Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (2024)

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From books that take you back to the basics to those pushing the boundaries of architectural illustration, we have compiled a comprehensive list...

Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (1)

In the diverse universe of architecture, drawing remains a fundamental skill for expressing creative ideas and communicating visions effectively.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a budding architect exploring the intricate world of architectural design, the right architecture drawing book can be a powerful tool to refine your techniques, enhance your understanding of perspective and form, and unlock new depths of creativity.

From books that take you back to the basics to those pushing the boundaries of architectural illustration, we have compiled a comprehensive list of the best architecture drawing books.

These top picks will not only bolster your knowledge but will also serve as a source of inspiration, guiding you in creating architectural drawings that resonate with your unique style and individuality. So, get ready to dive into this enriching world and find your perfect guide to architectural drawing.

Architecture Drawing Books

  1. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (2)

    This innovative book is the first to provide a fun, interactive way to learn about architecture. Filled with an array of beautiful and elegant drawings, it poses all manner of architectural challenges for the user: from designing...

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  2. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (3)

    This comprehensive and practical guide, filled with advice and inspiration, invites individuals to capture the beauty of the urban landscape, offering a wealth of subject matter from grand Renaissance cathedrals to humble garden sheds. It gently guides readers through varying levels of skill, introducing a plethora of drawing and painting techniques using a wide array of media, such as pencil, pen, graphite powder, watercolour, water-soluble pencils and Indian ink, and encourages mastering the art of rendering different types of buildings.

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  3. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (4)

    This book serves as a comprehensive guide to architectural drawing, teaching you the basics of drawing, perspective, and image composition, along with detailed explanations on architectural elements like roofs and trusses, while offering step-by-step instructions for complete architectural drawings, and providing insights into building styles, construction techniques, materials, and more, ultimately empowering you to design and sketch your own buildings and cityscapes.

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  4. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (5)

    "Draw Like an Artist: 100 Buildings and Architectural Forms", penned by David Drazil, is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide featuring over 600 sketches of significant architectural structures globally, from ancient to modern, which serves as an invaluable reference for budding architects, artists, and urban sketchers, illustrating key concepts like proportion, perspective, and spatial relationships, and guiding readers from initial sketch lines to completed drawings in a timeless classic style.

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  5. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (6)

    Stephanie Travis' new book addresses the contemporary debate between hand-drawn and computer-generated imagery by teaching architecture and interior design students, who are tech-savvy yet often lack confidence in sketching, that the careful observation involved in freehand sketching is essential for their success, regardless of whether they pursue architecture, interior, or product design.

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  6. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (7)

    "Sketch Like an Architect," is a comprehensive guide authored by David Drazil that provides a step-by-step process to enhance your sketching skills; starting with the basics of drawing straight lines, it delves into more complex compositions such as 2D objects, perspective rules, adding shadows, textures and materiality, populating your sketch with characters and vegetation, and creating awesome perspective sketches, all while incorporating important architectural nuances, techniques, and storytelling elements within your sketches.

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  7. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (8)

    "Architectural Drafting for Beginners: A Primer for the Novice Drafter" is a simplified, practical guide that progressively introduces the beginner to the field of architectural drafting, showcasing essential skills and processes related to wood framing and concrete slab construction through examples, drawing projects, and step-by-step illustrations in a professional manner.

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  8. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (9)

    The sixth edition of "Architectural Graphics," a classic bestseller by global authority Francis D.K. Ching, comprehensively introduces graphic tools and drafting conventions for effective visual architectural presentations, with hundreds of the author's unique illustrations, and updates on orthographic projection in 3D models, line weights, scale and dimensioning, and perspective drawing to elucidate complex concepts.

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  9. Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (10)

    Following the success of Archidoodle, this new title focuses on urban settings, engaging users with 75 intriguing architectural challenges—from constructing an underground society to creating a fresh park for New York—using beautiful and fun illustrations to inspire anyone with a love for drawing buildings and cities to apply their creativity on the book's pages, while learning about key urban design concepts like transport, lighting, green spaces, historical urban planning, and the role of monuments and symbols.

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FAQ’s about architectural drawing book

What should I practice drawing to be an architect?

Drawing skills are vital for architects because they help in expressing ideas, visualizing designs, and communicating concepts effectively. Here are some areas you should practice to develop your architectural drawing skills:

