levels, Demi guides you step by step through her entire drawing process. You will learn:

• How best to set up your workspace, and the materials you'll need

• The importance of building a photo reference library and choosing good images to work from

• Three methods to use for transferring a reference photo to paper for the initial drawing (using a grid, drawing freehand, and a measuring method)

• Techniques for achieving realistic tone, value, texture, shadow, and light in your drawings

• How to add layer upon layer of color, lines, details, and highlights to create works that leap off the paper with exciting dimensionality and life

In the final chapter of the book, Demi works through several complete projects from start to finish so you can see her method in action. Better yet, by providing the reference photos for each project, you can follow along and put your skills to the test! These projects help you work and practice in different ways with varied subject matter: a freehand black and white sketch; an intricate architectural detail; a monochrome study; a full color drawing; and a drawing that features gold leaf gilding to really take your work to the next level!

Throughout the book, Demi emphasizes the importance of practice and patience, and encourages you to not put too much pressure on yourself to complete a perfect drawing every time. If you take your time and work methodically, you will succeed! Whether you are an artist, a professional illustrator, or simply someone who loves to draw, this book provides you with the skills, techniques, and knowledge to draw stunning illustrations of buildings and architecture.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1: Art Materials and Getting Set Up

Chapter 2: Building a Photo Reference Library

Chapter 3: Art School Theory and Techniques

Chapter 4: Overview of Process and Techniques

Chapter 5: Five Projects from Start to Finish

Appendices