Urban environments provide their own particular challenges for artists. The constant bustle of people and vehicles; the jumble of different textures and colors; the riot of shape, color, and visual noise-all of these elements can make sketching in cities seem intimidating at first. But as you will learn in Everyday Urban Sketching, these features can offer great inspiration for creating richly expressive sketches that can capture the texture of urban life. In the 32 lessons of Everyday Urban Sketching, four experienced instructors will show you how to render the buildings, the people, and the different environments of the urban landscape in quick, intuitive ways that are ideal for practicing technique, experimenting with materials, journaling, and even telling stories. Each of the five modules that make up Everyday Urban Sketching focuses on a different approach to sketching that will enhance your appreciation of the places you visit, while also expanding your repertoire of skills in drawing, perspective, color, light, movement, and much more.
Everyday Urban Sketching
Dive into urban sketching with four experienced artists as they show you how to capture the people, the places, and the movement of the city.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
GreatFan from
What a wonderful set of classes! SO worth it!
Four instructors! Suma was such an encouraging teacher and I did her classes along with her. I am drawing challenged but am trying to learn. She made drawing accessible in 15 minute segments of the day. I finally learned about collage techniques from Ms. Cassel-Mamet - I have been trying to do art since the pandemic started and I didn't have anything else to do. Marc Holmes is AWESOME and it is SO nice to SEE exactly what he is doing as he is doing it. I already had his book but seeing him do the techniques makes all the difference for my learning style. I also had Stephanie Bowers' book and she did a great job demonstrating more architectural concepts. All four instructors were SO good. I love having this set as I have already seen some lectures numerous times and am improving each time I try. This is a GREAT COURSE for anyone wanting to try Urban Sketching or making travel journals with sketches to record memories. Loved it!
Date published: 2024-08-26
Rated 1 out of
5
by
GrandmaMoses from
Misleading title
I had different ideas about what this course would entail. I envisioned that I would learn some clues on when looking at an item, how to pick out what to sketch. The 1st instructor, showed many examples of her work, but not much about creating it. The one example she used, the scene was so far away, that I was unable to see the features she was sketching. The 2nd portion, seems to be on scrapbooking, not sketching. My enthusiasm has waned, but I will finish watching, maybe, just to see what the 3rd instructor offers.
Date published: 2022-10-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Paddyg from
Great Course
Extremely helpful. Has literally changed how I look at the world. I'm not a great artist but art isn't about greatnes... it is about imagination, life's perspective and creativity.
Date published: 2022-08-29
Rated 5 out of
5
by
kristibee from
Great Course
This is a very pleasant course. I am going to go through it again soon. I've have occasionally added a little urban sketching to some of my watercolours and I liked the effect. So I gave a thought to looking into it further. The first place I looked was Great Courses as I've been doing some of their other courses. Urban Sketching held my attention. The instructors are excellent. The course is broken up into four variations of urban sketching -- all very motivating. So much so that I was doing some sketching while viewing the course. The brightest surprise was the section on art journaling.
Date published: 2022-06-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Elder Welder from
Everyday urban sketching
Great instructors who present the info in a clear and interesting way. I have gotten a lot of good tips from them and have improved my sketches a good deal
Date published: 2022-01-14
Rated 5 out of
5
by
halcyon days from
I ordered Urban Sketching along with another course on sketching. They are both superb! I cannot believe I have never heard of the sketching courses before; checked the date they were released (2018), so I guess I am not too far behind. Absolutely wonderful--one of those things where you stay up until 6 am 'cause you cannot stop watching.
Please do more Art courses like this.
Date published: 2021-10-04
Rated 2 out of
5
by
SDaArtist from
Good course to get started in variety of areas
The artists continuously provides commentary as they draw. Paying attention to every word really helps. Overall good value.
The DVD 's video quality is VERY POOR in this technology age ! very sad...
Date published: 2021-03-05
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Indy Linda from
Great Course
I love, love, love this course. I am learning new techniques in every lecture. I am also getting a refresher course on techniques I already practice. I believe this course will inspire me to sketch more often in the field and will improve the sketches I do. The lectures have great technical support and I am able to understand and clearly visualize the methods and materials.
Date published: 2020-12-06
Overview
About
Suma CM is a multimedia artist who enjoys exploring the world and capturing its moments in various media. Her artwork and handmade greeting cards have been featured at specialty shops in Philadelphia, New York City, and London, including the A.I.A. Bookstore, Borders Books, Takashimaya, the Pierpont Morgan Library Shop, and more. Suma has been an exhibiting member at the Rowayton Arts Center and is a past member of the Connecticut Watercolor Society.
Judith Cassel-Mamet is a Denver-based artist with a background in fine art. She's the author of the book Joyful Pages: Adventures in Art Journaling. For more than 10 years, Judith has taught art journaling and travel journaling classes at the Art Students League of Denver and the University of Denver.
