Sketch Like an Architect

A quick introduction from David to talk you through what the course entails, who it's for and what you'll get from it. Download the handbook and worksheets from the download tab below.

Download David's best selling book 'Sketch Like an Architect' to both learn from and use to follow along with the course.

Learn to draw confident lines using your whole arm (starting movement from your shoulder, not wrist) and sliding on your little finger for stability. Practice straight, wavy, and curved lines, then move to 2D shapes - squares, rectangles, triangles, circles. Create intersections at corners for a technical look. Exercise: sketch a cityscape silhouette with multiple depth layers.

Understand the key components: picture plane, horizon line, vanishing points, and ground line. See how objects above versus below the horizon show different surfaces. Learn common mistakes to avoid (David pauses to let you spot what's wrong). Practice 1-point and 2-point perspective with abstract volumes. Exercise: sketch at least three volumes using composition rules like rule of thirds.

Distinguish between cast shadows (darker, on the ground) and form shadows/shade (lighter, on the object itself). Construct accurate shadows by tracing light rays through corners. Learn hatching direction based on surface orientation. Practice rendering techniques and material textures for brick, stone, concrete, timber, and glass. Exercise: add textures and shadows to a perspective composition.

Master human figure proportions: divide height in half, upper half into thirds (top third for head), lower half into halves for legs. Draw with loose curves and dynamic strokes rather than stiff outlines. Key rule: in eye-level perspective, all standing figures have heads on the horizon line. Exercise: sketch a public plaza with figures at different distances, using shadows to ground them.

Draw trees using check lines, irregular shapes, and freehand style - not rigid geometry. Scale rule: a trunk should be at least as tall as a human figure. Merge distant trees into simplified groups; add detail only to foreground vegetation. Add grass or bushes where trunks meet ground. Exercise: compose a scene with 2-3 trees, bushes, and grass, anchored by a brick wall.

David walks through three complete sketches: a building with strong depth planes and sky graphics, a detailed Copenhagen street scene with window reflections, and an exhibition pavilion framed by vegetation. Learn to start with thumbnail sketches, establish scale with a reference figure, focus detail on focal areas, and use colour accents sparingly. Exercise: create your masterpiece sketch of a favourite building.

David's parting advice: imperfections and your human touch make freehand sketching unique - there's no wrong approach. Keep experimenting and practising. Share your work on social media with @davido or #sketchlikeanarchitect for feedback.

The bonus lessons show you a full workflow of how David has created some of his fantastic drawings. The first one is how the cover sketch of the book is created. Sit back, relax, and watch how the master does it. Here, you'll learn his full process and understand how to apply it to your own projects.

Do you ever wonder how to draw tall buildings effectively? In this lesson we provide another full process video on how to create vertical 2-point perspectives to showcase how to draw towers, skyscrapers, and similar tall buildings.

To bring the course to a close, we show you something less architectural, but no less important. The open chest drawing technique demonstrates how to draw objects on various angles, adjusting your mindset and skillset to a place where you can draw almost anything in perspective form. This workflow video also shows to add shadow to a complex object.

David responds to a student question about shading. When the light source is close (like a bulb in an interior), its plan position creates a shadow vanishing point that's NOT on the horizon line. David traces through a student's two-point perspective box to show how to construct accurate cast shadows from a nearby light source.

The companion to the previous lesson: when the sun is your light source, its great distance means the plan position projects onto the horizon line itself. David demonstrates the same shadow construction technique, but now with the shadow vanishing point on the horizon - the method shown in the YouTube video and PDF handbook.

A more advanced technique responding to student questions. David shows how to construct a perspective view from a floor plan: draw the picture plane, position your cube at 30/60 degrees, mark the station point at your viewing distance (e.g. 10 feet), find vanishing points by drawing parallel lines, then project down to the horizon line to construct the perspective.