USk Chicago 2017 [Workshop 21 Paul Heaston It might seem obvious, but one of the fist things to consider when staring an urban sketch with tall buildings is your format. The tried-and-true landscape format might not be the best to show off how tall something is (and you might just run out of room). Try think- ing vertically. Of course, there are alvays exceptions (heck, there's ‘nein this handout), 50 if you're not sure, sketch out afew thumio- nails of your subject n both landscape and portrait formats and see ‘what you think, 1h There are alot of ways to approach drawing tal buildings, and ‘none of them are necessanly wrong, but to realy capture the soar- ing vericaliy, there are some compositonal choices to consider: Here's a standard “urban sketchy” \way to approach a steet scene. Noting bad. about this approach there's ats of things olka, ots oF steetievel detail thet ings the ‘ewer in, and seme tall buildings in the distance, But we dont get @ ‘sense of how tall the bulsings inthe Immediate area ara the ops are cut ‘off and the vertals, being paral oni ealy 200m off the page. In tis ‘composition we are trading showing (off a buling’scizying hewght for hu ‘man-scaled detail Chicago isthe bithplace ofthe madem skyscraper! city where you have to look upto fake ita in. So how does one eapture the soaring \vorical extremes ofthis city (or any other ina sketch without losing the big pletre or the details ofthe street? How do you make igi steel and ass fel alive? Itnelps to consider your composition carefully, nave @ basic understancing of perspective, and a wllngness tobe playful 1 2‘Ah, the picture postcard view of Chicago as seen from Lake Michigan, ‘compete with obigatorysaiboat. Skyine sketches tke this can be quite rige-- we cerainyy see aot of tal buldings, but here's nothing in he way ‘of street evel deal or realy anything human-scale (sory, sailboat). The bullings don't really "soar either. They just stand placidly next to each ‘other Its al rather abstract, Now we're geting somewere! In this simple one-point per- spective the buildings 200m ‘ramtcaly skyward, and. the bottoms seem 2. rush cow toward the viewer. The space being pushed and pulled the right way, but were stil missing ‘what's happening at stret level, one-fou FeRsreerve eoKiNe JP vanishing point 1 "Now fo someting reky: 3 pon perspective. n 3 pt perspective le ies recede toward one of hoe vanishing posto ont atthe zenith, whic an maginay pottin esky dey over yout ead. Miss very namic way of raving, and very ose twat werelcoking fy, but thas [limitations Fr stance, yur entre sate noods to ba enti above o below ‘he nrzon ne and tamod withn te iaginary tangle coat by connoctng the {ee vanishing pons. Ifyou extend any ines past hat the drawing stats 0 get rang" it als to have your pete plane most win te tiene and he horizon below ho batom edge. This agan makes it det incude any Seetiovel deta vanishing poigt 3 vanishing point 2‘tums out it you want to get tah street, he soaring buksings, the dynamsc perspective, you cn bed the ues. H you gently cave the ines receding toward {he vanishing points, you cant evething in. even stuf below the hotonline, And It wont bok a0 wo or (shudder) -eraonal need nat be as exaggerated {5 he exampla above (sc the cover tebe fective. Th bes parts, you dont eed to get everthing poet and you on neod lo. lragine 2 vera! tae coring dun tom the VP at he zanth and cessing the hefizon, coating 3°" he recoding ines tothe two fet mero ana more {he farther hey are om he vera ie, an a he ones onthe igh bo gh ‘The"horzntat receding nes wl bow more sharply upward te futher above Me harzon andthe same for fne ane lon the hoizon. itis dozen’ make sence 35 youre reading (ands probably does) give ta ty. This is a simpliving of cure ear perspective | ke fo cal umbrela perspective sale there was an exception to the rule of stekng to pra format! hovght ‘hs sketch of East High School n Denver realy ighightedumbrela’perspec- ‘ve. The bulking sil seems to soar upward think. (Or maybe it ook Uke i's about to bow over, nck sur)