  1. Basic Geometric Shapes: Practicing simple forms such as cubes, spheres, cylinders, pyramids, and cones will help you understand three-dimensional space and perspectives. Mastering these shapes is the foundation of more complex architectural sketches.
  2. Building Components: Practice drawing architectural elements like doors, windows, roofs, stairs, and columns. This will give you a deeper understanding of their construction and detailing, which is critical when designing your own buildings.
  3. Perspectives: Learn to draw in one-point, two-point, and three-point perspectives. This skill is critical as it enables you to depict a three-dimensional object in two dimensions accurately.
  4. Architectural Landmarks: Drawing existing buildings, especially those of historical or architectural significance, will allow you to learn from their design, proportions, and use of architectural elements.
  5. Human Figures: Including people in your sketches will help establish a sense of scale and functionality in your architectural drawings.
  6. Landscapes and Urban Settings: Practice sketching diverse environments, such as parks, cityscapes, and streetscapes. This will enable you to understand the relationship between buildings and their surroundings.
  7. Shading and Shadows: Understanding how light interacts with forms and spaces is crucial. Practice different shading techniques to create depth and contrast in your drawings.
  8. Freehand Sketching: This skill is essential for quickly communicating your ideas. The ability to sketch freehand also allows for more fluidity and expressiveness in your designs.
  9. Architectural Drafting: This involves creating precise, scale drawings of buildings, usually through software but also by hand. Practice this to accurately represent your design intentions.

Remember, drawing is a skill that improves with practice, so keep sketching and refining your techniques. Also, experiment with different tools and mediums such as pencils, pens, markers, charcoal, and digital tools to find what works best for you.

Architecture Drawing Books: 9 ways to learn how to draw like an architect - archisoup (11)

archisoup is an online learning resource and platform for architecture students, young architects and enthusiasts.We provide the next and new generations of architects with opportunities to learn and evolve through shared expert knowledge, tutorials, guides and studio resources.

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FAQs

How do you sketch like an architect? ›

Hard pencils are used to draw sharp, thin, and light lines while the soft pencils are used to draw dark and thick lines. Architects draw their ideas in perspective. Perspectives are created in layers and line weights help you create these layers.

Can you be an architect without knowing how do you draw? ›

No. You don't need to be good at drawing to study architecture. However – being good at drawing is only going to help you by giving you an advantage. If you are not creative or artistic or good at drawing, don't fret.

What are the 4 elements of any architectural drawing? ›

Every architecture or design of a structure or solution consists of points, lines, planes, and volumes. That is why these four things are called the basic elements of architecture and design. There is of course more, like architecture principles, design principles, and units.

What are the basics of architectural drawing? ›

What are the 4 elements of an architectural drawing? Point, Line, Plane, and Volume are the four fundamentals of architecture and design you will study if you wish to work in the field. You can build or construct everything you can imagine with these four things.

Do architects draw or sketch? ›

Architects should sketch. I am convinced of this,” says Bob Borson of MMB Architects. “I haven't ever — I mean EVER — personally met an architect who I thought was a good designer who didn't sketch.”

What are an architect's sketches called? ›

An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building (or building project) that falls within the definition of architecture.

What would I never do as an architect? ›

5 things I would never do as an architect. number one never assume that the builder understands what you want and where you want it. number 2 never live in a property when it's being renovated. number 3 never put the light source directly above your face.

Can I be an architect if I'm bad at drawing? ›

Drawing like an Architect

I am living proof that you don't have to draw well to be an architect. Having the ability to draw beautiful pictures doesn't hurt but let's pull the curtain back and be honest here for a minute … Architects communicate through their drawings – we aren't making art.

Why do architects still draw by hand? ›

Most Architects still use freehand sketches and all sorts of hand drawings as a vital design tool, particularly as the first steps in the process. There seems to be a close connection between the creativity that occurs in the brain and the process of producing a drawing by sketching freehand.

What is the semper theory? ›

For Semper, the hearth was the central element of architecture and the element that ordered the roof, enclosure, and mound. Semper – Caribbean Hut – Four Elements of Architecture. Gottfried Semper focused his origins of architecture history on the hearth as seen in these architectural drawings.

What are the 10 principles of architectural design? ›

Contents: Principle 1: Place; Principle 2: Structure; Principle 3: Function and Flexibility; Principle 4: Comfort; Principle 5: Sustainability; Principle 6: Legibility; Principle 7: Light; Principle 8: Sound; Principle 9: Surface; Principle 10: Details.

What are the 7 design phases in architecture? ›

The architectural design process is made up of seven phases: pre-design, schematic design, design development, construction documents, building permits, bidding and negotiation and construction administration. These phases put realistic project deliverables and deadlines in place.

What are the 5 rules of architecture? ›

In the course of his work as an architect, Le Corbusier developed a series of architectural principles, which he used as the basis of his designs. The design principles include the following five points by Le Corbusier: Pilotis (pillars), roof garden, open floor plan, long windows and open facades.

Can you do your own architect drawings? ›

It is strictly true that anyone can produce their own drawings, be they for planning or building regulations. If you have the right equipment or the right software, and a willingness to learn, it's absolutely achievable.

How do architects draw plans? ›

A plan is drawn from a horizontal plane looking down from above. This is as if you sliced through a space horizontally and stood over looking down on it. Plans are a common design drawing and technical architectural or engineering convention for graphic representation of architecture.

Do architects still sketch? ›

Most Architects still use freehand sketches and all sorts of hand drawings as a vital design tool, particularly as the first steps in the process.

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