Archisketcher: Drawing Buildings, Cities and Landscapes

The media could not be loaded. Archisketcher is a wonderful book on urban sketching that focuses on architecture.There are lots of techniques, beautiful sketches and inspiration. Sketchers who find depicting architecture to be challenging should find this book accessible with all the simple drawing tips.The book covers five areas, namely composition, the approach, perspective, color and viewpoints. It covers the what, how and where to draw. The text are accompanied by wonderful examples from prominent artists and sketchers, such as from James Richard, Nina Johansson, Shari Blaukopf, Ch'ng Kiah Kiean, Tia Boon Sim, and even the author Simone Ridyard herself, and many more. It's a delight to look at the different styles and beautiful renditions of scenes from around the world.While there are no step-by-step instructions, the techniques explained are still easy to apply.The book also has several spotlights on architectural styles, such as the different between columns, history of buildings and cities, roof profiles and other interesting architecture features. Also featured are selected iconic landmarks that are given a two-page spread treatment with contributions of art and text by several artists.For those who want inspiration and techniques, this is the book to get. Highly recommended. It's a fantastic resource.(See more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

This is seriously good! The book size and feel are nice. The color is outstanding. The book is laid out very well. Every page is an "ooh ah" gem. There are no filler pages. For a practical workbook, this is more geared towards experienced sketchers. I just got the book, but so far, I have not seen beginner info. I did see use of a viewfinder. Most of the help is "general". "It's helps to have an understanding of architecture". In ways it is like a docent taking you on a museum tour and pointing out why the painting is so noteworthy. It is a WONDERFUL, remarkable book. I just want to make sure beginners realize they may not be able to take this book and run. If you are a beginner readin this, I would suggest you get also Urban Sketcher by Marc Taro Holmes. I actually bought these two together. He has plenty for the beginner. He also has two Craftsy classes right now. I highly recommend them as well as a blog.

This is a pretty good book for introducing entry level urban sketchers to the various ways sketchers view and represent the world. I like how the sketches have been organized in a topical fashion to content and style. Having shared it with my students in a recent workshop I found that while I could often look at one of the many excellent examples and easily parse the technique that had been used, novices were looking for a bit more "meat." The recurring comment I heard was, "but HOW did they do that?" So, a good book with good examples and well categorized, but not a "how to."

Filled with many different styles of urban sketching, Archisketcher – Drawing Buildings, Cities and Urban Landscapes has very little to do with drawing like an architect and everything to do with helping you make buildings come alive in your sketchbook. Its goal is not to teach you how to draw but to show a variety of approaches so that you can find and express your own.The list of contributors reads like a who’s-who of contemporary urban sketching – Shari Blaukopf, Nina Johansson, Ch’ng Kiah Kiean, Suhita Shirodkar and Liz Steel are among the more than 40 artists worldwide – but my guess is that at least half are not architects, which I found inspiring in and of itself. “You don’t need to be an architect to sketch architecture confidently,” says the author in the introduction, and a quick scan of the book would tell you that’s true.Focusing on composition, color, viewpoint and other aspects of architectural sketching, Archisketcher expands on each aspect by showing multiple examples. Each of the book’s five main sections ends with “Sketching an Icon,” in which sketches by several artists of the same well-known structure (such as Notre Dame or the Brooklyn Bridge) are shown together. I found it fascinating to see how sketchers take on the same subject in such varied ways. In addition, each section highlights two urban sketchers showing their home towns in “My Neighborhood.” Both of these unique selections of sketches are especially inspiring and enjoyable to savor again and again.One other unique feature of Archisketcher is the author’s particular viewpoint as an architect, which is apparent in brief but illuminating sidebars to many sketches. Ridyard might comment on the historical significance of a Moorish tower appearing in Alvarao Carnicero’s sketch, for example, or how the roofline of a city becomes its signature. As someone who has never studied architecture, even casually, I really appreciate this context and the opportunity to view a sketch the way an architect might.Other than brief lessons on one-point and two-point perspective, the book contains no how-to instructions or basics found in most urban sketching books (such as suggested art materials or portability tips). For those reasons, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book to a novice. Instead, I’d say its audience is sketchers who have a few years of sketching under their belts and are now looking for ways to step-up their architectural sketching level. Perhaps that group includes sketchers who are comfortable with most subjects, but architecture still intimidates them. I could also see experienced sketchers who are comfortable with architecture nonetheless being inspired by the wide variety of approaches shown that could get them out of a potential sketching rut. There’s something here for almost everyone – and definitely eye candy for all.

If you love architecture, street sketching, etc., this is a nice read and composition reference. The exploration of the various points of view as to crafting a compelling and beautiful look at surrounding architecture is great. If you love exploring architecture in a personal and creative way, this is a good window into that world. Definitely a compelling motivator to get out there and sketch!

I wanted something much more academic with advanced perspective. This was more like a sketchbook approach. Not terrible but did not help me improve my perspective drawing knowlege.

Liked everything

Very inspiring, very motivating urban sketching book . This is not an architecture class book, but, rather, some tips, some exemples and hints easy to understand ; a way to make it simple and accessible to everyone. Full of nice sketches.Affordable, I highly recommand it.Here is a nice review--> http://www.parkablogs.com/content/book-review-archisketcher-drawing-buildings-cities-and-landscapes.

I also bought Archisketcher: A Guide to Spotting & Sketching Urban Landscapes by the same author and found the content virtually identical. Buy one or the other but not both.Some beautiful drawings and very inspirational.

Dieses Buch ist inhaltlich identisch mit "Archisketcher" ISBN 978 1845 436285. Das Buch ist toll - und ich hätte mich über einen Nachfolgeband gefreut - aber es wurde nur das Titelblatt aktualisiert.

J'adore ce livre. Esthétique et inspirant. Je l'ai toujours à porté de main.Très belles illustrations qui vous donnent envie de dessiner

This book was exactly the same as a previous book from Simone Ridyard with the same title but with a different cover. I assumed it was a 'Volume 2' - very, very disappointing.