The Beginner’s Guide to Urban Sketching: Everything You Need to Know to Capture Your Favorite Places in Ink and Watercolor

by Taria Dawson

Oh, The Places You’ll Sketch!

Capture the world as it lives and breathes in the pages of your sketchbook. Taria Dawson, creator of the popular blog Urban Sketching World, makes it easy to draw on location. Using the art form’s loose, colorful and spontaneous method, you’ll learn to create sentimental impressions of the places where you live and travel. And all with minimal supplies!

Transform the everyday mundane into something magical as you work through focused lessons that build on each other to create full scenes of popular settings. Record your favorite dining experiences, covering everything from the restaurant’s atmosphere to your food’s mouthwatering textures. Chronicle the changing landscape of your home city as you illustrate the ornate architecture of old buildings next to budding skyscrapers. Or relax and unwind at the park as you practice introducing organic shapes and motion into your visual stories.

Full of tips for drawing everything from simple road signs to iconic city skylines, this is the perfect guide to help you document all your sketchy adventures, no matter where you are or where you go.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published December 5, 2023

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure why the current 3.5 rating. I'm not a beginner and I still loved the book. Yes, most of the info is basic (again-for beginners) but if you were a beginner this would be a great place to start! Lots of important fundamentals in there. For me, I just enjoyed a deep dive into her personal process. She has a laid back approach that is so welcoming. You can tell how much joy sketching brings her and that she wants others to find that joy for themselves. Also, I just love her art style so I jumped at the chance to have a little collection of her art sitting on my shelf. Beautiful work Taria!

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!
Decided to pick this up as I quite enjoy the author’s YouTube channel! As a self taught artist I struggle with certain aspects like perspective so I found those parts really informative. I did find some parts repetitive but it didn’t take away from the overall experience of the book.

[Michael McEwen]

I picked this up as an amateur artist. Nothing here on technique or style that I haven’t seen covered more thoroughly in other art reference books, but “Beginner” is in the title so I’m withholding a rating. As an overview I can see this book working well for true beginners (or artists that haven’t read other books). Another plus for people starting out is that the many of the sample drawings are “wonky” (the author’s word) which is much less intimidating than what you usually see in these books.

[Cameron Toney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really nice introduction to Urban Sketching. It had very good information, and was well set out and easy to understand.
Helpful for those of us just venturing into Urban Sketching.

[Lucky karma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. I really liked the exercises and I’m looking forward to working through them.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

not really a beginners book

[Katinka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rented it from the library but I think I'd really like this one in my collection at home.