What Is Urban Sketching?

Lapin, urban sketcher, explains what this discipline that arises from everyday life consists of

What is your main source of inspiration? For urban sketches, inspiration is everywhere and in all situations of everyday life. This is the case of Lapin (@lapinbarcelona), an expert in telling stories with his drawings based on observation, which has led him to work with clients such as Air France, Le Parisien Magazine, Peugeot, Porsche, and many more.

If you like to observe everything around you and want to discover a new style to express yourself graphically, as well as to explore architectural illustration, learn more about urban sketching below.

What is urban sketching?

In short, it is the practice of drawing what is around you, for instance, in your sketchbook. It does not necessarily imply that you draw cities, but rather it consists of capturing your personal vision of your immediate world, and the places you travel to.

It is a narrative of everyday life: that cup of coffee that you drink in the morning, the streets that you walk by during the day, the cars that you observed, the clothes that you wore, and so on.

What is urban sketching for?

It is a practice that you can carry out to document your personal experiences, as a creative journal. Other professionals use it as a method of capturing the ideas that arise while observing their surroundings.

However, there are professional applications, as in the case of Lapin: his clients send him to visit different places, where he makes visual reports. You can observs the culture of a city, and after immersing yourself in it, create illustrations that can become promotional ads, books or collaborations with brands.

Many different styles of illustration can be used in urban sketching, and the main components are personal observation and interpretation of what is drawn.

What are the principles of urban sketching?

Lapin is part of the Urban Sketchers movement. Its founder, Gabriel Campanario, created a collective site where different artists from around the world share their observations of the places they visit and where they live.

The central principles of his manifesto are:

- Draw in the place where you are, through direct observation.

- Share the story behind your drawing.

- The shared drawings are a record of the time the place where you are, and the scenes that you appreciate are truthfully shared.

- Any type of media and individual style can be used.

- The sketchers support each other and share the world through drawings.

For Lapin, the beauty of getting into the habit of carrying your sketchbook with you and sharing your personal view of the world with the rest of the urban sketcher community is invaluable.

I want you to become addicted to the sketchbook, and that you can no longer visit a place without drawing it.
Lapin

What do you need to become an urban sketcher?

Have your favorite materials on hand: pencil, markers, colored pencils, watercolors, ink, or whatever you prefer. And finally, a natural curiosity about the world, as well as developing your power of observation.

The wonderful thing about carrying this visual diary with you is that when you see your drawings later in time, you will be transported to all the sensations and memories of what you experienced in one place.

If you want to learn more about Lapin, check out his Urban Sketching: Express Your World in a New Perspective course, and rediscover your surroundings by illustrating people, places and fisheye perspectives with watercolor.

You may also like:

- Domestika Diary: Lapin.
- Meet Illustrator Lapin and his Fantastic Universe.
- Domestika Diary: Alex Hillkurtz.