From books that take you back to the basics to those pushing the boundaries of architectural illustration, we have compiled a comprehensive list...
- Updated: June 30, 2023
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
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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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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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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"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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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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"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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"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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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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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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Human Figures: Including people in your sketches will help establish a sense of scale and functionality in your architectural drawings.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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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