Sometimes architects make quick sketches of buildings they have seen. These are called architectural sketches. They are often made with a black ink pen and watercolor paints. Here are some examples.
These sketches are by an artist named Liz Steel. Here is her blog that has many examples of her work.
Let's look at her artistic process.
Here is the building she is drawing.
She begins with sketching with a light colored pencil.
And then she begins to outline her drawing with a black ink pen and adds watercolor.
Here is her final product. She works fast, but she has a lot of experience!
Here is a quote by a famous architect, Le Corbusier.
"The camera is a tool for idlers, who use a machine to do their seeing for them. To draw oneself, to trace the lines, handle the volumes, organise the surface…all this means first to look, and then to observe and finally perhaps to discover…and it is then that inspiration may come."
- Le Corbusier
What does this quote mean?
What Le Corbusier is saying is that you really get a feeling of what the building is--what it looks like and the "feel" that it gives you--by giving it a long, hard look. Also, looking at something, really studying it, makes you "see" it for the first time. Details you might have looked over if you had walked by or even photographed the building are more obvious.
What building would you like to make a drawing of?