Marc Taro Holmes is a sketchbook artist and plein-air painter who works in ink, watercolor, and oils. Since 2009, he's been a correspondent for the international website of reportage artists, urbansketchers.org. He's the author of The Urban Sketcher: Techniques for Seeing and Drawing on Location, published by North Light Books. Marc also enjoyed a 15-year career as an art director and concept artist in the video game industry, working for studios such as Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Disney.
Stephanie Bower is an architectural illustrator, a teacher, a watercolorist, and a correspondent for the blog Urban Sketchers. After working as a licensed architect in New York City, Stephanie gravitated toward a career in architectural illustration and concept design. She has taught architectural sketching at Parsons School of Design, the University of Washington, and Cornish College of the Arts.
Trailer
01: Module 1 Lesson 1: Introduction and Materials
Meet your instructor Suma and begin by going over the materials you'll need to get started. After that, practice some exercises that will help you sketch quickly and confidently when you're out and about.
13 min
02: Module 1 Lesson 2: Vignettes
Suma introduces her "Read It, Frame It, Draw It" approach to sketching quickly on location. Learn how to spot the best scenes, decide what subjects to focus on and make the right marks to convey the essence of a place or space.
10 min
03: Module 1 Lesson 3: Sketching on the Move: Play, Pause, Rewind
Find out how to sketch a scene while in transit, whether you're walking or on a bus, train or car, as Suma breaks down her "Play, Pause, Rewind" method. See how to mark a moving object, take advantage of downtime to add details and look for repetition in your daily routines.
35 min
04: Module 1 Lesson 4: 4 Adding People: Symbols, Not Statues
Ready to bring your sketches to life? Learn how to depict people as symbols to quickly add them into a scene. Suma shares some basic proportions that will make your figures look more realistic. Then, learn how to draw a variety of clothes and depict skin tones using watercolor.
22 min
05: Module 1 Lesson 5: 5 Nature: Sky, Ground, Middle
Find out how to quickly render natural subjects, such as a landscape, using Suma's "Sky, Ground, Middle" approach. See how to create convincing vistas in a short amount of time, without having to worry about traditional perspective techniques.
17 min
06: Module 1 Lesson 6: 6 Watercolor: Tips for Fast Sketching
End class by digging deeper into watercolor to make your sketches more compelling. Suma shares her strategies for harnessing color to create unified and energetic sketches with ease.
15 min
07: Module 2 Lesson 1: Getting Started
Meet Judith Cassel-Mamet, who begins class by introducing her philosophy on journaling, then goes over what you'll need to get started, and shows you how to make two kinds of journals.
30 min
08: Module 2 Lesson 2: Activating Your Journal
Take a look at various preparation techniques to make your journals more vibrant. See how to activate blank pages with color, design, and even some everyday beverages such as coffee and wine.
24 min
09: Module 2 Lesson 3: Text as a Graphic Element
Judith shows you how to use text in a variety of ways, from design elements to headers to accents. Plus, get tips on how to make your writing more artistic and calligraphic.
22 min
10: Module 2 Lesson 4: Incorporating Ephemera
Discover some novel techniques for treating and incorporating both manmade and natural ephemera, including sandpaper, flowers and more.
24 min
11: Module 2 Lesson 5: Sketching Shortcuts
Judith shares tips for creating meaningful pages by sketching your surroundings. Discover a few techniques that will simplify your sketches, then find out how to use your camera as a helpful guide.
22 min
12: Module 2 Lesson 6: Completing Your Journal
In this final lesson, explore simple techniques for organizing, placing, and securing ephemera, as well as for layering objects and materials such as chalk and watercolor. And, find out how to add your personal flair to journal spines and covers.
32 min
13: Module 3 Lesson 1: Single-Line Sketching
Meet your instructor Marc Taro Holmes and learn how to create beautiful sketches while traveling. He'll review the basic materials you need to start your adventure. Then, practice the single-line sketch for simplicity and speed. Marc will also show you how to add in darks for contrast.
30 min
14: Module 3 Lesson 2: Draw Like a Painter
Learn Marc's "drawing like a painter" technique and use a brush pen to indicate light and dark areas on a street scene. Then, see how to translate this technique to a variety of shapes and sketches from statues to more complex scenes, like town squares, using water-soluble ink.
30 min
15: Module 3 Lesson 3: Tinting Drawings in Watercolor
See how to add color and life to your line drawings as Marc layers color washes onto simple sketches. You'll learn to use watercolor by breaking scenes into shapes, charging-in with color, and utilizing the wet-in-wet technique to grow a wash of color.
27 min
16: Module 3 Lesson 4: Sketch Collecting
Sketchbooks are a great way to tell the story of your travels through themes and montages. Marc provides examples from his personal sketchbooks for single-page storytelling inspiration. Then, learn how to make a travel log of your trip by thinking like a documentary filmmaker.
21 min
17: Module 3 Lesson 5: Painless Perspective
Don't be intimidated by perspective sketches. Marc demonstrates his solutions for helping break down perspective through neutralizing the angle and simplifying the details for easy visualization. Then, learn how to approximate perspective on a city street with a single-line drawing.
24 min
18: Module 3 Lesson 6: Watercolor Sketching
Take your skills up a notch and begin watercolor sketching! Begin to see basic shapes and how they interact with each other. Follow Marc's direction for painting in the negative space to let the focal points pop, and then learn how to charge-in the fine details to finish off a watercolor sketch.
21 min
19: Module 3 Lesson 7: Working in Layers
Follow Marc's direction to work with multiple layers of watercolor to achieve a professional look to your painting. Planning the composition from the start will allow you to add midtones on dry paint for a gorgeous result. Finally, learn how to add details and finishing touches to bring your pieces together.
17 min
20: Module 4 Lesson 1: How We See Buildings
Instructor Stephanie Bower begins class with a refresher on architecture drawing fundamentals. She’ll cover one- and two-point perspective, parallel lines, and eye-level line. Plus, find out a simple three-step process that pulls these elements together to start your sketches.
21 min
21: Module 4 Lesson 2: Architectural Elements
Master sketching common architectural elements. Stephanie shares an easy approach to drawing windows and doors, as well as how to correctly sketch columns and arches in perspective. She'll also show you how to use guidelines to make your elements more accurate.
26 min
22: Module 4 Lesson 3: Building Materials
Discover the techniques for drawing building textures. Learn how your quality of line can indicate various building materials, and how to provide a sense of depth and scale. Then, you'll see how to create a focal point using texture and architectural details.
28 min
23: Module 4 Lesson 4: Sloping Surfaces
Take the fear out of sketching sloped surfaces as Stephanie walks you through a simple method for drawing stairs and roofs. She’ll also explain how to accurately find the center of a roof.
20 min
24: Module 4 Lesson 5: Tips & Techniques
Gain the skills to make your buildings pop. From general composition tricks to mark-making strategies, you’ll find out how to capture the energy of a cityscape and create strong drawings every time.
18 min
25: Module 4 Lesson 6: Sketching Buildings on Location
Now it’s time to take your new skills on the road! In this final lesson, you'll learn how to put your new skills and techniques to use when you're out sketching in the field. Stephanie shows you how to start and develop your sketch, and even add some color.
23 min
26: Module 5 Lesson 1: The Pencil Gesture
Join Marc Taro Holmes and discover how you can easily draw people in motion using pencil, ink and watercolor. Ease into the process by sketching loose, gestural drawings in pencil, without worrying about the small details. Plus, learn how to capture essential elements before your subject moves.
17 min
27: Module 5 Lesson 2: Adding Ink
Once you've sketched your gesture drawing, add in more detail with ink. Watch and learn how Marc breaks the subject into basic shapes. Practice refining these shapes and loosely sketching in the shadows to help define the subject, while preserving the liveliness of the original sketch.
31 min
28: Module 5 Lesson 3: Brushwork & Hatching
Create focal points within your ink drawing using the brush pen. Marc demonstrates how to use brushwork to emphasize and reinforce the darkest shapes and shadows. Add in striking accents and a sense of movement with hatching. Plus, learn tips for creating dimensional silhouettes.
21 min
29: Module 5 Lesson 4: Adding Color
Complete your sketch by adding splashes of color. Set up a portable watercolor palette, then start painting! Learn how to apply a wash and reinforce shadow shapes with open brushstrokes. Add in finishing touches by laying down richer notes of color and detail.
26 min
30: Module 5 Lesson 5: Advanced Techniques: Water-Soluble Ink
Broaden your skill set by working with water-soluble inks—and faster moving subjects. Sketch another gesture drawing, using Marc's tips for capturing unique poses within a dynamic scene. Add in shadow shapes and anchor points with ink and a brush pen. Then blend it together with water.
19 min
31: Module 5 Lesson 6: Advanced Techniques: Direct to Watercolor
Pull from the skills you learned in previous lessons to tackle this advanced watercolor technique. You'll see how Marc captures fast-moving subjects by painting large—and loose—shapes and silhouettes first. Complete the scene by filling in the shadows and fine-tuning smaller details.
20 min
32: Module 5 Lesson 7: Capturing Multiple People
Discover how to infuse the art of storytelling into your sketches. Marc explains how selecting unique poses and including the right details are key to capturing the story. Plus, learn how to arrange multiple subjects on a page—and add splashes of color—to create a captivating sequence of events.
15 min
